All careersBusiness & finance

Financial Manager

$166,570
median / year
$94,310 – $323,270
what most earn per year (10th–90th percentile)

What the job actually is

Direct an organization's finances, producing reports, guiding investments, and planning for long-term goals.

You may also see this posted as: Banking Center Manager (BCM), Branch Manager, Credit Administration Manager, Financial Center Manager, Accounting Supervisor, Business Banking Manager.

Where you work

Corporate offices, some remote

The hours

Full-time, often long hours

The day to day

What you'd actually spend time doing

  • Establish and maintain relationships with individual or business customers or provide assistance with problems these customers may encounter.
  • Oversee the flow of cash or financial instruments.
  • Plan, direct, or coordinate the activities of workers in branches, offices, or departments of establishments, such as branch banks, brokerage firms, risk and insurance departments, or credit departments.
  • Recruit staff members.
  • Evaluate data pertaining to costs to plan budgets.

Good fit if you like…

Enterprising

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

Conventional

organizing information, following systems, and getting details right

Social

helping, teaching, caring for, or supporting other people

O*NET job zone 4 of 5

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

Work styles that matter most

IntegrityAttention to DetailDependabilityLeadership Orientation

Software that shows up in the work

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

Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointSAP softwareAdobe Acrobat

By the numbers

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

Median pay
$166,570
per year
Hourly median
$80.08
per hour
What most earn
$94,310–$323,270
yearly, 10th to 90th percentile
Openings a year
~74,600
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
+14.8%
Much faster than average
Working in the U.S.
841,710
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 2.4% 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 + experience.

Related work experience: 5 years or more.

On-the-job training: None.

License or certification

No license required to start in most places.

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 analysisLeadershipAttention to detailCommunication

The honest take

Among the best-paid business roles, but it sits at the top of a ladder you climb over many years.

Standard Occupational Classification 11-3031. 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.