FinTech is a portmanteau of finance and tech and it's where the two areas meet. While tech has been used in finance for a long time, more recently, this term is used to talk about a specific industry that mainly focuses on four key areas.
These key areas are referred to as ABCD: AI, Blockchain, Cloud Computing, and Big Data, with the last one taking the “D” from data, of course.
As with any relatively young industry, there will be people interested in finding work in it and people nervous about its future and whether or not it's an area worth specialising in.
Different people will prioritise different reasons, but here are a few good reasons to work in FinTech to give you some food for thought about the industry and whether or not it's a good fit for you.
Career Development
The FinTech industry in Australia offers excellent options for people looking to further their careers. You're less likely to end up stuck in a “dead-end job” in FinTech as it's a new and forward-facing industry that is regularly looking to innovate with new trends, technology, and financial services constantly providing the sector with growth.
The industry is expected to grow and there are lots of ways to move up or even laterally. There are also regularly related opportunities or new skills to learn to help further your career.
This all makes FinTech a great sector to work in if you're driven and constantly looking to move forwards in your work.
Furthermore, there are plenty of companies looking to upskill their employees and will actively seek to provide you with new skills and opportunities through training programmes, etc. to ensure that they stay on top of the trends and ahead of the market.
Exciting Startup Opportunities
Depending on how averse you are to risk, you may be excited or nervous about the prospect of startups. Some would prefer to work for an established company with a proven track record whereas others relish getting in on the ground floor and working for a company that looks like it's going places.
Startups are a good fit for creative people, too, as they require innovation and flexibility, especially when it comes to how people work and even how the startup itself operates.
The culture around startups is healthier than in other industries, though, so FinTech startups aren't usually as risky, which means you can enjoy the excitement of a startup with the security of many of them being backed by big players in finance, for example.
With the lateral mobility and career development available in FinTech, it also means that you can quite simply pivot or shift to other projects or startups if it doesn't quite work out.
Gain Valuable Experience
The FinTech industry is a great way to gain experience, especially given how varied the work can be as it includes everything from traditional financial services using big data to cryptocurrencies and the blockchain.
For finance professionals, it's an opportunity to be involved with cutting-edge technology, experience new technology, and make the most of some very lucrative opportunities.
For IT and tech professionals, it's a way to break into the world of finance, which comes with more opportunities and an average higher salary than many other industries. It doesn't hurt to study FinTech at university, either.
The whole industry is new, exciting, and collaborative. Employees are regularly encouraged to learn from different departments and teams and any time spent working in FinTech will be useful for improving your job prospects in other sectors, too.
Even if you don't stay in FinTech, your time there will be valued by employers.
High Job Security
Growth in FinTech has been huge and a lot of FinTech jobs come with excellent job security. Even with newer FinTech companies, you can benefit from improved job security just by being one of the first employees or one of the most senior employees.
For a lot of FinTech jobs, there are more vacancies than there are potential employees so it's unlikely that there's even somebody out there to replace you. In blockchain development, for example, there are an estimated 10 positions for every blockchain developer.
The prospects for the industry look good, too, so positions are likely to be created rather than removed. Most FinTech professionals are likely to end up with more colleagues rather than fewer and even startups are backed by big financial players like banks and other financial services companies.
Lots of Job Opportunities
Job security in FinTech is partly due to the sheer number of positions and vacancies. There are so many excellent FinTech positions and an increasing number of them.
Common careers can include everything from business operations to app development and every part of creating financial products using AI, blockchain, cloud computing, or big data.
A lot of the best FinTech jobs also include a lot of overlapping skills so somebody with programming skills, for example, would be more than capable of working in many different roles in a FinTech firm.
The same is true on the business side of things with FinTech firms looking for business, finance, and accounting professionals.
Combine this with the opportunities to learn on the job and develop new skills and you have an industry where employees have the potential to fill a lot of different roles (and there are a lot of them) and progress.
The forecast for the industry also looks excellent so while there are lots of job opportunities now, there are going to be even more in the future!
New Career Opportunities
Speaking of career opportunities in the future, one of the most exciting reasons to work in FinTech is that we can't even begin to imagine what kinds of jobs there'll be in the future.
At the cutting edge of technology, FinTech will likely have jobs and careers that don't exist yet and anybody interested in being an industry trailblazer would do well to get their foot in the door as soon as they can. There are lots of roles in FinTech that didn't exist ten years ago or were just in their infancy and who knows what jobs there'll be five or ten years into the future.
By working in FinTech today, you could secure your job for one of these exciting career prospects in the future.
Work Across Different Projects
The FinTech industry moves fast and while there'll often be positions for app developers, blockchain developers, business or financial analysts, and marketing specialists, for example, the projects these individuals are working on could change regularly.
Products and services in FinTech need to stay ahead of the competition and the market and whether that's through updating or optimising current offerings or creating new ones, employees will have opportunities to work on several different projects throughout their careers.
To keep employees driven and excited about their work, it's also quite common for them to be moved onto different projects so that they can offer a fresh perspective and maybe even renewed energy.
FinTech is a dynamic industry that needs dynamic individuals and changing things up is all part of the game, especially for the driven and dynamic individuals that FinTech often looks for.
Work in an Ever-changing Industry
It's not just the projects that can change, the whole industry can change. To be at the forefront, you often have to change what you're doing, after all.
The big thing today won't necessarily be what people will be investing in tomorrow and even the biggest FinTech companies in Australia are regularly challenged with the daunting and exciting task of keeping on top of market trends and getting products and services to market before anyone else does.
The whole landscape can change and for many employees, this can be an exciting part of working in FinTech.
For some, however, this could be considered a downside of FinTech and a reason to stay away from it, though it should be mentioned that while the landscape may change, the prospects for FinTech are excellent.
Work in Companies with High Profits
Money is probably one of the biggest reasons to get involved with FinTech. The industry is looking to grow massively in the coming years and the companies involved are already making astonishing amounts of money.
While this doesn't mean that you'll automatically get this money, the more lucrative an industry is, the more talented employees can expect to be paid.
A lot of the jobs in FinTech require experienced and qualified employees with a good education so they already command a premium salary, but working in FinTech can also ensure that employees are well-paid.
FinTech is an exciting and well-paying industry with a lot of opportunities across a broad range of positions. The forecasts for the entire industry are looking good and there are already more positions than there are people to fill them.
For driven individuals looking for an interesting career, FinTech will offer a challenge, job security, lots of options, and good money.
It mightn't be for everyone, but it will soon likely be a good choice for a lot of people.
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