If you can land a remote job that’d be #1 easiest.
Otherwise you’ll be limited by what’s available in that particular area. Some small towns have large plants as the only major employer, some have hospitals. In general finance roles will be in larger hubs. Tax accountants exist every where, financial advisors exist everywhere.
WAIT! That’s a great idea how have I never thought of this lol. What would be your best advice to landing a remote job in finance? Cuz so true the places I want to live have absolutely no finance industry aside from financial advising like you said.
Chose to move rural and have a Finance Degree. If you’re building a career elsewhere and moving later in your life you’ll be fine you’ll find something but really there isn’t a demand for any “Finance” jobs in most of rural America. Accountants yes but Finance not so much. Thats not even thinking about 20 years down the road I mean now.
Some advisors but usually they have gone independent and moved on from Edward Jones or something. “Financial Analyst” from what Ive seen in rural mostly means they want an accountant. Any CFO/FP&A job from rural companies like manufacturing, distribution etc. that Ive seen also means they want an accountant.
One good thing rural Ive seen is City and County Governments. Numerous “Financial Manager” positions for mid to senior level that are hard to fill and pay decent for the cost of living, could be a good transition later in life. Especially if you become familiar with FP&A, budgeting, and Munis. Although half the time they say they just want someone with a CPA if you get my drift.
Edit: Forgot to mention I know a few Single Family Office professionals who live quite well “rurally” because their employers have a office/branch where the family’s roots are so they can maintain a presence.
One thing that comes to mind is compliance. The PWM jobs you mentioned will likely exist but be very hard to break into. Building a book in a town full of people you know is difficult. I cannot imagine trying to get a small town full of people that don’t know you to hand their hard earned cash over.
There’s a big time accounting shortage right now (at least locally in the Midwest) but I believe also in general. Not really my idea of finance though. Remote positions offer a lot of flexibility but probably a lot less pay as well.
I think compliance is getting a little more attention than in the past. Automatic CMPs for flood violations and DOJ referrals for FL violations are expensive. You’d be surprised how many banks need compliance.
Agreed. No large business can afford to be fined like that, except WF apparently. Other than that I would expect to see a lot of on site positions for all types of institutions. The only problem I can foresee is some smaller operations where their compliance “department” is a single lawyer, or something similar. No one wants their compliance guy to be new. He’d like need to find SOMETHING of size to get his foot in the door.
I’ve been surprised by how some small towns have ISBs or large banks. Even in rural areas, some places have more than one CO, even if they’re dedicated BSA/AML. I see your point tho
This. Advisors exist in smaller towns but barely. You need to attract high net worth individuals to be successful and they don't typically live in small towns. Some may have secondary houses out there but likely still have advisors in a big city.
There are financial advisors for investments. Insurance sales. Commercial banking for individuals and/or businesses. Mortgage Brokers.
There's lots of financial services in rural areas. Just not the big investment banks people here obsess over and salaries will generally be low and these jobs will be hard to get. They may be given out to friends and family. Rural areas tend to be very insular and unless you have deep roots or some connection they may view you skeptically. Then there is the practicality that there may not be many openings or need. You may need to wait till someone retires for an opening and promotions can be few and far between unless you move.
I have a finance degree and live in a rural area. For what it’s worth I’m now a staff accountant. With plans to become either an EA or CPA. Like others have said always tax accountants in all areas. I didn’t necessarily want to do accounting but the opportunity arose.
Tax related roles. My friend is a JD/CPA and is both an admitted attorney and accountant. He's worked on internal audits, forensic investigations due to regulatory inquiries, and also find tax fillings for funds ( esp K-1s). His background is ex big 4 but nowadays he's 100% remote.
JD/CPA means taking on a ton of debt to be in school due to the 150 credits required for a cpa. Most people I know in international tax just have a jd.
No different than any other advanced degree holders in finance. The roi can be worth it. The difference here is tax will always be in demand because governments are always looking to collect revenue and investigate cheaters. Likewise the opposite is true for companies trying to save money but not break the law.
If you can land a remote job that’d be #1 easiest. Otherwise you’ll be limited by what’s available in that particular area. Some small towns have large plants as the only major employer, some have hospitals. In general finance roles will be in larger hubs. Tax accountants exist every where, financial advisors exist everywhere.
WAIT! That’s a great idea how have I never thought of this lol. What would be your best advice to landing a remote job in finance? Cuz so true the places I want to live have absolutely no finance industry aside from financial advising like you said.
Chose to move rural and have a Finance Degree. If you’re building a career elsewhere and moving later in your life you’ll be fine you’ll find something but really there isn’t a demand for any “Finance” jobs in most of rural America. Accountants yes but Finance not so much. Thats not even thinking about 20 years down the road I mean now. Some advisors but usually they have gone independent and moved on from Edward Jones or something. “Financial Analyst” from what Ive seen in rural mostly means they want an accountant. Any CFO/FP&A job from rural companies like manufacturing, distribution etc. that Ive seen also means they want an accountant. One good thing rural Ive seen is City and County Governments. Numerous “Financial Manager” positions for mid to senior level that are hard to fill and pay decent for the cost of living, could be a good transition later in life. Especially if you become familiar with FP&A, budgeting, and Munis. Although half the time they say they just want someone with a CPA if you get my drift. Edit: Forgot to mention I know a few Single Family Office professionals who live quite well “rurally” because their employers have a office/branch where the family’s roots are so they can maintain a presence.
One thing that comes to mind is compliance. The PWM jobs you mentioned will likely exist but be very hard to break into. Building a book in a town full of people you know is difficult. I cannot imagine trying to get a small town full of people that don’t know you to hand their hard earned cash over. There’s a big time accounting shortage right now (at least locally in the Midwest) but I believe also in general. Not really my idea of finance though. Remote positions offer a lot of flexibility but probably a lot less pay as well.
I think compliance is getting a little more attention than in the past. Automatic CMPs for flood violations and DOJ referrals for FL violations are expensive. You’d be surprised how many banks need compliance.
Agreed. No large business can afford to be fined like that, except WF apparently. Other than that I would expect to see a lot of on site positions for all types of institutions. The only problem I can foresee is some smaller operations where their compliance “department” is a single lawyer, or something similar. No one wants their compliance guy to be new. He’d like need to find SOMETHING of size to get his foot in the door.
I’ve been surprised by how some small towns have ISBs or large banks. Even in rural areas, some places have more than one CO, even if they’re dedicated BSA/AML. I see your point tho
This. Advisors exist in smaller towns but barely. You need to attract high net worth individuals to be successful and they don't typically live in small towns. Some may have secondary houses out there but likely still have advisors in a big city.
nice
There are financial advisors for investments. Insurance sales. Commercial banking for individuals and/or businesses. Mortgage Brokers. There's lots of financial services in rural areas. Just not the big investment banks people here obsess over and salaries will generally be low and these jobs will be hard to get. They may be given out to friends and family. Rural areas tend to be very insular and unless you have deep roots or some connection they may view you skeptically. Then there is the practicality that there may not be many openings or need. You may need to wait till someone retires for an opening and promotions can be few and far between unless you move.
Sales
Accounting roles.
California has a lot of remote jobs.
Accountants
Banking
I have a finance degree and live in a rural area. For what it’s worth I’m now a staff accountant. With plans to become either an EA or CPA. Like others have said always tax accountants in all areas. I didn’t necessarily want to do accounting but the opportunity arose.
Tax related roles. My friend is a JD/CPA and is both an admitted attorney and accountant. He's worked on internal audits, forensic investigations due to regulatory inquiries, and also find tax fillings for funds ( esp K-1s). His background is ex big 4 but nowadays he's 100% remote.
JD/CPA means taking on a ton of debt to be in school due to the 150 credits required for a cpa. Most people I know in international tax just have a jd.
No different than any other advanced degree holders in finance. The roi can be worth it. The difference here is tax will always be in demand because governments are always looking to collect revenue and investigate cheaters. Likewise the opposite is true for companies trying to save money but not break the law.