Chief Financial Officers

Check out professional journals such as CFO (https://www.cfo.com), FEI Weekly (https://www.financialexecutives.org/FEI-Daily.aspx), and CFO Journal (https://www.wsj.com/news/cfo-journal) to learn more about the work of chief financial officers. You can learn more about financial issues by reading publications such as Barron’s (https://www.barrons.com), the Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com), Forbes (http://www.forbes.com), Bloomberg Businessweek (https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek), Fortune (https://fortune.com), and Financial Times (http://www.ft.com). (Note: Certain sections of these publications online may be available only to subscribers.)

Volunteer to manage the finances of a school club or volunteer organization, or try to land a part-time job at a bank or in the accounting department of a local company. If you can’t find a volunteer opportunity or land a job, at least try to schedule an information interview with a chief financial officer to talk with him or her about the career. Many CFOs are happy to discuss their careers and offer advice on breaking into the field. Suggested interview questions include: What made you want to enter this career? What type of technology do you use to do your work? What do you like most and least about your job? How did you train for this field? What advice would you give to young people about preparing for the field and being successful on the job?

Attend summer exploration explorations in finance, business, mathematics, and related fields at colleges and universities to learn more about the field and get a taste of college-level learning.