How to: Get into FinTech
Part of iungo’s “How To” Career Guides
What is FinTech?
Fintech is a combination of the words “financial” and “technology”. It’s a term used to describe technology and software which delivers and enhances financial services and the way we interact with them. FinTech is driving a revolution across traditional industries such as banking, payments, wealth management, insurance and property.
Key technologies within FinTech include:
- Artificial intelligence (AI): An umbrella term for software algorithms that make decisions without needing to be explicitly programmed.Machine Learning (ML) can be used to identify fraud by studying patterns in user financial transactions whilst Natural Language Processing (NLP) can be used to make predictions about the return of an investment by analysing articles and other unstructured data.
- Blockchain:A type of distributed ledger technology for managing transactions. Common blockchain applications include making secure payments and taking out low interest loans. Blockchain is an underpinning technology in the Open Banking movement.
- Cloud Computing: Flexible, scalable, and managed infrastructure and server solutions that allow financial organisations to deploy new customer service applications faster, and strengthen and integrate with legacy IT systems to maximise value from their existing data.
Why consider a career in FinTech?
The FinTech sector is growing quickly in Wales with many new businesses attempting to challenge traditional financial services, insurance and banking brands with faster and easier services for users. There are also more established financial services organisations who are investing in FinTech to enhance their services and make them more competitive in this new landscape.
These trends have resulted in an explosion in demand for digital talent – Software Developers, Data Scientists and Product Managers in particular. Read more about some of these roles in our recent blog: How to get into coding.
Wales is home to a diverse landscape of FinTech organisations including well-established names like Admiral, confused.com, go.compare, Principality Building Society and Hodge Bank. As well as new and fast-growing organisations like Starling, Sonovate, Bikmo, Delio, ActiveQuote, Wealthify and Yoello to name just a few. There is no shortage of opportunity to forge a digital career in this fast-growing sector.
How to get into a Career in FinTech
Demand for skills is high as the FinTech sector continues to expand in Wales. Here are some tips for landing a job in FinTech whatever your current career stage.
If you’re a school leaver…
Entry level jobs to consider in Technology and Financial Services include:
- Customer Success Assistant
- Project Administrator
- Junior Data Analyst
- Junior Business Analyst
- Junior Sales Associate
- Junior Recruitment Consultant
Top picks for graduates…
If you’ve got a degree in a STEM subject, relevant graduate roles in FinTech include:
- Graduate Software Developer
- Graduate Data Scientist
- Graduate Cloud Engineer
- Graduate Business Intelligence (BI) Developer
- Graduate Cyber Security Engineer
- Graduate Business Analyst
In larger organisations your role is likely to be more specific to a certain role, compared with smaller organisations where you will have broader responsibilities. For example, Software Developers may focus exclusively on front-end web development in large organisations. In smaller organisations and start-ups, developers may be expected to work across a range of technologies (full stack). It’s always good to get experience in both, which we can help you with.
For recent graduates with a non-STEM degree, look out for the following jobs:
- Graduate Project Manager
- Graduate Product Manager
- Graduate Sales Executive
- Graduate Recruitment Consultant
- Customer Operations Associate
- Customer Success Executive
Mid-career transition, returner, or career changer…
Changing your career can be a majorly positive experience; it opens up a range of new potential opportunities which can increase your skills and job satisfaction. With such a high demand for data and coding skills, this could be the perfect opportunity for you to take on a new challenge.
At iungo Solutions, we offer free Skills Academy programmes to help you transition into a career in Software Development or Data Science within the FinTech Sector. After completing an 8 – 10 week intensive full-time programme with us, you will be guaranteed an interview with a local FinTech or Financial Services company in Wales thanks to FinTech Wales.
During the Academy you will learn about the FinTech and Financial Services Sector, including the way it is regulated. You will develop your coding or data analysis skills, and receive support to develop your CV and portfolio to help maximise your chances of securing employment.
“The Coding Academy was the perfect solution, it was full-time, exposed us to local FinTech companies and even provided a small salary. No prior experience was needed so I signed up.”
Richard King, Golfer to Coder; a new career is on par thanks to new Coding Academy.
Find out more about our FinTech Coding and Data Academies here and apply to join the next cohort.
Calling all FinTech Entrepreneurs!
The FinTech space is ripe for disruption. If you’ve identified a problem that needs solving, why not apply to join the next cohort of the FinTech Wales FinTech Foundry StartUp Accelerator programme? This competitive programme is free to attend if successful, and you do not need to give away equity in your business.
If you’re not sure how to start a business, or want some help in shaping your start-up idea, you’ve come to the right place! We offer a range of entrepreneurship courses at different levels to help you take the first step to running your own business. Better yet, there’s full funding available for most of our courses. Register here to start your application.
We cover a range of topics from problem solving and creative ideation for those just starting out on their entrepreneurial journey, to financial modelling, route to market strategies, and talent planning.
Your career in FinTech – Aiming to go far…
Whether you’re just starting out on your career path, or a few twists and turns have led you to discover a new opportunity, the fast-growing Welsh FinTech scene has so much to offer. With so many career opportunities available, and fast-track courses at every level, partner with us to supercharge your career in FinTech.
Visit our Eventbrite Page to start your application or
Email us at learning@iungo.solutions for a 1:1 session with one of our Programme Tutors.
