IT jobs are in high demand among unemployed workers or college graduates, as well as qualified candidates are in short supply for most positions within the industry. Fintech, however, takes that to another level.

As a booming industry that is continually changing legacy institutions by disruption and the rapid pace of evolution, financial technologies need people to fuel the progress. The interest in the Fintech industry is at its highest at the moment, and there is little surprise that many people are breaking into Fintech.

Whether one is aiming to get the job in Fintech solely at monetary benefits (which is fine), wants to join the process of shaping the future of finances or find a spot to reach the maximum personal development score — Fintech is a fine place to start looking for a vacant position.

Here’s how Joblift visualizes the positive dynamic of the UK’s fintech job market (alongside some salary numbers) in comparison to traditional positions in financial institutions (including investment banks).

The monetary benefits seem obvious. And the thought of possibly changing the future technology is somewhat romantic as well. It's time to divide the job market into segments and explain what exactly the Fintech industry needs at the moment.

How to get into Fintech: best tips to succeed

Hard skills are at the top Fintech job skills

It won't be a surprise to find out that the industry that's driving innovation in the financial segment will require a lot of talent with solid hard skills. Programmers, designers, hardware engineers, and more — there's a lot of room for activity.

Traditional programming top IT jobs in the Fintech segment

Regardless of the niche and industry, some good old code writing is required pretty much everywhere, especially in the Fintech industry. The programmers and Fintech professionals can find their skill set useful for various projects, from basic to the most complex ones. Here's a list of the most common tasks for those who are looking for financial technology jobs:

Website development (Full-Stack)

App development

App maintenance

UI/UX design and implementation

Product APIs

The list can shrink or grow depending on the region, company, and its activity sphere, but you get the general picture. Based on your skill and experience, you can get a job in Fintech that would guarantee anything from $80,000 to $100,000 a year and beyond, when taking the US market into account.

If you’re new to programming and have mastered front-end development, your services will be required. If you are skilled enough for more complex issues, Fintech is full of platforms that need to be maintained and APIs to create.

AI and machine learning jobs get more popular among employers

Fintech job skills encompass acquiring, analyzing, and utilizing the data from countless sources. Artificial intelligence helps to navigate and find the required information, allowing a more comfortable life for data scientists. However, they must know how to operate and train the AI.

Fintech companies are ready to pay around 25% more for Fintech professionals who master data science than other businesses, which makes it an excellent choice for those knowledgeable about AIs and training patterns. The cost-effectiveness trends demand a better conversion of acquired data. Petabytes of information must be thoroughly examined to provide a unique user experience for each customer, thus increasing ROI.

The specialist would have to be proficient at data science toolkits and visualization tools, alongside query languages and NoSQL databases. Each position will demand its own unique Fintech job skills, but the general picture outlines precisely these requirements.

Automation is what makes Fintech’s processes to another level

The original idea of Fintech was to deliver better results for less time while cutting costs and offering unique value to the client. All that had to come from new technology. But as each business model can be improved, so can be the technology.

Automation engineers will need to tackle the core of the company and find ways to make it work faster and comply with the original requirements we mentioned in the previous paragraph. Some Fintech roles require mastering how to combine the automation with AI, Deep Learning and Machine Learning, taking it solely to the data analysis niche. Regardless, an employee that knows how to make the processes more efficient and consume fewer resources, would be an invaluable addition to a Fintech startup team.

Cybersecurity is a necessity for most fintech companies

This skill (although it is nearly impossible to specify the technologies or qualifications that are common or general) is the door to institutions like startups and government facilities at the same time. A study by Accenture shows that financial organizations are the ones to suffer the most from cybercrime, with total costs sitting at $18 million for 2017.

The damage dealt with other industries by cybercriminals is equally staggering, meaning that a cybersecurity expert can easily expect to find a job in any of the spheres mentioned above.

Blockchain and distributed ledgers as the new trend for financial services

Probably the talk of the decade, blockchain is discussed by countless experts, yet much fewer can make it work for the particular environment.

An expert with blockchain knowledge will be asked to build platforms for money transfer (both crypto and fiat), smart contracts, advanced data management, and so forth. A skilled blockchain developer can secure a deal that pays from $100,000 to $250,000 annually, although we were unable to find a solid proof for the latter figure.

Jobs in Fintech startups

The number of Fintech startups is growing so the demand for Fintech professionals. Startups make it easier for those having Fintech certification to get their dream job.

Soft skills get more value for most IT jobs

While there's a substantial list of what you can do to succeed in financial technology jobs, the nature of the industry demands that you have your soft skills well-developed. Fintech originated from the spirit of innovation and versatility, brought to the business by startups, and the soft skills of the employees are given huge importance on a daily basis. Here are some that one would most likely encounter in most of the Fintech careers ads:

Openness. As a manager, you have to be as open with other employees as possible. As a developer or engineer, the same thing is always preferable. An open person can communicate better, seek assistance faster, and thus deal with problems far more efficiently than a guy who likes to do everything by himself.

Problem-solving. An employee solves a ton of issues on a daily basis, one may say. This concept, however, circulates the mentality. An employee must be proactive and seek opportunities to improve on existing results. Quick thinking is a crucial part of problem-solving, as it allows no time for hesitation or panic — only determination and cold analysis of the destination.

Communication. A derivative of openness. It means how well the person integrates with the team both on and off the actual working process. Communication allows more efficient collaboration of the departments and teams, thus granting bigger benefits at the end. It is imperative to build strong bonds within the team, so each employee is ready to take on any challenge for themselves and for "that guy next to them."

Transparency throughout the organization. A concept that applies more towards managerial staff. The age of startups made traditional management obsolete. Nobody will appreciate secrecy, or worse treatment just based on position. Today's mentality is about CEOs being equal to junior developers on a human level. When managers are openly discussing casual stuff or project details with everyone else despite their position, it creates a bond within the team that is highly beneficial for the company.

Adaptability. The atmosphere and workflow of a Fintech startup inevitably mean issues that one will need to tackle regardless of their skill or position. Versatility and ability to adapt is critical for an employee to move further up the career ladder within startups or other highly digital environments.

Fintech salary

Fintech salaries are rising due to the demand in Fintech jobs that is constantly growing. Indeed research shows that the most high-paying jobs in the Fintech industry embrace management roles, project owners, software engineers and architects, sales and obviously C-suite.

Summing up

All in all, why should you strive to work in financial technology? The truth is that financial institutions, investment banks and other Fintech companies are in a hunt after professionals who are highly-skilled and valued. In our modern world it’s just crucial to be an expert in a peculiar, narrow field. If you want to get a job in Fintech, master both hard and soft skills we’ve talked about in this blog and go ahead!

If you are on another side — not looking for a job, but looking for someone to work for your startup — contact inVerita. We have component professionals who can help you with technological challenges you face right now.