Is it smart to start your business career in a bank?
Asked by mayerj72
What is great about starting your career in a bank? What are the opportunities and to what positions can your work lead to?

Best Answer:
The following is an extract from the website http://sify.com/news, under the caption of "Secure your future with a banking career"(29-12-2004) "A career in the banks has always been a sought-after one. Fascination with banking services has never been higher than at present. With the advent of private and foreign banks, the interest of youth in joining banks has only increased further. Another notable factor has also been the pay package which has fattened considerably with the coming of these banks. Banks have changed their role considerably from being just caretakers of individuals' money to becoming providers of a wide range of services. These financial institutions are going through a sea change to narrow the gap between the lender and the provider, and the net has only made the process much smoother. Openings are available at various levels: from bank clerks to probationary officers (PO). The best features of the job are security and good salary, besides the prospects of loans for employees. The good thing for the job-seekers in this field are that demand for trained professionals has increased substantially. The latter is true for private banks, which offer better salaries but correspondingly less job security. As the industry is growing there is no dearth of opportunities. In nationalised banks, one can expect regular promotions while in private banks it is performance that is rewarded. But it is not necessary to be a banking professional only to get into banks. One reason to be excited about banking as a career is the rapid change taking place. The jobs are becoming comfortable, as the physical environment is pleasing and computerisation has taken the load off tedious jobs. As competition increases, a good banker will certainly be in great demand. It must be remembered that a banking job involves working long hours"
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13638662
Answered by V.T.V.RAM

Banking positions are NOT the most lucrative places to start work but they may offer unique opportunities. I started in a medium sized bank quite some time ago and think that it was a lucky move on my part even though I didn't want banking as my ultimate career. I was hired as a management trainee and got a chance to learn all of the entry level jobs at a bank. Teller, Proof Operator, new accounts person... you name it I did it, at first under supervision and then independently. I also spent a good deal of time in the bank's commercial loan department doing credit analysis work on the companies applying for loans. THAT was particularly useful in that you were responsible for looking at a company's income statements and balance sheets and determining whether it was safe to lend them money or not. Doing that reinforced everything I learned in school about what makes for a sucessful going concern. It also brought me in contact with a number of sucessful business owners and some not so sucessful ones. I learned from those encounters as well. While I later changed careers, it's frequently been helpful to really understand what makes firms sucessful. Particularly now that I'm investing my own money and evaluating stocks using many of the same tools I learned years ago at the bank. If you stay in banking, there are retail jobs such as branch management, installment lending, etc. There are commercial jobs such as business development, credit analysis, & commercial lending to name but a few. Money center banks also have curreny trading positions. Also there are any number of infrastructural jobs in banking. Accountants are needed to keep the bank's books and do audits. Investment analysts are needed to employ the funds accumulated by banks that are not loaned out directly. This should be enough to get you started.
Answered by havan_ironoak