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Business Operations

Financial Manager

Plan, direct, or coordinate accounting, investing, banking, insurance, securities, and other financial activities of a branch, office, or department of an establishment.

Annual openings

1,197

Median wage

$182,690

Typical education

A minimum of a Bachelor's degree plus work experience

Growth 2026–2032

+15%

Median wage source: Colorado BLS OEWS (2025).

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Career requirements

What does this career require?

Explore education, required qualifications, voluntary credentials and employer preferences for this role. Check the details to see which apply.

Typical education

A minimum of a Bachelor's degree plus work experience

Credential requirement

No certification is required for this job.

Work experience

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. Work experience as a Supervisor is highly valued.

Employer competency information

Feedback from employers identifies the following competencies as being critical to support a successful move up to the Manager level

  • Planning & Organizing — Plan and organize the successful completion of tasks and projects for multiple teams; set expectations for team members and hold them accountable.
  • Personnel & Human Resources and Interpersonal Skills — Understand behaviors (Psychology) of team members; motivate, empower and get a diverse team to work well together; lead and manage staff; deal with others with fairness and integrity; and hire and fill skills gaps effectively.
  • Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, & Decision Making — Continue to elevate these skills for use in activities that cross teams, including strategic thinking and vision setting across an organization.
This was identified by Glassdoor as one of the 15 best jobs in America for 2018.
This job is important for the growth of the renewables industry and is a “green job” when you work for an organization supporting that industry, or other green industries.
There are many different leadership levels at financial institutions, such as Assistant Branch Manager, Branch Manager, as well as leadership opportunities across many local offices.

Is this work a fit?

What the work actually feels like

How people in this career tend to spend their time, the interests it draws on, and a look at a typical day.

Automation exposure

Low exposure

Tasks here lean on judgement and people skills that are hard to automate.

A typical day

  1. Establish and maintain relationships with individual or business customers or provide assistance with problems these customers may encounter.
  2. Plan, direct, or coordinate the activities of workers in branches, offices, or departments of establishments, such as branch banks, brokerage firms, risk and insurance departments, or credit departments.
  3. Oversee training programs.
  4. Oversee the flow of cash or financial instruments.
  5. Recruit staff members.
  6. Evaluate data pertaining to costs to plan budgets.
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