What are the most effective ways to stay current in a Financial Technology career?
Financial technology, or fintech, is a fast-growing and dynamic sector that combines finance and technology to create innovative solutions for various markets and customers. Fintech professionals need to constantly update their skills and knowledge to keep up with the changing trends, regulations, and customer demands. In this article, we will explore some of the most effective ways to stay current in a fintech career.
One of the easiest and most accessible ways to stay current in fintech is to follow industry news and blogs that cover the latest developments, insights, and opinions from experts and practitioners. You can subscribe to newsletters, podcasts, or social media accounts that focus on fintech topics, such as payments, lending, blockchain, cybersecurity, or artificial intelligence. You can also join online communities and forums where you can interact with other fintech enthusiasts and learn from their experiences and perspectives.
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LinkedIn serves as an invaluable resource for staying abreast of the latest trends. I actively follow prominent FIs like Mastercard and Visa, as well as fintech giants such as Plaid, Square, Stripe, and Adyen, allowing me to tap into diverse insights and updates. In addition to LinkedIn, I engage with newsletters from reputable fintech news platforms like Finextra and Pymnts.com. They offer a comprehensive view of the industry's developments and emerging trends. Moreover, to deepen my knowledge and gain multifaceted perspectives, I make a point to attend in monthly demos and fireside chats hosted by companies whose products intrigue me. This engagement has been instrumental in broadening my understanding of the fintech landscape.
Another way to stay current in fintech is to take online courses and certifications that can help you acquire new skills, refresh your existing ones, or validate your expertise. There are many platforms and providers that offer fintech-related courses and certifications, such as Coursera, edX, Udemy, or the Global Academy of Finance and Management. You can choose courses and certifications that match your interests, goals, and level of difficulty. You can also look for courses and certifications that are endorsed by reputable institutions, organizations, or companies in the fintech sector.
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In my experience, I find online courses to be a great way to learn about the latest updates in the fintech industry. Whether you are new to the topic, or in your journey to become specialized, online learning provides an excellent platform for you to learn best practices and more importantly learn from your peers in the industry. I took a FinTech course with Harvard, and the classroom participation was unmatched; we learned how to look at one topic from different angles, given the diverse expertise across the students. We were also able to forecast future trends in the market, some of which actually occurred !
Attending events and webinars is another way to stay current in fintech, as they can provide you with opportunities to network, learn, and exchange ideas with other fintech professionals, experts, and influencers. You can look for events and webinars that are relevant to your niche, role, or industry, such as conferences, workshops, hackathons, or meetups. You can also look for events and webinars that are hosted by leading fintech associations, platforms, or companies, such as the FinTech Association of Hong Kong, Finovate, or Stripe.
Working on personal or professional projects is another way to stay current in fintech, as they can help you apply your skills and knowledge to real-world problems, challenges, or opportunities. You can work on personal projects that showcase your creativity, passion, or curiosity for fintech, such as building a mobile app, a website, or a chatbot. You can also work on professional projects that demonstrate your value, impact, or contribution to your organization, clients, or partners, such as developing a new feature, a prototype, or a report.
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Whenever you bump into a cool new tool, just set up a free account and play around with it to tackle a small but annoying problem. If you make a habit of doing this once or twice a month, you'll quickly get the hang of a bunch of different tools that can help you look at problems from new angles. Keep it up, and you'll be a problem-solving whiz in no time.
Seeking feedback and mentorship is another way to stay current in fintech, as they can help you improve your performance, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and plan your career development. You can seek feedback from your peers, managers, clients, or users, who can provide you with constructive criticism, suggestions, or praise for your work. You can also seek mentorship from senior or experienced fintech professionals, who can offer you guidance, advice, or support for your challenges, goals, or aspirations.
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In addition to all of these different options, I believe podcasts are a good alternative as well. Some of the podcasts offer a deep insight into startup sector, which I believe has tremendous learning and growth opportunity purely from Financial knowledge. ‘WTF is happening’ by Nikhil Kamath is a great example.
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