Finance Training for Veterans

Are you a veteran returning to civilian life or a member of a veteran’s family aiming to avail yourself of entitlements and benefits? This article is designed to help you navigate your options for taking advantage of these services to enter into a professional skills training program and learn the finance skills you’ve always wanted to learn. If you’re looking for a well-paying career with plenty of long-term job stability and ample opportunities for growth, look no further than the finance industry. 

What is Finance?

Financeis an umbrella term that covers all things money, including financial analytics, financial modeling, banking, investing, and financial technology (or FinTech). Finance involves investing, lending, budgeting, borrowing, saving, forecasting, and the study of money. It’s possible to trace back our modern-day financial structures thousands of years--and the principles of finance matter just as much in today’s world.

There are three main areas to consider within the world of finance. Personal finance involves budgeting, investing, managing cash flow, and borrowing to finance large purchases while keeping debt down. Corporate finance covers capital budgeting, capital structure, and dividend policy. Public finance deals primarily with the revenue and budget of a public entity, whether a government or quasi-government organization. These three branches allow for a wide variety of job opportunities within the field of finance, so you can find a position that matches your interests and expertise. 

What Can You Do with Finance Skills?

Learning finance can open doors to so many different fulfilling and lucrative careers. If you’re interested in being involved with the financial decisions of corporate entities and organizations, you might enjoy becoming a Financial Analyst, Management Analyst, Investment Banker, or Financial Manager. On the flip side, if you’d like to help individuals and families manage investments and plan for retirement, becoming a Personal Financial Advisor or an Accountant might be the right fit for you. There are other positions you can take on with finance training, such as Bookkeeper, Tax Examiner, Loan Officer, or Revenue Agent, so there is something for everyone in this fast-paced field.

One benefit of learning finance is entirely personal: understanding how to invest, save, and create a budget can make a big difference in your family’s current and future financial health. It also makes you a more efficient problem solver and critical thinker, in both your personal life and at work. Lastly, finance training looks great on your resume--even if you’re taking on a job in an entirely different field. Whatever you decide to do career-wise, learning finance won’t be a mistake.

Support for Veterans

If you are a veteran looking for your next professional path, there are resources available to help you pursue further education. Signed into law in 1944, the GI Bill is a federal program that helps veterans and their families pay for education and training, including college and university tuition, online and part-time schooling, licensing and certification courses, vocational training and trade school, and entrepreneurship training. 

Benefits of the original GI Bill may expire depending on when the veteran was discharged from active duty, but that’s where the Forever GI Bill comes in. If you have at least 90 days of aggregate active duty service after Sept. 10, 2001 and are still on active duty, or if you are an honorably discharged veteran or were discharged with a service- connected disability after 30 days, you may be eligible for this VA-administered program.

The GI Bill and the Forever GI Bill provides qualified veterans and their eligible dependents with financial assistance for tuition and fees, housing and living expenses (if you’re in school more than half-time), and money for books and supplies. 

Noble Desktop’s in-person courses at their Manhattan location are eligible for veterans using the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33). You may even be eligible for housing benefits, but it's recommended you reach out to the VA to confirm your eligibility or for any questions about the status of your benefits.

Why Learn Finance

Pursuing professional training in information technology has several benefits. Most finance bootcamps, trainings, or certificates are recognized credentials within the field. They signify your dedication, motivation, and proficiency in the subject. Preparations for attending, the work created during your training, and the fees to attend cost time and money, further confirming your commitment to the field. 

Being able to prove your dedication and proficiency can help you stand out from other job applicants. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) predicts that overall employment in business and financial occupations will grow faster than the average for all occupations from 2023 to 2033. About 963,500 openings are projected each year, on average, so there will be plenty of opportunities available to trained professionals. Plus, with salaries around $99,000 for Financial Analysts, there’s also the opportunity to earn well above the national average income. 

It is fairly common for companies to require ongoing training, especially within the field of financial services. If you currently work in finance and want a promotion, enrolling in a course can be a great way to prove you deserve that higher-paying, higher-ranking job. If your employer makes ongoing training mandatory, there’s a high probability they will help pay for it, so make sure to check with them before enrolling.

Finance professionals often have the added benefit of being able to work from anywhere they choose. Online work offers more flexibility for finance experts, allowing you to assist fellow employees or clients via email, video chat, or by taking over their desktops. You’re no longer tied to living in cities with high living costs and are often only required to work within a specific time zone. 

High pay, ample career opportunities, and the ability to choose where you work are only a handful of the perks of working in information technology. Becoming an expert in finance is the quickest way to make your dream career a reality. Keep reading to discover more about what you’ll learn in a training program and how to choose the right certification for you.

Why Choose a Skills Bootcamp?

Bootcamps are typically held live either in-person or virtually and allow for in-the-moment discourse with an expert instructor. If you’re struggling with a particular subject, you can ask questions and receive feedback instantly. Additionally, live bootcamps offer a level of accountability that many students say they need to succeed. Scheduled class times and assignment due dates motivate you to stay on track. 

These courses tend to be shorter (a few hours to a few days) and cost less than a certificate program, in part due to how they primarily focus on one skill or tool, as opposed to an entire subject. They’re ideal for those looking to gain professional skills in a specific field as a way to jumpstart a new career. As a veteran, a bootcamp can be a great way to establish the basics in finance so you can quickly enter the workforce and continue your education on the job. They can also often accommodate tricky schedules and be done from anywhere, which is especially helpful for veterans that may be working other (or even multiple) jobs or have some of their daytime hours allocated to various veterans support services. 

Learn Finance at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop is an award-winning computer training center where you can learn the skills you need to advance your career. Offering classes across the finance spectrum--from data analytics to financial modeling to the basics of Microsoft Office--Noble Desktop can help you grow your skill set, whether in-person or live online from your home or office. The instructors at Noble Desktop are professionals in their field, and their project-based approach offers you hands-on experience that transfers seamlessly into the business world. Find out why so many students turn to Noble Desktop to uplevel their skills by enrolling in a class today.

Their Financial Accounting Bootcamp is a good place to start. A two-day intensive designed for beginners, the class covers material that is useful for those seeking careers in accounting, bookkeeping, and other finance-related fields. The course introduces the fundamentals of financial accounting, including understanding financial reports, income statements, essential line items, and profit ratios. From there, you’ll learn the specifics of accrual accounting (as compared to cash accounting), ultimately moving to more advanced topics such as components of balance sheets and cash flow statements. The Financial Accounting Bootcamp is a hands-on course led by industry experts, so you’ll walk away with a solid grounding in financial accounting.

Noble also offers a Data Science Certificate program which will teach you Python, SQL, automation, and machine learning to help you unlock fulfilling and well-paid opportunities working in Data Science roles in the financial industry. The in-person or live online certificate program will help you learn predictive modeling skills, data analysis, and SQL querying, along with gaining skills in Python programming. You’ll create machine learning models, make dashboards and visualizations, and build a portfolio that will prepare you for a career in data science. Even better? An experienced Data Scientist will help you create a resume, assist you with your portfolio, and even mentor you one-on-one as you begin your job search.

Finally, their FinTech Bootcamp which will teach you valuable programming and data analysis skills. You’ll find there are scheduling options that meet your needs whatever they are: to kickstart your career in FinTech, you can take the class over four weeks (weekdays only), or you can opt for the evenings-or-weekends model and complete the course over four months. The latter option allows you to keep your day job, working toward skill-building in your free time. Either way, you’ll begin by learning the fundamentals of Python and data science, working with SQL to query databases, and creating dashboards and other data visualizations. You’ll progress to building sophisticated statistical models using machine learning and understanding advanced libraries and applications of Python specifically for financial analysis, including SEC filings, stock prices, portfolio and risk management, and financial ratios. 

Key Takeaways

• Finance covers anything you can think of that deals with money: investing, lending, budgeting, borrowing, saving, forecasting, and the study of money. Studying finance can lead you to a host of careers that are both exciting and well-paid.
• Various support programs and services are available for veterans to help you train for a new career after leaving the military. These resources can be used to help you attend a finance training, making a career in financial services that much easier to begin.
• There are many reasons to learn finance. From higher salaries to long-term job stability and ample opportunities, becoming an expert in finance can benefit your life in many ways. 
• You can receive comprehensive finance training in-person or live online through Noble Desktop. With industry professionals on their teaching staff, Noble Desktop is committed to preparing learners for the business world through dynamic, hands-on classes. Take an individual class, a multi-day bootcamp, or a months-long certificate program and discover how learning with Noble Desktop can help get you to the next level.