Career in Banking (Conventional and Investment)
Banking is one of the most important career options among students (from any stream of education) because it is well paid, secure, and status career. Interested graduates from any subject can get entry into the Public sector Banks through an All India Examination conducted by various banks themselves. The emergence of technology-driven new private banks and the entry of Financial Institutions into the short-term lending business has created the requirement for more professionals. Now banks are playing a wider role in the securitization business, credit cards, consumer loans, and housing loans besides trading in gold and forex activities. Public sector Banks recruit mainly graduates for Clerical and Probationary Officer posts on the basis of the All India Level examination. However, professionals like engineers, doctors, technologists, lawyers, ex-defense officers, etc are recruited for senior positions through All India tests. Private sector/Foreign Banks prefer to take MBAs, CAs, CFAs, etc at junior positions through Campus recruitment and interviews. However, in senior positions, they opt for experienced bankers. Thus officers from Public sector Banks become the natural choice for such positions. Besides academic background banks generally look for good communication skills, good interpersonal skills, the ability to deal with customers, an alert nature, and basic knowledge of the industry. However to join foreign or private sector banks at higher than entry-level one needs specialization in some specific areas like project analysis, credit appraisal skills, managing huge loan portfolios, and foreign exchange. Good computer knowledge can be an asset to one’s career in the banking industry.
Besides these conventional banking jobs, one can also make a career in the banking industry as an Investment banker. An Investment Banker is a person who helps an organization raise its funds, by going through a study of the market trends, the risk involved in investments, and the prevalent economic conditions. An investment banker provides a wide range of services including endorsing securities, trading stock and bonds, facilitating mergers and acquisitions, maintaining broker-dealer operations, and providing financial guidance regarding the pricing of securities, and issuing and placement of stocks. The job requires detailed research work prior to any investment. Dedication, commitment, hard work, and devotion are necessary to excel in this field. A proficient investment banker can fetch high returns for the company. One has to be enthusiastic, passionate, proactive, and a quick decision-maker and should be able to handle difficult circumstances with ease, to become a good investment banker. Banks are always in need of skilled investment bankers, who can contribute more to the growth of the organization. With globalization, the scope of investment banking has widened. Numerous opportunities are waiting for specialists in this field.
Pay Scales and Remuneration
Most Public sector bank clerks can get around Rs. 30,000 - Rs. 35,000 while officers can begin in the Rs. 50,000 - Rs. 70,000 per month scale. Professionals like MBAs, CAs, and CFAs recruited by public sector banks can have higher salaries. But some professionals recruited by private and foreign banks are given pay packages to the extent of about Rs. 60,000 - Rs. 80,000 a month.
As far as investment banking is concerned a beginner can earn anywhere between Rs.40,000-Rs.50,000 per month, in the field of investment banking. With experience, an investment banker can get a higher salary package.
Course Details and Institutes offering Courses for Investment Banking
Courses in the field of investment banking are conducted at undergraduate as well as postgraduate levels, in the field of investment banking. Diploma and certificate courses are also offered by some institutes. The minimum qualification for an undergraduate program in investment banking is 10+2. For post-graduation, one has to be a graduate in the relevant field. Workshops are conducted by many institutions. Several institutions are now offering training and education in this field. Some of the prominent institutes are
- Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India University (ICFAI) (Tripura)
- The Society of Certified Investment Bankers, (Hyderabad)
Career in the Insurance Sector
Globalization and liberalization of the Indian insurance industry in the early twenties opened the gates for unprecedented growth with the active participation of both public - Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), General Insurance Corporation (GIC), and Postal Life Insurance - and private- Om Kotak Mahindra, Birla Sun-Life, Tata AIF Life, Reliance, HDFC Standard Life-Insurance Co., Max New York Life, Royal Sundaram, Cholamandalam, IFFCO Tokyo and Tata AIG - operates in the field of life and commodity insurance business. Owning to its exponential growth in a few years this sector is not only able to provide protection to the lives and assets of the nation but also helping to generate thousands of job opportunities for the young and energetic youths of the nation. To make a career in the insurance sector the aspirants have to pass the entrance examination conducted by the Actuarial Society of India, Mumbai. Students with minimum qualification as 10+2 or equivalent are eligible to take this test. The Insurance Institute of India conducts Licentiate, Associateship, and Fellowship plus other training programs for insurance services. One can obtain a License after going through this training to work in this field.
Post-graduates in any discipline can be recruited as Assistant Administrative Officers whereas Graduates can apply for the post of Development Officer in insurance companies. Besides this, the people who are certified by the Actuarial Society of India can work as insurance agents having a good chance of becoming an employee of the company of their good work in the field.
Insurance agencies also employ independent professionals like Mechanical Engineers and Doctors as Insurance surveyors to access the actual loss and avoid the false claim made by the insured. The post of Assistants, Typists, Machine Operators, Stenographers, Telephone Operators, Clerks, etc. are open to graduates and 10+2 aged between 18 to 25 years.
Pay Scales and other Remunerations in the Insurance Industry
The pay scale in the government sector insurance companies is as per government rules depending on each position. However, in the private sector, pay packages are more lucrative, especially for management graduates working in the areas of marketing and sales with an initial salary ranging from Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 40,000 per month. Whereas commissions are the most common form of compensation given provided to insurance agents. Earnings of Surveyors depend upon the nature of work and assignments.
List of Institutes offering Courses required to enter the Insurance Sector.
- Actuarial Society of India, Mumbai
- Amity School of Insurance and Actuarial Science, Noida
- Birla Institute of Management & Technology, New Delhi
- College Of Insurance, Mumbai
- Institute of Insurance & Risk Management, Hyderabad
- International Institute for Insurance and Finance, Hyderabad
- International School of Actuarial Sciences (ISAS), Hyderabad
- National Insurance Academy, Pune
- The ICFAI School of Finance and Management, Hyderabad to name a few of them
Career in Capital market
The liberalized Indian economy has opened up the capital markets for domestic as well as foreign investors. The heavy flow of capital into the capital markets, especially by big domestic players and (Foreign Institutional Investors) FII’s and its steady growth, has created a lot of employment opportunities in this sector. Capital markets comprise Stock exchanges and Mutual funds. The Mutual Fund industry is playing an active role in the capital market today and is one of the fastest-growing industries. Job in capital markets is well suited to people from commerce and economic background. However interested candidates from any stream can pursue a career in the Capital Market. The minimum mandatory qualification specified by SEBI is an NSE's Certification in Financial Markets (NCFM). National Stock Exchange (NSE) has a facility for testing and certification by launching NSE's Certification in Financial Markets (NCFM) - an online testing system - the only one of its kind.
SEBI has made it mandatory for any entity/person engaged in marketing and selling mutual fund products to pass the AMFI certification test (Advisors Module) and obtain a registration number from AMFI. This certification remains valid for 5 years from the date of the test.
Graduates having the AMFI certification can work as Business Development Managers / Relationship Managers / Advisors for the marketing and distribution of the mutual fund schemes. Relationship Managers / Advisors assist investors in their financial planning by recommending the ideal investment portfolio and building a customer relationship. Likewise, graduates having NCFM certification can work as an Assistant to a stockbroker or become independent stockbrokers.
Graduates also can choose to be agents/advisors/distributors and sell various schemes launched by mutual funds. Besides highly qualified professionals from Commerce, Economics, Finance, Mathematics, and Management background are required as Fund Manager or Portfolio Manager who decides about the investment of the fund's underlying securities (money received from investors for investment), realizing capital gains or losses, and collects the dividend or interest income. There are also wide job opportunities in capital markets for Chartered Accountants, MBA Finance, Financial Analysts, Economics Masters, and Statistics Masters. Besides people with a deeper knowledge of the working of capital markets can choose consultancy as a good option.
Pay scales and other Remunerations in Capital Market
The capital market is a lucrative field for the younger generation because it is highly remunerative. The income of share market brokers and mutual funds agents depends upon the number and type of schemes they sold to customers. But it can be expected that they can easily earn Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh annually. The remuneration of highly qualified professionals is, even more, dependent upon the nature of the company they work with. The expected salary of CAs, MBAs, and CFAs can be between Rs 3 lakh to Rs 6 lakh. Private finance planners/advisors are earning good returns out of their consultancy service in capital markets.
List of Institutes offering Courses required to enter the Investment Sector.
The Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) is the only institute in India that offers certificate courses in mutual funds. SEBI has made it mandatory for persons or entities associated with mutual fund industries to obtain a certificate and registration number from AMFI.
