10
Fast-Growing Careers
Top Pay
Although not everyone in Finance can become the chief financial
Occupation
% Growth New Jobs Created
officer (CFO) for a major corporation, professionals in the cluster are
(2002–2012) (2002–2012)
well paid, depending on the career choice and industry.
survey researcher 37.5% 150
According to the Texas Workforce Commission, financial
personal financial advisor 28.7% 2,350
managers’ starting salaries in Texas are more than $47,800 and rise as
bill and account collector 27.4% 8,750 high as $121,500, with the average being $86,000 across all industry
economist 25.0% 200
segments. Wages for actuaries are even better, averaging $90,000 and
loan officer 22.6% 3,300
topping out at about $123,000. Financial analysts’ highest salaries are
also excellent, at approximately $91,000, with the average salary being
loan counselor 21.1% 400
$71,000. On the other hand, loan counselors’ wages are significantly
market research analyst 21.0% 2,550
lower, averaging $32,000, as are those of claims adjusters, examiners,
Tax preparer 20.2% 950 and investigators, who average $46,700.
credit analyst 19.8% 800
financial analyst 19.7% 2,250
good Education
Careers with higher salaries generally require more education.
This is a projection of 10 fast-growing careers in Finance in Texas from the year 2002 to 2012 and the
number of new jobs created in each occupation. Note that whereas the percentage of growth in jobs may be
“Typically, companies want to hire someone with at least four
high, the actual number of jobs created may be low. For example, there will be only 150 new jobs for survey
researchers created in Texas during the decade that the data covers. Source: Texas Workforce Commission.
years of college,” says Deborah Ropelewski, director of education for
the Professional Liability Underwriting Society, a national nonprofit
organization that supports career development in liability insurance.
“They want people who are serious about continuing their education,
held corporations, as well as for political consultants and
especially those interested in becoming professional brokers or
medical research facilities.”
insurance agents, who need to meet continued education requirements
May concurs. “Finance and accounting are the basis of a company’s
to maintain their licenses.”
success,” he says. While the company may make a great product that
“We look for graduates with finance and accounting degrees,” says
sells very well, “there has to be someone who can keep the pennies in
CenterPoint’s May. “We require people to be trained in a certain way
the bank.”
of thinking, and we want them to learn it in college, because there are
so many other skills that they need to learn once they’re on the job.”
variety on the Job
“Some students think they’ll have to sit at a desk working with
numbers all day,” says Alison Benton, principal and director in
Houston at UHY Advisors, a national tax and business consultant
10
Top-Paying Careers
firm. “But there’s more variety in this field than I ever thought—
work most people would never consider as Finance.”
Occupation
Average Entry-Level Experienced
In her position, Benton negotiates deals for companies. “For
Wage Wage Wage
instance, if a company is expanding,” she says, “I might help them actuary $45.27 $23.71 $56.05
get government funding for training or a new facility. This lets me
financial manager $43.06 $23.95 $52.62
use my legal experience from business law classes and my human
personal financial advisor $39.24 $16.02 $50.85
communications skills in addition to finance experience.” Benton
suggests students consider combining their personal interests with
economist $38.91 $22.27 $47.23
finance skills to find a good career fit.
securities, commodities, and
financial services sales agent
$38.47 $12.87 $51.27
Finance offers some unusual choices. Careers students may
not know about include foreign exchange dealer, debt settlement
financial analyst $35.85 $20.75 $43.41
negotiator, personal shopper, and forensic litigator.
financial examiner $31.91 $19.39 $38.17
“Forensic litigation has taken off in the last three years,” Benton market research analyst $29.87 $15.98 $36.81
explains. “This is where people investigate financial fraud and
Insurance sales agent $28.67 $11.68 $37.17
track down undercover computer transactions when someone has
credit analyst $27.77 $17.26 $33.02
been funneling funds to accounts overseas. That’s a very cool job
This is a chart of hourly wages for 10 of the top-paying careers in the Finance cluster in Texas. Note how
for someone with strong computer skills.” entry-level wages are often much lower than pay for the average worker and experienced workers in each
profession. Source: Texas Workforce Commission.
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