Financial and Investment Analysts
What Financial and Investment Analysts Do
Conduct quantitative analyses of information involving investment programs or financial data of public or private institutions, including valuation of businesses.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
- Self-employed
- 5%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 4 of 5Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Experience
- A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
- Education
- Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
- Job training
- Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
- ADP Workforce Now
- Advanced Portfolio Technologies Report Builder
- Advanced Portfolio Technologies Simulator
- Analyse-it
- AnalyzerXL
- Annuities analysis software
- Apache Pig
- Apple AppleWorks
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Attention to Detail
- Integrity
- Dependability
- Intellectual Curiosity
- Achievement Orientation
- Cautiousness
- Tolerance for Ambiguity
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- ConventionalHigh
- EnterprisingHigh
- InvestigativeHigh
- SocialLow
- ArtisticLow
- RealisticLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where financial and investment analysts make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA3.16× national avg
- 2Bloomington, IL3.09× national avg
- 3Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT2.71× national avg
- 4New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ2.44× national avg
- 5Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC2.15× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Financial Risk SpecialistsLateral Move
- Personal Financial AdvisorsLateral Move
- Financial ManagersLateral Move
- Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales AgentsLateral Move
See the full career path from Financial and Investment Analysts →
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Accounting
- Western Governors University (Salt Lake City, UT)grads earn ~$75,767
- Southern New Hampshire University (Manchester, NH)grads earn ~$70,181
- Broward College (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
- University of Phoenix-Arizona (Phoenix, AZ)grads earn ~$63,113
- CUNY Bernard M Baruch College (New York, NY)grads earn ~$90,104
Finance, General
- American College of Financial Services (King of Prussia, PA)
- CUNY Bernard M Baruch College (New York, NY)grads earn ~$84,956
- Ohio State University-Main Campus (Columbus, OH)grads earn ~$97,986
- Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL)grads earn ~$87,089
- University of South Carolina-Columbia (Columbia, SC)grads earn ~$92,578
Financial Mathematics
- University of California-Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)grads earn ~$103,887
- Washington University in St Louis (St. Louis, MO)
- Stony Brook University (Stony Brook, NY)grads earn ~$82,200
- University of California-Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)grads earn ~$118,414
- University of Chicago (Chicago, IL)