Finance Job Roles: A Complete Map

Understanding the landscape of finance careers helps you tailor your resume, target the right roles, and answer 'Why this role?' convincingly. For MBA and postgraduate students, the practical task is to compare responsibilities, day-to-day work, key skills, employers, and CTC ranges before choosing a target track.

India's Primary Finance Career Tracks

The following map covers India's primary finance career tracks for MBA / postgraduate students. Use it as a role-by-role reference to compare what each track does, what the day-to-day work looks like, the key skills expected, typical Indian employers, and the CTC range.

Source: LinkedIn Salary Insights; IIM Placement Reports FY24; IBBI; Bloomberg Careers; Glassdoor India Finance Salaries

How to Use the Role Map

Start with the description column to understand the purpose of the role, then use the day-to-day column to test whether the actual work matches your interest. The key skills column tells you what your resume should signal, while the employer and CTC range columns help you target the right roles and answer 'Why this role?' convincingly.

Investment Banking, Equity Research and Asset Management

IB Analyst (Investment Banking) roles cover M&A advisory, ECM/DCM capital raises, and LBO advisory for corporate and PE clients. The day-to-day work includes pitch decks, CIMs, financial models (3-statement, DCF, merger), and due diligence, with key skills such as financial modelling, valuation, PowerPoint, sector knowledge, and deal execution.

Equity Research (ER) Associate roles involve initiating coverage on 3-5 stocks, updating models post-results, and writing research notes. The day-to-day work includes P&L modelling, quarterly earnings analysis, management calls, and report writing, supported by accounting, valuation, sector expertise, writing clarity, and Bloomberg/FactSet.

Asset Management (AM) Analyst roles support fund managers on stock research, model portfolios, and monitor holdings. The day-to-day work includes DCF/comps modelling, earnings tracking, sector updates, and portfolio analytics, with key skills in valuation, portfolio construction, risk management, Bloomberg, and Python.

Private Market Investing

PE/VC Associate roles source deals, conduct due diligence, model investments, and support portfolio cos. The day-to-day work includes financial modelling, sector mapping, management interactions, and board materials, while the key skills include LBO modelling, DCF, market sizing, operational improvement, and deal structuring.

Corporate Finance, Treasury, Credit and Risk

Corporate Finance Analyst roles focus on FP&A, budgeting, capital allocation decisions, and investor relations. The day-to-day work includes Excel financial models, board presentations, variance analysis, and capex planning, supported by financial modelling, budgeting, Ind AS, stakeholder management, and SAP/Oracle.

Treasury Analyst roles manage corporate liquidity, FX hedging, surplus investment, and working capital. The day-to-day work includes daily cash forecasting, FX hedging via forwards/options, MIS reports, and bank negotiations, with key skills in FX derivatives, cash management, Excel, SAP Treasury, and Bloomberg.

Credit Analyst roles assess creditworthiness for lending/rating and write credit memos. The day-to-day work includes financial analysis, covenant monitoring, sector deep-dives, and rating assignments, supported by financial statements, credit risk, Altman Z-Score, and sector knowledge.

Risk Analyst roles cover market/credit/operational risk measurement, stress testing, VaR, and Basel compliance. The day-to-day work includes risk model validation, P&L attribution, scenario analysis, and regulatory reporting, with key skills in statistics, VaR, stress testing, Python/R, and FRM/PRM certification valued.

Fintech Product Track

Fintech PM roles define product roadmap for lending/payments/wealth apps. The day-to-day work includes PRD writing, sprint planning, A/B testing, and regulatory compliance embedding, while the key skills include product thinking, fintech regulations, SQL/Python, customer research, and API knowledge.

Employer Targeting by Track

Employer targeting should follow the role, not the other way around. IB Analyst examples include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Kotak IB, Axis Capital, JM Financial, and ICICI Securities IB, while Equity Research examples include HDFC Securities, Motilal Oswal, Kotak Securities, BofA Merrill Lynch, and Jefferies India.

Asset Management examples include HDFC AMC, Mirae Asset, Nippon India MF, ICICI Pru AMC, and Motilal Oswal AMC. PE/VC examples include ChrysCapital, Warburg Pincus, Sequoia, Peak XV, Kedaara, and General Atlantic India.

Corporate Finance examples include Reliance, TCS, Infosys, Tata Group, Mahindra, and Hindustan Unilever. Treasury examples include Infosys, TCS, RIL, HDFC Bank Treasury, Citi India, and HSBC India.

Credit Analyst examples include HDFC Bank, Axis, CRISIL, ICRA, Avendus Credit, and Piramal Finance. Risk Analyst examples include banks (risk management divisions), RBI, SEBI, hedge funds, and consultancies, while Fintech PM examples include Razorpay, PhonePe, Zerodha, Navi, Cred, BharatPe, and Juspay.

Conclusion

Finance job roles differ sharply by responsibilities, daily work, skills, employers, and compensation. Use this map to choose the right target track, tailor your resume, and justify your fit with clarity.