Learn Finance: a Comprehensive Guide to Start Learning Finance
Finance encompasses the study and management of money. Every aspect of our day-to-day lives deals with finance in some way. As you read this guide, you will learn how to start learning finance, what free resources you can take advantage of, and what career paths you can pursue.
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.
Careers That Use Finance
You might be curious about what job opportunities await you after you build your finance skill set. While looking into careers in finance, you'll find seemingly endless options. The more you learn and increase your skills with on-the-job experience, the more options and opportunities will present themselves. From Real Estate Agent to Chief Financial Officer, studying finance is your ticket to gainful employment.
Popular careers for those with finance training include:
- Investment Banker
- Commercial Banker
- Public Accountant
- Real Estate Agent
- Hedge Fund Manager
- Venture Capitalist
- Chief Financial Officer
- Financial Planner
As you can see, the future looks bright for those trained in finance. Once you get your foot in the door in any of these positions, you’ll want to work hard, learn the ins and outs of your company, and continue to expand your finance skill set to be first in line for promotions and salary increases.
Why Learn Finance?
The reasons to learn finance are seemingly endless. No matter which industry you work in, your company cannot operate without cash flow for things like salaries and investing in the company. Perhaps your position doesn't manage a budget. Still, finance remains at the heart of business decision-making. If you understand finance and can communicate that understanding, you'll find it easier to acquire the additional funding needed for a project.
Learning finance makes you a more efficient problem solver, looks great on your resume, and is essential to the financial health of your family's current situation and future. Additionally, jobs dealing with finance are in high demand and pay well. Imagine what you could do with a solid understanding of finance and a large salary.
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How to Learn Finance
To learn finance, you'll need to gain a variety of skills. Among those are corporate strategy, accounting, and financial modeling. Those new to finance or busy professionals looking to expand their knowledge need training. When individuals choose their ideal learning avenue, they should factor in availability, learning style, and budget.
Live finance courses, which most students prefer, offer numerous benefits. These trainings are interactive and hands-on, where students can work with expert instructors in real time and gain answers and insights to any questions. If live online finance classes you can take from anywhere sound like your style, look at Noble Desktop's finance options. The FinTech Bootcamp, Financial Modeling Bootcamp, and Python for Finance Bootcamp offer training in areas you'll need to get ahead in the world of finance, including data visualization, risk management, and financial analysis.
Perhaps on-demand finance training is another option that could work for you. Through these courses, students can work at their own pace to learn all about finance. Featured topics include navigating and customizing spreadsheets, pivot tables, and generating charts for data visualization. For details, including any required prerequisites, check the course listings.
You can take advantage of free tutorials, blog posts, and seminars and use them as a unique opportunity to learn about finance as a beginner. Noble Desktop provides numerous classes, blog posts, and videos on financial topics for those looking to learn the subject. Take a look at their YouTube pageand find finance articles on the Learn Hub site. Indeed, this is a great way to get started, but you won't receive the same feedback or build your skill set and portfolio as you would from a live in-person or online course.
You can also benefit from the free seminars offered by Noble Desktop. The Exchanging Excel for Python seminar examines why so many industries, including finance, are switching out Excel for Python.
Read the full guide on how to learn finance.
Free Introductory Finance Course Online
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.
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.
How Does Learning Finance Compare to Other Applications/Languages/Fields?
The field of finance is vast, offering gainful career paths in several industries. Careers in FinTech, banking, investment, insurance, corporate finance, and financial planning and advising all require a strong understanding of finance. It is important to note that learning finance for financial planning will differ considerably from that of an insurance professional.
Top finance roles include anything from Financial Analyst to Investment Banker, to roles in FinTech like Data Scientist. To get ahead in finance and FinTech careers, one should train in Python, Java, SQL, and other in-demand skills. Some of these areas are certainly more challenging and rewarding to learn. Enrolling in a comprehensive bootcamp or certificate program can deliver the foundation you need to succeed.
Read more about how finance compares to other fields.
How to Decide the Best Way to Learn Finance
If you're looking to save money or still deciding whether to fully commit to a full-length finance course, starting with a free tutorial or seminar can provide a high-level overview of the field. Noble Desktop's Exchanging Excel for Python seminar could be a great place to start.
If you want to develop a solid working knowledge of finance, plug a skill gap, or upskill to win that promotion in your current career, a finance bootcamp is the way to go. These comprehensive, high-level trainings provide a learning environment that is hands-on where you can ask an instructor questions in real time, whether taking the training in-person or online. At the bootcamp's completion, you'll receive a verified certificate of completion.
Want to master finance for a new career or pivot to a new industry that utilizes this skill set? Those beginning their journey in learning finance can end up in areas like data science. Take a look at Noble Desktop's Data Science Certificate program to see if it may be a good fit for you. This program teaches you how to prepare and clean data for analysis, read and write complex database queries, and use Python to automate everyday tasks like formatting data.
Depending on your preferred learning method, the learning tool you choose should meet those preferences. For instance, perhaps you like to learn online from the comfort of your home. These online courses are fantastic options where you can interact in real time with expert instructors and gain all the knowledge you would from an in-person class. Other factors to consider when choosing a program are price and if you have enough free time to complete the coursework. Take your time to figure out which learning method works best for you.
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.
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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.