Part of our series What does a ___ actually do?, plain-English guides to the careers students ask us about most.
A financial analyst works out what something is worth and whether it is a good place to put money: a company’s shares, a bond, a new factory, or a whole industry. They read company accounts, build spreadsheet models of future profits, follow the news that moves markets, and write a recommendation that someone else uses to decide where millions of dollars go.
What the job involves
Researching how companies are performing, starting with their published accounts.
Building financial models that forecast profits and test “what if” scenarios.
Working out what a company, share or bond is worth.
Following political and economic news, such as interest rates and oil prices, and judging its effect on investments.
Writing reports and presenting recommendations to fund managers, clients or company leaders.
Finding new investment opportunities.
Making sure everything meets strict financial regulations.
A typical day
An analyst covering Gulf banks might start at 7:30, before the market opens, reading overnight news and a central bank announcement on interest rates. One of the banks they follow publishes its quarterly results at 9:00, so the morning goes into updating their spreadsheet: loans grew faster than expected, but so did bad debts. By early afternoon they have rewritten their profit forecast and drafted a two-page note explaining whether the shares now look cheap or expensive. Late in the day they talk it through with the fund manager, who asks hard questions about every assumption.
Where they work
Financial analysts work in investment banks, asset managers, pension and sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, and the finance teams of ordinary companies. In the Gulf, that includes sovereign wealth funds, banks and the investment firms around the region’s stock exchanges. The work is office-based. In the UK, investment analysts typically work 37 to 40 hours a week, with evening or weekend work around results season and travel to meet companies.
Is it a good fit for you?
This career mixes three interest types. It is Conventional (precise work with numbers and rules), Enterprising (persuading and advising people about money) and Investigative (digging into data to find answers). It could suit you if:
You are comfortable with maths and enjoy using spreadsheets.
You follow business news, or would like to.
You can make a decision with incomplete information and defend it.
You notice small mistakes, because one wrong cell can change a recommendation.
Analysts use Excel heavily, along with tools such as Power BI, Tableau and SQL for larger datasets.
How to become a financial analyst
Stage | What it involves |
|---|---|
Degree | Finance, economics, maths, accounting or business are most useful. In the UK most degree subjects are accepted, but employers usually ask for at least an upper-second-class degree. |
First job | Graduate schemes at banks and investment firms. Internships or a placement year during your degree make a big difference. |
Professional qualification | The CFA Program: three exams, usually taken over 3 to 4 years while working, with about 300 hours of study per level. To use the CFA charter you also need 4,000 hours of relevant work experience. |
You can start the CFA Program as an undergraduate, as long as your first exam is within 23 months of graduating. In the UK there are also apprenticeships, such as the Investment Operations Specialist (Level 4).
Where to study in the GCC
Several finance degrees in the region are linked to the CFA syllabus. Details are from each university’s official page.
University | Programme | What the university states |
|---|---|---|
BS in Business Administration, Finance major | CFA Institute partnership; school accredited by AACSB since 2011 | |
MA Business and Finance | 3 to 4 years; affiliated with the CFA Institute | |
Bachelor of Business Administration, Finance major | 4 years, 123 credit hours | |
Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance | 4 years; recognised by AACSB | |
KFUPM, Saudi Arabia | BS in Finance | 4 years plus a preparatory year; business school accredited by AACSB since 2002 |
UAE University, Al Ain | Bachelor of Finance and Banking | At least 120 credit hours |
Top universities worldwide
Looking beyond the Gulf? These are the top eight for accounting and finance in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026.
Rank | University | Country |
|---|---|---|
1 | Harvard University | United States |
2 | Stanford University | United States |
3 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | United States |
4 | University of Oxford | United Kingdom |
5 | University of Chicago | United States |
6 | University of Pennsylvania | United States |
7 | University of Cambridge | United Kingdom |
8 | The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) | United Kingdom |
Harvard and Stanford teach finance mainly in their business schools, at graduate level. For a first degree there, look at economics. Rankings mostly reflect research reputation, so read them alongside the course details.
What financial analysts earn
From official government wage statistics, converted to US dollars and rounded:
Country | Lower end | Upper end |
|---|---|---|
United States | $64,000 | $181,000 |
United Kingdom | $38,000 | $100,000 |
Canada | $41,000 | $106,000 |
The lower end is the 10th percentile of earners. The upper end is the 90th percentile in the US and Canada and the 80th in the UK, the highest UK figure available. No GCC government publishes pay by job title, so we don’t show regional figures.
Try it now
Try a finance internship online. A Learning Lab’s Finance and Venture Capital Virtual Internship covers investing, valuation and financial analysis through real projects.
Interested in where finance meets tech? The FinTech Virtual Internship looks at digital finance and how it is changing banking.
Read one company’s annual report. Pick a listed company you know, such as an airline, a telecom or a bank, and find its revenue, profit and debt. Then read what analysts said about its last results.
Build a simple model. In a spreadsheet, forecast a company’s profit for three years under a good, normal and bad scenario.
Frequently asked questions
Is a financial analyst the same as an accountant?
No. Accountants record and check what has already happened and make sure the numbers are correct and compliant. Analysts use those numbers to forecast what will happen and decide where money should go. Some people start in accounting and move into analysis.
Do I need the CFA?
It is not required by law for most analyst jobs, but it is widely respected for investment roles. Many analysts work towards it in their first years on the job, and some employers pay for it.
Do I need to be a maths genius?
No. You need to be confident with numbers, percentages and spreadsheets, and careful with detail. Strong reading and writing matter just as much, because your conclusions have to persuade people.
Not sure if finance suits you? The HawkNest career assessment matches your interests and strengths to careers like this one.
More in this series
Sources: O*NET OnLine, Financial and Investment Analysts; National Careers Service, Investment analyst; CFA Institute; pay from US BLS (May 2025), UK ONS ASHE (2025) and Canada Job Bank (2025), converted at ECB rates of 1 October 2026.
