Entry-level Positions for Aspiring Finance and Business Operations Analysts
For entry-level positions in finance and business operations, larger companies typically offer "analyst roles," such as business operations analyst or financial analyst, providing structured learning. Smaller companies, particularly startups, offer less defined roles, but the potential for rapid career growth and diverse responsibilities is high, requiring adaptability and a willingness to handle various tasks, even those less glamorous—"chasing people to pay their bills"—to gain valuable experience and empathy.
Analyst Roles, Entry-Level Positions, Startups, Career Progression, Hard Skills
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Yuri Yakubov
Head of Finance and Business Operations
TigerEye Labs, Inc.
UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley MBA, Haas School of Business
Business & Related
Technology
Finance
Honors Student, Took Out Loans, Immigrant, Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. At larger companies, seek analyst roles (business operations, sales operations, or financial analyst) for entry-level positions.
2. Smaller companies/startups offer diverse opportunities; any role allows for quick career progression if you demonstrate strong work ethic and initiative.
3. Entry-level roles might involve less-exciting tasks, but these provide valuable experience and empathy for other roles within the company
Transcript
What entry-level positions are there in this field that an undergraduate college student might consider?
I have two different answers, depending on the company size. At a bigger company, you would want to look for an analyst role, whether it's business operations, sales, or financial analyst. This really depends on what you're interested in and what your background is.
Any sort of analyst role is generally a good entry point into that company. You'll learn a lot, including some hard skills.
At smaller companies, especially if you're interested in startups and the tech space, anything you can get is valuable. It might sound junior, but the fun part about being at a small company is once you get in and prove you're smart, hardworking, and persistent, you'll get lots of opportunities and progress in your career quickly. You'll get to work on interesting things.
Whether you come in as an analyst or an operations specialist, or whatever role you can get into, there won't be many perfect roles in startups. Expect that you'll have to do a bunch of things, some of which might not be super interesting.
Even in my role, chasing people to pay their bills isn't my favorite part. It's not super interesting, but there's nobody else to do it, and it's important. I do it, and you also learn a lot of empathy for people in other roles. This is a bit of a tangent, but that empathy will carry throughout your career.