A few become in-house financial advisors or officers in the industries they covered as financial analysts. The obligations of today's financial analyst were covered by more experienced individuals as late as the 1970s, but with rapid deregulation of ownership in industries in the early 1980s and the rapid growth of the financial sector during those same years, the need arose for a structured and continuing stream of intensively trained professionals familiar with the financial industry. Larger firms, which consolidated their programs in the early 1990s, are cautiously beginning to expand them again, finding opportunities in such new and developing industries as software development, biotechnology, and aerospace technologies. They work together on teams that are rotated quickly when needed. Lack of control over hours and personal life are common in the first two years.
Responsibilities shift from producing to pitching, and client contact increases.
Many study for professional degrees during these years. Over 70 percent of those who began in the field have either changed firms, returned to school, or changed jobs within the industry. While loyalty is tangible between analysts, the same sense of fidelity doesn't seem to apply to the companies that employ them. While bonuses still account for the bulk of income, salaries are significant as well. Hours can decrease but responsibility increases and pressure develops to solicit new business.