Are you considering a career in finance and want to expand your skill set? Discover the impact of mastering Python, SQL, and Excel in the financial sector and explore the diverse careers available in personal, corporate, and public finance.
What to Learn After Finance
Finance encompasses money management, including borrowing, saving, budgeting, lending, forecasting, and investing. There are various positions one can pursue with financial knowledge. For those who have already learned the various aspects of finance, consider learning Python, SQL, and Excel to support any position you pursue. This article will cover these skills so you clearly understand what skills you want to tackle next.
What is Finance?
In its most basic definition, finance is the management of money. Finance includes investing, lending, budgeting, borrowing, saving, forecasting, and studying financial systems. There are multiple areas of finance, including personal, corporate, and public finance.
Personal finance focuses on keeping debt low, budgeting, growing assets, and increasing cash flow, among other factors. The three main types of corporate finance include 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 study it.
What Can You Do with Finance?
At its core, finance involves managing money, including investing, saving, budgeting, forecasting, borrowing, and lending. Here are three strong career paths you can pursue with a solid 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.
Python
Although Python is primarily used in back-end programming, it includes various libraries that financial professionals use regularly. Financial Analysts and other financial professionals use Python to gather and manipulate financial data. Financial professionals use Python libraries to build risk management models such as VAR and Monte Carlo simulations.
If you're considering learning Python for finance, Noble Desktop offers a Python for Finance Bootcamp. This course covers the basics of Python and how to create APIs, income statements, and balance sheets. You'll also learn how to apply statistical measures to financial applications such as stock prices. To further your knowledge, consider the FinTech Bootcamp, which covers Python and other programs.
SQL
Almost all aspects of finance rely on collecting financial data, whether for accounting or banking transactions. If you're pursuing a Financial Analyst role, you'll need more than traditional finance skills like accounting, statistics, and business analytics. Many Financial Analyst positions require data science skills such as understanding programming languages like SQL. You'll encounter data stored in SQL databases across various financial professions, making it an integral part of financial training.
Financial Analysts who learn SQL can leverage tools for financial analysis. One of the key uses of SQL in finance is working within relational databases or building their own financial data databases. To learn SQL and other data science programming languages, you can enroll in Noble Desktop's FinTech Bootcamp. In this bootcamp, students learn SQL and Python to develop a well-rounded portfolio of data science and financial analysis projects.
Microsoft Excel
Another analytical skill to add to your finance toolbox is Excel. Even though Excel might only seem relevant to some areas of finance, it is helpful for analyzing large datasets. The ability to organize financial records in one place and present that information in a meaningful way will benefit you. You can identify patterns in spending, decisions, and income to make better choices.
To learn Excel for finance, consider taking the Excel Bootcamp or the Financial Modeling Intensive courses offered by Noble Desktop. The Excel bootcamp is great if you're new to the program, while the Advanced Excel course is ideal if you already have experience with Excel.
Key Takeaways
- In finance, money is studied and managed.
- The majority of financial positions require more skills than just financial literacy.
- After becoming proficient in finance, consider learning:
- Python
- SQL
- Microsoft Excel
- You can learn these skills and finance together through several bootcamps provided by Noble Desktop:
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 offers multiple ways to learn finance. They provide numerous well-designed educational options to quickly expand your finance skill set, whether you're new to the field, already working in finance, or in a position that requires deep knowledge 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 include the Premiere Pro Bootcamp, Video Editing Certificate, and Premiere Pro classes and bootcamps.
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