• Finance and economics careers can be demanding, but they are rewarding.money image by cherie from Fotolia.com
  
  Finance specialists and economists help organizations maximize profitability, control investment objectives and increase revenues and market share. They also may advise regulatory agencies, government entities and non-profits on risk hedging strategies, financing alternatives, adequate capital structure models and tax planning. These experts also could teach or conduct research at universities.
  
  

Traders

• Traders use firms' capital to invest on securities exchanges or trade on clients' behalf. Trading with firms' funds is referred to as proprietary trading; gains made or losses incurred in proprietary transactions are recorded in corporate investment income data. These market specialists work with traders' assistants to identify, appraise and price investments by building and applying complex statistical methodologies. For example, a trader's assistant might use math to value volatility arbitrage in put options and recommend a "buy" or "sell" to portfolio managers and proprietary traders.
  
  

Investment Bankers

• Investment bankers help for-profit and non-profit organizations expand business operations, raise financing for short- or long-term investments and assess capital structure constraints. These specialists advise clients on merger and acquisition (M&A) deals, initial public offerings, debt restructuring, stock or bond issuance and investment tactics. Finance and economics specialists apply their business expertise to detect market trends and recommend solutions to clients. For example, an investment banker might recommend issuing bonds on Tokyo Stock Exchange, instead of New York Stock Exchange, if interest rates are lower in Japan.
  
  

Teachers

• Financial specialists and economists may teach and conduct research at universities or institutions of advanced learning. Such institutions could be think tanks, research institutions or government-funded entities. These experts publish reports and articles on topics related to their fields of research. Doctorate degrees are usually required to teach economics or finance.
  
  

Consultants

• Consultants help organizations improve internal policies and guidelines, operating requirements and capital structure needs. Finance and economics consultants may be university professors, retired industry experts or specialists working for business consulting firms. Consultants, such as academic researchers, may be hired by organizations, regulatory bodies or government agencies to aid in drafting new legislation. For instance, a professor specializing in banking anti-trust law might be hired by the United States Justice Department's anti-trust division to assist in recommending new collusion rules.
  
  

Wealth Managers

• Wealth managers work with asset managers to accumulate or preserve wealth. Asset managers may be pension funds, university endowments or foundations. They also may be high-net-worth individuals or families. Wealth managers--also called private bankers or personal financial advisers--are business experts who evaluate clients' financial data and recommend investment objectives and risk tolerance levels. For instance, a wealth manager might recommend low-risk securities to a firefighters' retirement fund manager after evaluating the fund's finances and risk profile.