Many people are interested in having a banking & credit union career. There are many opportunities available to those who work in the banking sector, ranging anywhere from entry-level to high upper management. Working in the banking sector also means working in a consistent field and a reliable source of work and well-paid jobs.

Credit unions and banks have a variety of services and financial products available for consumers. The people that are employed within these banks and credit unions manage money transactions every day. These people are trusted to access customers’ accounts, loan money, and much more.

Having a banking & credit union career provides you with many skills that can be used in different areas of the banking sector. Here we’re talking about banking & credit union career great jobs, or too boring?

Banking Career

Banks can also be huge multi-national financial institutions that handle millions of transactions daily. Large financial institutions and credit unions offer various options for the person seeking a position in a financial institution, with vast opportunities for passion, teamwork, initiative and trust, advancement, and promotion within the large departments of the company.

Advantages of Careers in Banking

There are many advantages to these careers. A position in banking is a good fit for a person who enjoys working with both numbers and the public. Working directly with the public can be both stimulating and exciting, but it takes a special person with a patient temperament. Working with the public can be difficult at times, but it can also be very rewarding. If you like numbers and accounting, but maybe don’t especially like working with the public, you might enjoy being an actuary. If you like working with people and counting money but don’t like a lot of responsibility and don’t like research, you might enjoy being a bank teller or a mortgage broker.

• Most retail banks, with a few exceptions, offer daily shift times and allow most employees to enjoy free time on weekends, evenings, and holidays. Usually, credit unions and banks are rarely open on holidays, but some call centers and retail banks, particularly those located inside a grocery store or department store, are frequently open on weekends and some evenings. The advantage for professionals who choose banking is that they can frequently choose to go to work for a bank with a schedule that will fit the needs of their personal life.
• Most banks have excellent benefit packages, offering medical, dental, and life insurance benefits as well as retirement plan options and personal or sick leave days and vacation benefits. Offices are always clean and pleasant, heated or air-conditioned, since personal comfort, both for the employee as well as for the customer, is of utmost importance. Banks are required to be regularly examined and audited and must follow many regulations and procedural rules and fair trade practices, making a bank or a regulatory agency a highly supervised and safe environment for all employees.
• Banking institutions offer many opportunities for advancement, and many banks will even pay for or reimburse the talented employee for continuing education courses, as well as courses toward a college degree, with some requirements. Banks and banking regulatory agencies offer many opportunities for advancement for ambitious professionals. A skilled and knowledgeable banking professional will be in demand for promotions both within his or her bank depending on the bank’s size, as well as in other competing banks with similar departments. Banking is an industry that is not projected to go away in the near or far future–far from it. With the growing economy in many developing countries as well as our own, and with the continuous population growth, there will continue to be a growing need for banks to hold and loan money, to make monetary transactions, and to keep hiring people.

Disadvantages of Bank Careers

One of the biggest disadvantages of bank careers is that serving the public can often be extremely stressful. Money issues are sensitive topics for most people, and customers can be quite rude and may become irate if the transaction is not correct or not handled perfectly to their satisfaction. The finance industry markets itself as dynamic and innovative a banking professional must be willing to work tactfully and carefully with a bank’s customers and must be able to confidently and correctly handle all banking transactions.

• To work in the banking industry, the professional must be good with numbers, cash, and money, and must be able to be patient and diligent in the accounting duties.
• This is not a career for someone casual with finances. The professional must be willing to take the responsibility of large amounts of money and must be able to carefully account for all the monies under his or her care.
• This is also not a career for someone who dislikes using the computer or an adding machine – nor is it a career for someone who hates to balance a checkbook.
• While there is a myriad of possible career choices in banking, they all center around two things: money, and the accounting of money.

Credit Unions

A type of bank that operates as a not-for-profit, tax-exempt, cooperative financial institution owned by the credit union’s depositors, or members. Depositors must be members of a designated group of people, such as military personnel, active or retired employees of a school district or a city or county, members of a labor union or employees of a large company, or members of a religious group. Family members of such depositors can also be considered members of a credit union. A member of one of these groups must join the credit union first before being able to open an account or borrow money.

Credit unions offer similar services to their members, or shareholders, as do banks, but the services are usually titled a bit differently: savings accounts are share accounts, checking accounts are share draft accounts, and so on. Credit unions also offer loans, credit cards, debit cards, ATM services, online banking, and bill paying services. Bank careers in a credit union are similar to a retail and/or a commercial bank, including credit union officer, loan officers, credit analysts, information technology professionals, and so on.

As credit unions are member services institutions, they are not regulated by any of the banking oversight regulators. However, this does not mean in any way that they are not as large nor as well-financed as many national banks. A credit union, by definition, is formed to service the member shareholders, and therefore, is said to be committed to helping the members’ financial status, rather than to simply reap profits. Credit unions often advertise that their interest charged on loans is lower than banks and that their service charges for share or draft accounts are also lower, due to their not-for-profit status and their member focus.

Final Thoughts

Banking & Credit Union Career: Great Jobs, Or Too Boring?

This is a question that will fetch you divergent answers. Some will say it is boring while others will say it is interesting. Depends on who you ask this question. What if someone says it’s boring? Are you going to stop applying to banks and deprive yourself of an opportunity for a great career? 

It all depends on the individuals. Let not others’ opinions cloud your thinking. Go with a positive attitude, learn and explore, experience yourself, perform well and build a career that you want it. I would say it is a fascinating world in banking & credit union career there is so much to learn and a good for career progression too.