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Financial Examiner

$94,160
median / year
$56,230 – $174,200
what most earn per year (10th–90th percentile)

What the job actually is

Review financial institutions' records and practices to assess risk and enforce laws that protect the financial system and consumers.

You may also see this posted as: Bank Examiner, Bank Secrecy Act Anti-Money Laundering Officer (BSA/AML Officer), Credit Union Examiner, Examining Officer, Community Reinvestment Act Officer (CRA Officer), Compliance Analyst.

Where you work

Government offices, banks, and financial institutions; travel is common.

The hours

Usually full-time with regular schedules.

The day to day

What you'd actually spend time doing

  • Direct and participate in formal and informal meetings with bank directors, trustees, senior management, counsels, outside accountants, and consultants to gather information and discuss findings.
  • Recommend actions to ensure compliance with laws and regulations, or to protect solvency of institutions.
  • Prepare reports, exhibits, and other supporting schedules that detail an institution's safety and soundness, compliance with laws and regulations, and recommended solutions to questionable financial conditions.
  • Resolve problems concerning the overall financial integrity of banking institutions including loan investment portfolios, capital, earnings, and specific or large troubled accounts.
  • Investigate activities of institutions to enforce laws and regulations and to ensure legality of transactions and operations or financial solvency.

Good fit if you like…

Conventional

organizing information, following systems, and getting details right

Enterprising

leading, persuading, selling, or turning an idea into action

Investigative

solving problems, analyzing evidence, and figuring out how things work

O*NET job zone 4 of 5

High preparation—usually a four-year degree plus experience—is common.

Work styles that matter most

Attention to DetailIntegrityCautiousnessDependability

Software that shows up in the work

Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.

Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordMicrosoft Access

By the numbers

May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$94,160
per year
Hourly median
$45.27
per hour
What most earn
$56,230–$174,200
yearly, 10th to 90th percentile
Openings a year
~5,700
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
+18.5%
Much faster than average
Working in the U.S.
67,830
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

BLS estimates 0.4% of workers in this occupation are self-employed.

What it pays in your state

Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.

BLS state wage tables

How you get in

Typical starting education

Bachelor's degree

Training path: Bachelor's degree followed by paid long-term examiner training.

Related work experience: None.

On-the-job training: Long-term on-the-job training.

License or certification

No license required to start in most places.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

Check the path where you live

Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.

What it takes

Financial analysisRegulationAuditingTechnical writing

The honest take

Reviews banks and other financial institutions for legal compliance, risk, and consumer protection.

Standard Occupational Classification 13-2061. Pay and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; job context from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; tasks, interests, work styles, software examples, and job zone from O*NET 30.3. See something off? Tell us.