Jobs in Finance
This section is to assist people who are thinking about jobs in finance to help you to clearly see what options are available at an entry level, and the career progression that is available.
Who would suit a job in finance?
A career in finance offers a variety of avenues and progression depending on your ability and ambition. The types of people that perform best have the following skills:
- Excellent attention to detail
- A logical and meticulous approach
- Excellent mathematical skills
How to enter the financial industry
Jobs in finance are varied and require you to focus on your end goal early to ensure you get the right experience to succeed. Many people start at the bottom and work their way up without any specific qualifications. Others will study degrees, an AAT course, or Sage course to help their entry into the industry.
The following jobs in finance can be used to enter the industry:
- Bookkeeper
Starting salary: £20,000 approx rising to £24,000 with experience
Where could it lead?: A Bookkeeper could lead to a job as an Accountant (salaries up to £35k), and then Management Accountant (salaries of up to £50k)
Many entry-level bookkeeping roles don’t require previous experience, however it is beneficial to be able to use bookkeeping software such as Sage to help you stand out. You could also do an AAT course. It is important that you are precise in your approach, organised, with strong mathematical skills. This role involves the maintenance and recording of financial transactions, looking at the businesses financial incomings and outgoings. The purpose of this role is to “balance the books” so you could expect to process invoices and payroll, calculate profit and loss as well as the management of ledger. - Payroll Administrator
Starting salary: £15,000 approx rising to £20,000 with experience
Where could it lead?: A Payroll Administrator could lead to a career as a Payroll Manager (salaries up to £35k) and then HR Manager (salaries up to £40k).
Although a degree is not necessary for an entry level Payroll job it is important to demonstrate you have the skills needed such as strong mathematical capability, organisation and a strong timekeeping ability. PAYE experience is an advantage as is experience in Microsoft Word and Excel. The role mainly involves calculating staff hours, deducting taxes and pension payments, adding statutory payments such as pensions, ensuring additional pay such as overtime and bonuses and processing payments for starters and leavers to ensure that employees or contractors are paid correctly and on time. - Purchase Ledger Clerk
Starting salary: £16,000 approx rising to £23,000 with experience
Where could it lead?: A Purchase Ledger Clerk could lead to a career as a Purchase Ledger Manager (salaries up to £30k), Accountant, and eventually Finance Manager or Director.
If you have strong organisational skills, stay calm under pressure and have excellent attention to detail then this role could be for you. Although you might not need qualifications at entry level, strong IT skills and bookkeeping experience will set you at an advantage. The role can involve code and checking invoices, VAT payments, pay out money via BACS or cheque, supplier statements, filing of invoices, purchase enquiries and staff expenses. - Accountant
Starting salary: £22,000 approx rising to £30,000 with experience
Where could it lead?: An Accountant could lead to a career as a Finance Manager (salaries up to £50k) and then Finance Director (salaries up to £100k).
A degree is preferable for an Accountancy role but is not essential if you can show knowledge of accountancy practices. There are also industry recognised courses you can do such as an CIMA/ACCA course. Skills that are important to this role include analytical skills, organisation, problem solving and financial acumen. In this role you can expect to analyse company income and expenditure, run payroll and audits, investigate financial risks, make recommendations on budget, and calculate tax.
Send us your CV today
Choosing a career in finance opens you up to a long and lucrative career with the right skills and ambition. If you are looking for jobs in finance then click here, register with us and upload your up to date CV. We will then contact you if we find a suitable role. You can also search our current Commercial roles below.
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