Financial Services
Description OES Code:00006
Financial services professionals are people who do for business what most of us have to do for ourselves— keep track of money. Just as individuals have to plan for expenses and figure out how to live on the revenue coming in, so do corporations and companies. Providing financial services requires training, skill, and the ability to be unemotional about business. The world counts on the people who do the numbers to provide clear and objective information. At the top of the latter are financial managers who develop a company’s strategy— based on information from various people who work in financial services. Entry-level postions in this field include bookkeepers who maintain records of cash flow, expenses, and other financial information. Depending on the level of job you seek, you’ll probably need training that can range from business courses at a community college to advance degrees from an university.

Categories Within This Industry
Banks safeguard money and valuables and provide loans, credit, and payment services, such as checking accounts, money orders, and cashier’s checks. With the passage of the Financial Modernization Act in 1999, banks also may offer investment and insurance products, which they were once prohibited from selling.

Although other "nonbank" financial companies increasingly provide many of the same depository and payment services, a major difference between banks and other financial institutions is that deposits in banks are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. This ensures that depositors will get their money back, up to a stated limit, if a bank should fail.

The insurance industry provides protection against financial losses resulting from a variety of perils. By purchasing insurance policies, individuals and businesses can receive reimbursement for losses due to car accidents, theft of property, and fire and storm damage; medical expenses; and loss of income due to disability or death.

For a list of current job listings, browse CalJOBS or America's Job Bank.

Categories Within This Industry (Cont'd)
The insurance industry consists mainly of insurance carriers, or "insurers," and insurance sales agents. In general, insurance carriers are large companies that provide insurance and assume the risks covered by the policy. Insurance sales agents sell insurance policies for the carriers and work either for themselves or directly as employees of the insurer. While the majority of sales agents are independent and are free to market policies of a variety of insurance carriers, others may work exclusively for one insurance carrier, selling only that carrier’s policies. Some carriers market without agents, using the telephone, mail, and—increasingly—the Internet.

The securities and commodities industry is made up of a variety of firms and organizations that bring together buyers and sellers of securities and commodities, manage investments, and offer financial advice. The industry is undergoing substantial change because of technology improvements, financial services deregulation, the globalization of the marketplace, and demographics. The Internet, along with high-speed computer systems, have dramatically altered the way in which securities and commodities are bought and sold, almost completely automating the transaction process. At the same time, the number of financial services being offered is rising as firms look for new ways to attract the business of an increasingly wealthy and investment-savvy public.