The industry pays well so is competitive to get into and succeed at.

Banking and Finance is a very large industry sector but typically suites people who are driven and thrive in a high stress, fast paced environment. Whatever your degree, educational or professional background the most important thing is to be dedicated, ready to learn and passionate about how you can contribute.

Banking jobs exist for all skill and experience levels. Types of banking jobs include:

Strong numeracy, analysis and skills with charts are essential for this role, as well as passion, energy and dedication.

Fund managers make investment decisions on behalf of others. They buy and sell shares, bonds and other assets in order to increase the value of their portfolio. Fund managers can work for independent companies, investment banks, pension funds, hedge funds and insurers or private individuals. Institutional fund managers usually handle far larger sums of money than fund managers investing on behalf of private clients and this is therefore generally seen as the more prestigious area of fund management. Private client fund managers deal with wealthy individuals.

This is an area that has seen massive growth during the last two decades particularly in London. Hedge funds are investment portfolios which seek to improve returns from a given level of risk or reduce risk for a given level of return. Originally regarded as ‘alternative investment’, hedge fund management has now become a mainstream investment method in its own right.

Sales people are the middlemen between traders and clients, taking orders and negotiating rates with clients on behalf of the traders. Hours are long, and those working in sales will spend a lot of time on the phone to clients, with whom they will often develop strong relationships.

Investment analysts develop particular areas of expertise. They research and analyse specific sectors in order to advise their colleagues in sales and trading departments about different markets, as well as sometimes creating new financial products.

Jobs in research are very meritocratic, which means that very quick promotion is possible. Graduate jobs in investment analysis generally start in the larger investment banks, but working for specific asset management companies is another possibility. Career progression can involve moving into areas like hedge fund management.

Client Advisers provide specialised services for wealthy individuals, such as portfolio management and estate planning. The most important aspects of the job are building and maintaining long-term relationships with clients, as well as keeping up to date on developments in the financial markets in order to understand and anticipate trends.

Risk management within banking is about the identification, assessment, prioritisation and management of risks that can arise in an industry that is in a constant state of trying to maximise profit.

There are many different types of risk within financial services and so this role can be extremely varied. Strong risk management is very important and overlooking this can be dangerous they are the financial safety team.

The financial services industry is highly regulated, with local and international laws and regulations invariably shaping business activities globally and domestically. Legal, compliance and risk management roles help to ensure that businesses and their staff remain compliant with the substantial amount of rules and regulations, as well as any contractual issues and internal business strategy. Compliance and legal specialists can operate in-house or on an outsourced basis. The compliance department makes sure that all company employees know the rules and regulations and abide by them.

Business security and the prevention of fraud are of ever-increasing importance in a world of cyber-attacks, identity theft and global criminals. Security and fraud teams offer intelligence gathering, investigation and incident management services and are often closely linked to operations and technology services. They look at fraud management, business continuity, cyber risk, insider risk and physical and people security. A large part of the role is relating technical issues to managers across the business, so communication skills are key, as well as discretion when dealing with sensitive issues. People in this area tend to be specialists with deep industry knowledge, so entry-level roles are not common.

Traditionally a back-office role, operations deal with the administration required after a trade has been made. If this area is not working effectively, there is potential to lose any capital generated by the trade.

Other roles include: