Aspiring to a career in finance as an Investment Banker, Commercial Banker, Real Estate Agent, or Financial Planner? Discover the timeline to becoming financially literate, ranging from six months to five years, depending on various factors.

How Long Does it Take to Learn Finance?

Like many aspiring Investment Bankers, Commercial Bankers, Real Estate Agents, and Financial Planners, you might want to learn finance but worry about how long it will take to become financially literate. While there are various moving parts to the financial industry, like budgeting, saving, lending, and investing, experts agree that it takes the average person between six months and five years to become a finance expert. Of course, the speed at which you master finance depends on several factors. Keep reading to learn about how you can learn finance and some resources to help speed the process along.

What is Finance?

In its most basic definition, finance is the management of money. Finance includes investing, lending, budgeting, borrowing, saving, forecasting, and studying money. There are multiple areas of finance, including personal, corporate, and public finance.

Personal finance deals with keeping your debt down, budgeting, growing your assets, and increasing cash flow, among others. The three main types of corporate finance are capital budgeting, capital structure, and dividend policy. Among the significant concerns of public finance are the budgeting process and an entity’s revenue source.

Read more about what finance is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with Finance?

At its root, finance deals with managing money. This includes investing, saving, budgeting, forecasting, borrowing, and lending. Here are three solid career paths to follow with a firm understanding of finance.

Accountant - This lucrative field is ideal for anyone with a love of numbers, though it is not necessary to be successful. Within a company, an accountant often creates, interprets, and analyzes a wide range of financial statements. Company accountants and management come together as partners to create budgets. Finally, accountants handle the tax matters of a company, including filing returns and planning out tax liabilities.

Business Development Officer - Companies hire Business Development Officers to develop and execute strategies that lead to increased sales and higher profits. These officers also seek out business opportunities and secure the best business deals. They are responsible for negotiating deals and meeting with potential investors.

Financial Data Analyst - These professionals analyze data to assist financial institutions in making better business decisions. Among their numerous responsibilities is compiling information from different divisions of a company. These analysts also look for ways to improve the company's current methods of data collection.

Average Time it Takes to Learn Finance

On average, to grasp the basic financial concepts, one can take six months to a year to become proficient in the concepts. From there, the training can become more extensive depending on which area of finance one wants to enter. However, most of the careers that require finance skills will require a degree. The time it takes to earn that degree will vary. Other aspects of finance will also take more time to learn.

Economics can take an individual three to four years to understand. However, understanding economics is a primary part of several financial positions, which makes it beneficial to learn the ins and outs of economics.
Investing does not require a degree; however, it does require more research and time in learning financial equations and the stock market. This part can take the average person between one and five years to grasp.

Before deciding which career to pursue, spend some time researching the requirements. If you are looking for a career switch soon, consider a financial position that does not require a degree.

Other Factors

When deciding to learn finance, there are several factors for individuals to consider, like prior experience, degree requirements, the reason for learning finance, and learning speed.

Prior Experience

When first learning finance, it is important to consider that individuals must complete different prerequisites. If you start your finance training with some financial understanding, you will easily grasp the more complex financial equations. Those with experience in the financial industry or other mathematical fields will have an easier time picking up on the introductory concepts of finance.

Degree Requirement

Depending on the position you wish to pursue, you may be required to have a finance degree. A finance degree can take anywhere between two and six years to complete, even longer if you want to pursue an MBA and further your understanding of finance. Choosing one of these positions can greatly increase the time it takes to learn finance and get you into the job market. But it can be worth it for higher-paying positions.

Purpose of Learning

Everyone you encounter throughout your finance training will have a different reason for why they are learning these financial concepts. However, remember that the reason you are learning can greatly impact the speed at which you learn and master the information.

If you want to learn finance to understand and benefit your finances, you may take more time nailing down the concepts and applying them to your finances. Doing this will increase the time it takes to learn the concepts. If you want to switch careers or improve your current position, you will want to learn the concepts faster to make your career change as soon as possible.

Learning Preference

Choosing your preferred method of learning may not seem like it would affect your learning speed, but it does. A virtual finance class may be a good choice for those who wish to train from home, while an in-person finance class may be the best for those who prefer to learn in a classroom. Virtual courses can be delivered live online or have self-paced curriculums. It is crucial to consider one's learning pace. Those who can't dedicate time to live online classes should take self-paced finance courses instead.

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost

Becoming financially literate is a relatively easy task, especially with thousands of financial resources available to help one become financially literate and independent. The challenges with learning finance come when pursuing finance as a career. A financial career can require skills in programming languages and programs like Python, SQL, and Microsoft Excel. All of these skills present their own set of challenges. However, learning these skills can lead to rewarding careers.

Before learning finance, you should develop several soft skills to help you prepare for your career. These skills include interpersonal skills, problem-solving skills, and communication skills. Most of the financial careers available will require you to deal with clients in some fashion. These skills can ensure that you provide clients with the best service possible. You should also consider which area of finance you wish to enter before starting your training. Depending on which career you wish to pursue, the length, difficulty, and cost of training will vary.

When discussing finance, you may worry about the costs involved with dealing with money. However, the costs of finance are quite low. Regarding personal and small-business finance, you may encounter small banking fees depending on your bank, or you may have a small subscription fee if you use programs like Microsoft Excel. Most of the costs associated with finance will come from training. Some financial positions require degrees, while others focus on your financial literacy and skills. A finance degree can cost between $24,000 and $75,000. Other training options can range from $40 to $2000+. You can find various free resources online to help start your financial journey.

Read about how difficult it is to learn finance.

Watch a Free Finance Online Course

If you need more time before jumping in and committing to an entire course but are still looking for an overview of the subject, you can start learning about finance for free online. Check out Noble Desktop's YouTube page to expand your skill set and gain valuable insights.

Other course providers with free online finance classes include Udemy and New York Institute of Finance through edX. You'll learn how to understand an estate plan, the cost of capital, and corporate funding alternatives, to name a few.

Read about more free finance videos and online tutorials.

Learn Finance with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Some believe the only way to learn finance, whether for a career or personal benefit, is through a lengthy, time-consuming degree program. Luckily, there are many alternatives. Many people feel the bootcamp or certificate training model is the superior path.

As a premier provider of online education, Noble Desktop provides multiple ways to learn finance. They offer numerous thoughtful educational options to expand your finance skill set quickly, whether you're new to the field, already working in finance, or in a position that requires a deep understanding of it. Here are some of Noble Desktop's most popular programs.

FinTech Bootcamp - Taught by expert instructors, this extensive FinTech bootcamp is intended for beginners. You can complete this course in four weeks full-time or four months part-time. Among the topics covered are the fundamentals of Python, data structures, and how to use SQL to query databases.

Python for Finance Bootcamp - This 18-hour detailed Python for Finance Bootcamp is designed for Risk Managers, Financial Analysts, Portfolio Managers, and those seeking a career in finance technology and data analysis. Students will learn the major Python financial libraries, how to analyze financial statements from the SEC website, and how to apply statistical measures.
Financial Analyst Training Program - While some knowledge of accounting and finance is helpful for this seven-day Financial Analyst Training Program, it is not necessary nor required. If you're looking to carve out a career path at a top financial firm, this bootcamp is the most effective and affordable course to learn these skills.

Other Noble Desktop courses to consider are the Premiere Pro Bootcamp, Video Editing Certificate, and Premiere Pro classes and bootcamps.

Key Takeaways

Finance is a broad subject that covers all areas of money management, including:

budgeting,
investing
saving
lending
real estate
forecasting

Learning financial concepts can take the average person anywhere between six months and five years.
The time it takes to learn finance will depend on different factors such as:

prior experience
Degree requirements
purpose of learning
learning preferences

You can receive comprehensive finance training through an in-person or live online course with Noble Desktop.