There are plenty of reasons why you should want a career in finance. But, if you are passionate about marketing, you may think you’re going to have to give up, or the other, to pursue a career. However, that’s not really true. Your passion for marketing might actually give you the edge you need to make it in the highly competitive financial domain. While many see these two fields as completely different, with a little bit of ingenuity, you’re going to find out that there’s actually a lot you can take from one, and use in the other. The fact that you find it so hard to choose between them should be an indication of the fact that these two domains actually have a lot in common. All you have to do is find creative ways to bring them together.
Remember that working in both sectors requires a degree, or certification. If you do not possess the degree necessary to work in finance, you might want to consider enrolling in an MBA. If you’ve already graduated, or can’t really afford to invest in a degree, there are other options. A CFA certification can be a perfect alternative to an MBA in finance. Bonus skills are going to be useless if you don’t know the basics of your field.
There are plenty of differences between the two fields, and the skills you need to work in them, strictly speaking. Working in finance requires knowledge in a ccounting,financial analysis, internal auditing and so on. Marketing skills are less math oriented, and more people oriented. They can involve social media skills, product marketing and development, and market research
To put it simply, the financial department safeguards the money the marketing department spends to make more money. In theory, these two branches are like cat and mouse. Finance are the logical, analytical side of a business, while marketing is the creative one
So how can you bring together your passion for marketing with your interest pursuing a financial career? The two seem to be mutually exclusive
Well, that’s precisely what makes this combination so powerful. Because of their differences, these two departments tend to stay isolated from one another, even though they’re goals are, ultimately, the same
Before starting on in your chosen career path, you should be aware that finance is a very broad term, that encompasses many different jobs. Make sure you understand what each of them presupposes, and you’re certainly going to be able to find something where you can use both your financial skills, and your passion for marketing, to get the most out of both.
Another way you can find a solution to your conundrum is by comparing actual job descriptions. Find a job application platform that has jobs posted by fieldand see if you can adapt your passion and your skills to the requirements of a particular company’s opening.
One of the biggest problems marketing and finance departments face is lack of communication. Neither understands what the other does, and needs, and often, they find it hard to explain, or are simply unable to do so. As a financial expert, with an interest in marketing, you can easily breach that gap, and smooth the dialogue between these two departments.
Having the necessary skills can put you on the right path in your financial career, but attaining real success requires a little bit more. If you truly want to shine at your job, spotting and avoiding financial risk is only part of the equation. You will also have to be able to predict opportunities, to maximize gains. And in-depth knowledge of how the market works is going to be invaluable. With your passion for marketing, you’re going to be able to spot patterns and trends financial experts might not notice, or might not know how to interpret.
Assuming you have the basic skills required by a career in the field of finance, if you truly want to succeed in a career in finance, you’re going to need plenty of skills that are not directly related to this domain. And many of these skills are precisely what marketing requires.
To succeed in any field, you need some degree of communication and interpersonal skills. Of course, when it comes to dealing with people, personal experience is the best way to find solutions that work, and there’s only so much you can learn from books. But marketing is all about understanding what people want, and how to give it to them. You can take the lessons learned here, and bring them out in the real world. You might have to adapt them a little bit, but at least you’ll have a headstart when it comes to developing your people skills.
Unlike finance, marketing also tends to focus more on creativity. That’s not to say finance doesn’t require you to be creative as well. Quite the opposite. But, as you probably know, there’s a lot to learn in the financial domain, so there’s bound to be some things that are going to be left out. Bringing the creativity required by marketing into your financial career is going to make up for the this. After all, you’re still pursuing the same goal, it’s just the approach that differs
Your ability to handle two different fields that have to work together will also mean you can bring your financial know-how into mix. You can find new, and creative ways to employ your finance skills in the marketing department. In the same way in which you might be lacking certain skills, because you focused on the ones that were relevant for your field, marketing experts might be lacking the knowledge that is mandatory in your department. If you speak their language, you can translate the finer points of finance to your marketing department.
Having a passion for marketing, but a desire to pursue a career in finance proves that you really know what you’re talking about While marketing may be more fun than finance, we all know which of these pays better. But going for the job that pays better doesn’t mean you have to give up your passion. These two fields are very closely related, so transferring experience from one to the other should be easy, as long as you constantly remind yourself about the specific differences of each.
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