Business and Financial Operations · Holland code CIE

Financial Risk Specialists

Analyze and measure exposure to credit and market risk threatening the assets, earning capacity, or economic state of an organization. May make recommendations to limit risk.

Also called: Analyst, Risk Analyst, Risk Specialist, Securities Analyst, Equity Research Analyst, Risk Manager.

O*NET 13-2054.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $117,330; Middle half earn $83,980 to $158,250. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Analyze areas of potential risk to the assets, earning capacity, or success of organizations.
Analyze new legislation to determine impact on risk exposure.
Conduct statistical analyses to quantify risk, using statistical analysis software or econometric models.
Confer with traders to identify and communicate risks associated with specific trading strategies or positions.
Consult financial literature to ensure use of the latest models or statistical techniques.
Contribute to development of risk management systems.
Determine potential environmental impacts of new products or processes on long-term growth and profitability.
Develop contingency plans to deal with emergencies.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic11
Investigative66
Artistic5
Social25
Enterprising65
Conventional73

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

actuarial consultant · DE Aktuar/Aktuarin · FR actuaire
financial analyst · DE Finanzanalyst/Finanzanalystin · FR analyste financier/analyste financière
insurance rating analyst · DE Rating-Analyst im Versicherungsbereich/Rating-Analystin im Versicherungsbereich · FR analyste notation en assurances
securities analyst · DE Wertpapieranalyst/Wertpapieranalystin · FR conseiller en valeurs mobilières/conseillère en valeurs mobilières
middle office analyst · DE Middle-Office-Mitarbeiter/Middle-Office-Mitarbeiterin · FR analyste middle-office
credit risk analyst · DE Kreditrisikomanager/Kreditrisikomanagerin · FR analyste de risques crédits

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Finance and investment analysts and advisers (2422)268,700 employed
Credit controllers (4121)29,000 employed
Insurance underwriters (3532)37,600 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test