The short answer: a lot. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 942,500 finance and business job openings are projected each year through 2034 — a figure that accounts for both new positions and replacing workers who retire or leave. The median annual wage across all business and financial occupations was $80,920 in May 2024, nearly double the $49,500 median across all occupations combined.
But those headline numbers smooth over a much more interesting picture underneath. Some finance roles are growing fast — financial managers, personal financial advisors, actuaries — while others are shrinking as automation takes over routine tasks. And the skills that get you hired in 2026 are meaningfully different from what they were five years ago. Here’s the sector-by-sector breakdown of where the jobs actually are, what’s growing, and how to get in.
The Size of the Finance Job Market
According to MEXC’s 2026 finance employment analysis, the finance and insurance sector employs somewhere between 7 and 8 million workers nationwide across core roles — accountants, analysts, managers, advisors, and fintech specialists. That figure doesn’t include adjacent roles in corporate finance at non-financial companies, which would push the number considerably higher.
What’s particularly notable in the BLS’s 2024–34 employment projections is that business and financial operations occupations are growing faster than average — projected at roughly 7% growth overall through 2034, compared to 3.1% growth expected for total employment across all sectors. That outperformance reflects a few structural forces: an aging population that needs financial planning help, increasing financial complexity inside organizations of all sizes, and a growing fintech ecosystem that is creating new categories of financial work rather than just automating existing ones.
Jobs by Sector: Where the Openings Actually Are
Accounting and Auditing — 1.5 Million Jobs
Accounting is the largest single category of finance employment, with roughly 1.5 million accountants and auditors currently employed in the US. BLS projects 6% growth through 2034, with approximately 130,800 openings per year — the highest raw number of annual openings of any finance role.
The honest note here: routine bookkeeping and accounting clerk roles are genuinely at risk from automation. The BLS’s own analysis projects decline for bookkeeping clerks specifically, as software automates what once required dedicated headcount. The growth is in higher-level accounting — CPAs, audit managers, forensic accountants, and specialists in tax compliance and financial controls — where human judgment, client relationships, and regulatory expertise remain genuinely hard to automate.
Median salary: $79,880/year Key credential: CPA (Certified Public Accountant)
Financial Management — 700,000+ Jobs, Growing Fast
Financial managers — CFOs, controllers, treasurers, and similar senior finance leaders — represent one of the fastest-growing roles in the entire sector. The BLS projects 17% growth through 2034, significantly faster than average, with about 66,800 openings expected per year.
The reason is structural. The responsibilities of finance leaders have expanded well beyond traditional number-crunching to encompass business strategy, IT risk management, ESG reporting, and operational oversight. That expanded scope has pushed demand for financial management expertise into organizations that previously wouldn’t have employed a dedicated financial executive.
Median salary: $156,100/year Key credential: MBA or CFA, plus 5+ years of experience in a finance role
Financial Analysis — 300,000+ Jobs
Financial analysts evaluate investment opportunities, prepare reports, and advise both individuals and institutions on financial strategy. BLS projects 9% growth through 2034 for the role, with about 30,700 annual openings.
This is one of the entry points most commonly pursued by finance graduates — the analyst role is widely available at banks, asset managers, corporations, and consulting firms. The competition is real, particularly at investment banks and major asset management firms where the application-to-hire ratios are steep. But at regional banks, insurance companies, and mid-size corporations, analyst hiring is steadier and less cutthroat.
Median salary: $99,890/year Key credential: CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) significantly boosts advancement
Personal Financial Advising — 300,000+ Jobs, Strong Growth
Personal financial advisors help individuals plan for retirement, manage investments, and navigate major financial decisions. BLS projects 13% growth through 2034 — faster than average — with about 26,000 openings expected per year.
The demographic driver here is simple and durable: the Baby Boomer generation continues moving through peak retirement-planning years, and the shift away from defined-benefit pensions toward individual 401(k) plans means more Americans need professional guidance managing their own retirement savings than ever before. BLS notes that even the rise of robo-advisors is expected to have only a mild dampening effect on human advisor employment, because older clients with complex financial situations are unlikely to trust automated recommendations with their life savings.
Median salary: $99,580/year Key credential: CFP (Certified Financial Planner)
Investment Banking and Securities — 400,000+ Jobs
Investment banking, securities trading, and brokerage roles employ around 400,000 people in the US. Growth is projected at around 7% through 2034, but the distribution is highly uneven — the headline compensation at bulge-bracket banks is extraordinary for a narrow group, while the average across all securities and financial services sales agents is more moderate.
Entry is genuinely competitive at the top tier. The recruiting timelines at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and similar firms start earlier than most industries (sophomore and junior year summer internships are frequently the actual pipeline), and the drop-off between target and non-target schools in access to those roles is significant. Regional banks, boutique advisory firms, and corporate development teams offer more accessible entry points with still-strong compensation.
Median salary: $67,480/year across all securities agents; significantly higher for senior bankers and traders Key credential: Series 7 and 63 licenses for most client-facing roles; CFA for research and analysis tracks
Insurance — 120,000+ Underwriters, Plus Actuaries Growing Fast
Insurance underwriters employ about 120,000 workers with modest projected growth around 5%. But the more interesting opportunity in insurance is actuarial work — actuaries currently employ around 28,000 workers and BLS projects 23% growth through 2034, making it one of the fastest-growing roles in the entire finance sector.
Actuaries analyze statistical data to assess risk for insurance companies and pension funds. The work is highly technical — the actuarial exams are notoriously difficult and take years to complete — but the combination of strong salary, job security, and relatively low public profile makes it one of the least-known high-value career tracks in finance.
Median salary (actuary): $120,000/year Key credential: Actuarial exams (ASA, FSA); often started during college
Fintech and Emerging Roles
The fastest-growing category in finance right now isn’t a traditional BLS occupation at all — it’s the collection of hybrid roles at the intersection of finance and technology. Risk analysts focused on digital payments, compliance officers for cryptocurrency platforms, financial data scientists, and AI-enhanced investment analysts are all categories that barely existed five years ago and are growing substantially.
BLS’s 2024–34 projections specifically note that the “strong and increasing demand for IT solutions, including AI-based systems, will boost demand for computer and mathematical occupations” — and this bleeds directly into finance, where data science and AI skills are commanding a premium over traditional finance credentials alone.
How AI Is Actually Affecting Finance Jobs (Not the Hype Version)
The honest picture from the BLS’s own analysis is more nuanced than either “AI will take all the jobs” or “AI won’t affect finance at all.”
Roles that are genuinely declining: bookkeeping clerks, bank tellers, routine data-entry and reconciliation roles. These are tasks AI handles well — pattern recognition, data processing, rules-based decision-making — and the trend is real and ongoing.
Roles that are growing despite (or because of) AI: financial managers who need to interpret and oversee AI-generated analysis, compliance officers who need to manage AI systems, financial data scientists who build and maintain those models, and senior analysts whose judgment is needed precisely because the AI output requires interpretation. The BLS notes that while robo-advisors have emerged as an alternative to human advisors, the impact on employment has been milder than predicted specifically because human judgment and relationship management remain genuinely difficult to replace for complex, high-stakes decisions.
The practical implication: finance careers that combine domain knowledge with data and technology skills are more resilient than purely analytical roles based on spreadsheet work alone. SQL, Python, and financial modeling in data environments are increasingly baseline expectations rather than differentiators at major employers.
Where the Jobs Are Geographically
Finance jobs are more geographically concentrated than most sectors. New York remains the largest single market, though MEXC’s analysis notes that Texas actually surpassed New York in total financial services sector jobs in late 2024, driven by growth in Dallas and Austin. Other high-density markets include Chicago, San Francisco, Charlotte, and Boston.
Remote opportunities have expanded meaningfully since 2020 and remain more available in finance than in many peer industries — particularly for fintech roles, financial analysis, and back-office functions. Client-facing roles in investment banking, wealth management, and insurance typically still require physical presence.
How to Actually Enter the Field
If you’re starting with no experience:
The most accessible entry points are accounting and bookkeeping (where an associate degree or bookkeeping certification can get you in the door), insurance (where many companies hire entry-level agents with just a state license), and banking (teller and personal banker roles hire without finance degrees). None of these are the highest-paying paths, but they build verifiable financial work history that opens more doors faster than additional credentials alone.
If you have a bachelor’s degree:
Financial analyst, credit analyst, and junior underwriter roles are the most common entry points for finance graduates. The CFA is worth starting early if you’re targeting investment management or research — Levels.fyi and industry surveys consistently show the designation adding 15–20% to compensation at the analyst level. For the advisory path, the CFP is the equivalent credential.
If you’re switching from another field:
Finance is more accessible to career changers than most people realize, particularly in fintech (where technology backgrounds are valued), risk management (where quantitative backgrounds from other fields translate well), and financial planning (where life experience and interpersonal skills matter as much as technical credentials). The CFA and CFP are both achievable while working full-time, which makes the credential path more realistic for career changers than a full MBA in most cases.
The Bottom Line
The finance sector employs roughly 7–8 million Americans and generates nearly 942,500 job openings per year — making it one of the largest and most consistently hiring sectors in the US economy. Growth through 2034 is projected to outpace the overall economy, driven by demographic trends, financial complexity, and the fintech expansion creating new categories of work.
The caveat worth taking seriously: not all finance jobs are growing equally. Routine, rules-based financial work is being automated. High-judgment, relationship-intensive, and technically sophisticated roles are growing. The finance career worth building in 2026 is one that combines domain expertise with data skills and client judgment — not one that bets the whole career on tasks a well-trained algorithm can already do.
Before accepting any offer in this sector, research the specific employer at WiseWorq to see how current employees rate culture, advancement, and whether the day-to-day reality matches what the job description promises.
Related WiseWorq Guides
- Top 10 Highest-Paying Companies in the US — where finance employers rank against the broader market
- Worst Financial Advisor Companies to Work For (2026) — which employers to research carefully before accepting a finance offer
- Best Paying Jobs in Consumer Services (2026) — how financial roles compare to other consumer-facing careers
- 50 Unique Interview Questions to Ask an Employer (2026) — what to ask any finance employer before accepting
- Signs of a Toxic Workplace — what high-pressure finance environments look like from the inside
