Breaking Into Finance: Skills, Career Paths, and How to Get Started with CFI

Starting Your Finance Career Journey

Finance offers a wide range of career paths but figuring out where to start can feel overwhelming. Should you pursue corporate finance, investment banking, FinTech, or asset management? Each area requires different skills and expertise, making it difficult to know which direction is right for you.

The key to success? Building the right skills early and understanding how different finance careers connect. That’s where structured learning and career guidance can make all the difference.

At CFI (Corporate Finance Institute), we help early-career professionals gain the skills they need to break into finance with confidence. Whether you’re looking to become a financial analyst, work in banking or investments, or lead finance teams, our courses provide job-ready training to help you take the first step.

Explore Career Paths with Confidence

Finance careers span corporate finance, banking, financial services, and investments — but how do they fit together?

CFI’s Career Map simplifies the landscape by breaking finance careers into three key areas:

• Corporate Finance: Finance roles within corporations, such as FP&A, treasury, and complementary roles in business intelligence.
• Banking & Financial Services: Careers in commercial banking, investment banking, and capital markets, providing financial products and advisory services.
• Investment & Asset Management: Roles focused on managing investments, including private equity, hedge funds, and private wealth management for individuals or families.

By understanding these career tracks, you can make more strategic choices about where to focus your learning and which skills will open doors in your desired field.

Learn Core and Advanced Finance Skills

Breaking into finance starts with mastering core technical and analytical skills that professionals use every day. Whether you’re building financial models, analyzing a company’s financial health, or managing budgets, developing these skills will give you a strong foundation for your career.

Excel Proficiency

Excel is at the core of nearly every finance role, but today’s professionals also leverage advanced tools to streamline their work.

• Excel proficiency is essential for financial modeling, budgeting, and data analysis.
• Power Query automates data transformation, reducing manual work.
• Power BI helps visualize financial and operational data for better decision-making.
• SQL enables finance professionals to work with large datasets.

Where you’ll use it: FP&A, business intelligence, commercial banking, and equity research.

Financial Modeling

Financial modeling is a critical skill for professionals in FP&A, investment banking, and private equity. Models are used to project financial performance, assess risks, and support decision making.

• Building dynamic financial models for forecasting, budgeting, and performance analysis.
• Scenario analysis and sensitivity testing to evaluate different financial outcomes.
• Leveraging financial models for M&A analysis, capital structure decisions, and business planning.

Where you’ll use it: FP&A, investment banking, and private equity.

Learn how to build expert-level financial models. CFI’s Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA®) Certification equips you with best-in-class modeling and valuation techniques. 

Aiming for a career in FP&A? CFI’s FP&A Specialization provides expert training in the financial modeling, budgeting, forecasting, and analysis skills you need to excel in the field.

Valuation

Valuation skills are essential for professionals in investment banking, private equity, and equity research. Analysts use valuation techniques to assess investment opportunities, acquisitions, and corporate value.

• Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis to estimate intrinsic company value.
• Comparable company and precedent transaction analysis to benchmark businesses against peers.
• Accretion/dilution analysis to measure the financial impact of mergers and acquisitions.
• Leveraged buyout (LBO) modeling to evaluate private equity transactions.

Where you’ll use it: Investment banking, private equity, and equity research.

Master valuation techniques for dealmaking. CFI’s Investment Banking & Private Equity Modeling Specialization teaches advanced financial modeling for M&A and leveraged buyouts (LBOs) and valuation techniques like discounted cash flow (DCF).

Business Intelligence

As finance becomes increasingly data-driven, business intelligence tools help professionals transform raw data into actionable insights.

• Automating financial data processes with Power Query and SQL.
• Visualizing trends and performance metrics with Power BI.
• Building real-time dashboards and data visualizations to support financial decision making.

Where you’ll use it: Business intelligence, FP&A, and corporate strategy.

Develop hands-on business intelligence skills. CFI’s Business Intelligence & Data Analyst (BIDA®) Certification teaches Power BI, SQL, and Power Query automation techniques for finance professionals.

Mastering These Skills with CFI

Each of these skills plays a crucial role in real-world finance careers. By building expertise in Excel, financial modeling, valuation, and business intelligence, you’ll be prepared for opportunities across corporate finance, banking, and investment management.

CFI’s structured training programs help you develop these job-ready skills through interactive courses, case studies, and expert-led instruction. But learning these skills is just one part of the journey — knowing how to apply them in real-world business scenarios is what truly makes a difference.

Apply Theory in Real-World Scenarios

Finance professionals use data to guide business strategy, secure funding, and assess financial risks. Strong analytical skills help companies make informed decisions at every stage — from early growth to IPOs and acquisitions.

CFI’s Careers in Finance course uses Tesla’s growth story to show how finance professionals support a company at different stages. Separately, CFI’s Career Map provides a structured overview of how these roles fit into the broader finance ecosystem. 

Key moments in Tesla’s journey highlight how finance careers play a role at every stage:

• Startup Phase: Business banking and venture capital provide initial funding (Business Banking, Venture Capital).
• Scaling Up: Securing loans and financing for expansion (Commercial Banking).
• Going Public: IPO preparation and execution (Investment Banking – Equity Capital Markets).
• Managing Risk & Strategy: FP&A and market risk teams ensure financial stability (FP&A, Market Risk).

This practical approach helps you connect finance skills to real-world business challenges. It also shows what finance is really about — making decisions that drive business success.

Staying Competitive in a Changing Finance Landscape

Finance careers are evolving. Traditional skills like Excel, financial modeling, and valuation remain essential. But technology, sustainability, and data-driven decision making are transforming the industry. To stay competitive, finance professionals must adapt to emerging tools and trends.

Three major forces — AI, FinTech, and ESG — are redefining finance roles. AI enhances core finance functions like financial analysis and automates data processing. FinTech is reshaping financial services with AI-driven platforms and blockchain technology, while ESG is changing how businesses and investors assess risk and long-term value.

Developing expertise in these areas will open new career opportunities and keep you ahead in a rapidly changing job market.

Next Steps: Building Your Finance Career with CFI

Breaking into finance requires the right skills and a clear career strategy. CFI’s courses provide step-by-step learning paths to help you:

• Explore finance career options with structured guidance.
• Develop job-ready skills in financial modeling, valuation, Excel, and more.
• Gain real-world experience through practical case studies and industry-relevant training.

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to specialize, CFI offers the training and resources you need to take the next step.

Ready to launch your finance career? Explore CFI’s dynamic course catalog and industry-recognized certifications and start building the skills that will set you apart.

Additional Resources

AI Tools for Finance: ChatGPT vs. Claude vs. Gemini

Navigating Career Growth in Finance: Lessons from Tesla

Business Intelligence in FP&A: A New Era of Financial Planning and Analysis

See all Career resources