Hi guys, Haven’t posted here for a while but I’ve been lurking. I’ve been thinking about some alternative careers because I’ve been working in a front-office role and want a job that has a better work-life balance. So, obviously there are trade offs with jobs that have fewer working hours. I’m satisfied with lower pay as long as it’s not horrible. Anyways, here’s a couple that I’d like to know more about and I’d appreciate any comments from people who know more about them. First, commercial loan officers. Not really sure about this one: I think that PERSONAL loan officers have a largely sales job but it seems like commercial officers would have less of one since they are dealing with corporations and don’t have to scout for individual business so much. According to BLS the pay is between 60-100K, which isn’t bad. A related career: commercial insurance underwriter. The above applies here too. Next, jobs in risk management. This seems like more of a BO, non-client facing role, but one that is actually interesting. At least that’s the impression I get from my limited interaction with the risk management team at my bank. I’ve heard that pay is decent and I’m not sure about hours, but I’m guessing that they are okay. Also, there are jobs in risk outside of banking (which tends to be a pretty competitive industry) so if you want a better work-life balance you can go work at a smaller place. Obviously my knowledge of these careers is limited. I’m interested in other opinions or experience with any of theses careers. Also, how do you get in to these careers (what is the entry-level position)? I’ve started looking on a few sites for listings, and I have yet to find one that does not require 2-3 years of experience.
What do you define as a “better work-life balance”? 60 hours/week? 50?
What do you define as low pay? $100K or $35K? Being a commercial loan officer is still largely a sales job. You will still have revenue and profit targets to hit. Banks don’t hire bankers so they can maintain commercial relationships with clients. They need feet on the ground to get new clients and grow their business. So you can expect to spend a fair amount of time prospecting, calling, and attending business events. By the way, don’t call them loan officers. Forget loans, banks make much more money on deposits in this environment and that’s the name of the game now. Every banker I know is hustling and trying to steal deposit relationships.