The Fintech Career Path
By: Kevin Villacrucis
The rate of change in financial services is rapidly increasing.
In today’s digital age, consumer behavior shows that people want fast and easy access to their finances – preferably from a mobile device and application – on a system that allows efficiency in banking, from getting loans, managing investments, or tracking budgets.
Regarding fintech – a blend of ‘finance’ and ‘technology’ – startups have forever changed how we make payments, take out loans, and invest our finances. And traditional financial institutions started to see the value of partnering with these startups in a more synergistic approach to finance and technology, with almost 80% of the world’s financial institutions entering fintech partnerships, according to McKinsey Panorama.
These advancements in financial technologies have triggered a demand for talent in the fintech industry. To start a career in this field, you’ll need strong experience in programming languages and advanced mathematical or quantitative skills. Add to that analytical and logical thinking skills, plus a grasp of pricing theory, and you’ll have a competitive advantage over other candidates.
In banking tech circles, developers are often fluent in more than one programming language, with demand growing for ‘full-stack’ developers who can bring various programming language skills to a business. Human Resources will typically want to see one or two specific skills to forward a resume to the hiring manager. Jobs in banks are often looking for this sought-after but rare language. Banks want Java developers to help them stay innovative.
Microsoft developed this language as part of its NET framework, and it is both an object-oriented and multi-paradigm language that combines the best C and C++ languages. C# experts are in high demand in the financial services sector. This older language is the backbone for many banks’ legacy systems that are still being used today, and demand for this language is growing as more senior programmers retire. It isn’t typical among younger programmers. Plus, high-speed trading and the need to process large volumes of data have made C++ more popular again. Programmers use this language to retrieve data from a database for analysis and processing. They can use this multi-purpose language in any of the following roles in fintech: business analyst, data analyst, data engineer, data scientist, software engineer, or database administrator.
This skill is highly valued in the financial sector. Many banks and finance houses, including investment banking and hedge funds, use Python on their platforms that are responsible for their trading, pricing, risk management functions, and interest rate derivatives platforms.
Beyond technical understanding is required to thrive in a career in fintech. Here are some of the non-technical skills in high demand:
- Communication skills: Regardless of who you work with -brokers, traders, business analysts, or fellow technologists, you’ll need to be able to communicate the aspects of your technology project for the best results.
- Adaptability: Being an expert in your tech skills can often lead to a narrowed focus instead of embracing creative thinking, which is what fintech startups need. Philip Bourke from Hays, a global recruitment expert, notes: “A fintech company needs someone who wants to think outside the generic IT box; people who can demonstrate adaptability and creativity.”
- Problem-solving ability: In the dynamic environment of finance, newer automation technologies will mean less focus on task-oriented activities and a stronger focus on problem-solving and finding ways to improve this.
- Collaborative skills: With collaboration between fintech startups and legacy financial institutions being the current trend, the ability to collaborate to find a standard solution, both internally and with external partners, is vital. With more than 75% of fintech firms identifying their primary business objective as collaborating with traditional firms, both fintechs and traditional firms must transform their business models by collaborating to drive innovation while retaining customer trust.”
A fintech company needs someone who wants to think outside the generic IT box and can demonstrate adaptability and creativity.
Fintech industry
The financial technology industry offers a wealth of exciting career opportunities in the financial services sector, including roles such as financial or business analysts, product managers, compliance experts, cybersecurity analysts, and quantitative analysts.
Whether you have a background in computer science, finance, data analytics, or other related fields, many rewarding fintech careers can help you realize your potential and make a difference in the industry.
If you’re interested in exploring a fintech career path, the first step is to develop a strong understanding of the industry and the skills in demand. With the right mix of technical and non-technical skills, you can position yourself for success in this rapidly growing sector.
Careers in Fintech
According to The Economic Times, careers associated with the fintech sector are in great demand, and demand often exceeds the current available qualified applicants. Here are some of the exciting careers that are available in this sector:
Blockchain developer
Demand for blockchain talent is soaring, with attractive salaries to back it. According to TechCrunch, the demand ratio for job openings is 10:1, with ten representing the positions that need to be filled and one representing the blockchain developer applying for the post. Nick Szabo, the developer who coined “smart contracts,” notes an extremely high “dollar-to-knowledge” ratio in the blockchain space, where capital exceeds talent.
Upwork, the freelance talent marketplace, saw the demand for blockchain experts climb to the fastest-growing skill out of more than 5,000 skills in terms of freelancer billings – a year-over-year increase of more than 35,000%.
These skills are in demand:
- Hyperledger Fabric: This enterprise blockchain framework uses modularity and scalability to support changing business rules.
- Ripple: This payment protocol is used for distributed payments, exchanges, and remittances.
- Solidity: This blockchain platform allows intelligent contract development on the Ethereum network.
App developers
Mobile application developers continue to be in solid demand. App developers fluent in more than one programming language, such as Java, HTML5, Objective-C, C++, C#, Python, and Swift, along with UX and UI design skills, enjoy remarkable success in the financial sector.
Financial or business analysts/financial analysts study financial data to spot trends and make forecasts to assist with investment decisions.
Similarly, business analysts look at business strategy, models, processes and workflows, and IT systems to identify inefficiencies and unearth areas that can be improved in a company’s operations.
Product Manager
In the same way that fintech is synonymous with innovation, product managers must develop products by combining out-of-the-box thinking with customer empathy and unconventional techniques to drive business growth. Innovative growth should also be accessed through product development launches that other firms have adopted, integrating modern technology with best practices in fintech products.
Compliance expert
PH regulators focus more on compliance for technology startups, compelling fintech businesses to prioritize this. Fintech companies tend to chase product growth primarily, as is common with many venture-backed businesses. But finance is one of the economy’s most heavily regulated parts, leaving less room for creative interpretations of the rules – and a career opportunity for legal and compliance experts.”
Cybersecurity analyst
Cybercrime costs financial service organizations an average of $17 million per year, including the cost of prevention, which makes the appearance of cybersecurity analysts near the top of the high-demand list understandable. As cyberattacks become more sophisticated, so too the detection, prevention, and elimination of these through effective cybersecurity will become invaluable.
Data scientist
Data science is a multidisciplinary field that uses scientific methods, processes, algorithms, and systems to extract knowledge from data to make better decisions.
These professionals in fintech need to identify patterns and trends in data sets – often monumental – to solve business problems.
Data scientists take raw data, clean it, and then analyze it to harvest valuable information for financial service firms to predict an outcome.
They often have a talent mix of computer science, math, and statistics skills. Other science qualifications may also enter the field, particularly those with PhDs.
Quantitative analyst
Quantitative analysts are math, computing, and finance experts whose computing skills develop the algorithms that large investment banks and hedge funds need to manage the data-driving trading technology used to trade securities and analyze risk.
As big data grows, so will the demand for quantitative analysts, especially in fintech, to develop business models that will allow trading to be primarily automated.
Working in the Fintech space
Fintech companies are currently experiencing rapid growth, with the fintech industry expected to be worth $332.5 billion by 2028. This presents a unique opportunity for those looking to enter the field, as there is a growing demand for fintech talent across the globe.
These fintech startups offer a range of exciting opportunities in areas like engineering, product management, data science, operations, and marketing. Whether you are interested in joining a fintech startup or exploring fintech careers at larger companies, there are many exciting career paths to explore in this rapidly growing industry.
With the vast array of applications and deep penetration of fintech throughout the financial services sector, the potential career opportunities available are exciting for those with the prerequisite technical and non-technical skillset.
With these careers being lucrative and supply and demand still favoring the skilled applicant – a career in financial technology is well worth pursuing.