{"id":9343,"date":"2019-07-11T16:44:02","date_gmt":"2019-07-11T20:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.brainstation.io\/?p=9343"},"modified":"2020-05-14T14:34:17","modified_gmt":"2020-05-14T18:34:17","slug":"what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader","title":{"rendered":"What Digital Skills You Need to Become a Fintech Leader"},"content":{"rendered":"

FinTech \u2014 or financial technologies \u2014 is that increasingly-common marriage between the tech industry and the financial services sector. And year by year these companies, from Avant to Wealthsimple<\/a>, are giving traditional banking institutions a run for their money.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Forbes, the sector is expected to keep growing as startups try to \u201cdisrupt every area of finance,\u201d with one forecast pegging the compound annual growth rate at close to 75 percent from 2019 through 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFinTech is really where finance and tech intersect, of course, which means people can come from a really traditional background \u2014 getting a business degree, or going to commerce for university… or they can come from the whole geeky, coding, fun tech side,\u201d says Ellis Odynn executive director and chief AI officer for the Digital Finance Institute.<\/span><\/p>\n

So how can professionals tap into this booming field (and become a leader)? Industry experts say it comes down to developing a few crucial, in-demand digital skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

Back-end and Front-end Development<\/span><\/h2>\n

Odynn says it\u2019s \u201cabsolutely\u201d necessary for job hunters to have development skills if they want to land a gig at a FinTech company.<\/span><\/p>\n

In particular, being able to code apps for various devices is an important skill, she notes. \u201c<\/span>Every young person banks on their mobile phone… they deposit checks, they send money, they pay their bills, all on their phone,\u201d she explains.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Kesem Frank, chief maven at blockchain solution company Mavennet, is hiring developers, he\u2019s looking for people who are well-rounded, capable of thinking like a product\u2019s end user, and can run the gamut of a full stack.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe you’re stronger in front-end, maybe you have a passion for the back-end… but it’s a gigantic advantage if you can fulsomely understand the full stack,\u201d he says. \u201cDon’t market yourself as \u2018I do this one thing very well\u2019… show you can understand the whole thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He says it\u2019s also helpful to develop familiarity with different virtual machines running different stacks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you understand not just a technical level, but a conceptual level, what’s the big deal with this technology, it makes you a better developer,\u201d he explains.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, says Odynn, \u201cpeople who are able to code, or have taken a coding bootcamp<\/a> \u2014 they have a huge step up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Data Management and AI<\/span><\/h2>\n

Increasingly, FinTech companies are turning to AI to conduct the financial work behind-the-scenes, according to Odynn.<\/span><\/p>\n

With that in mind, job hunters should become familiar with AI and data management skills<\/a> \u2014 be it a basic understanding of the systems or, even better, intimate knowledge of how to actually build them.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s all about \u201clearning how to deal with data and find patterns in data and analyze data sets,\u201d Odynn says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s having people who have the ability and skills to come up with algorithms and programs machines to do that for them,\u201d she adds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Design and UX<\/span><\/h2>\n

Alongside data and development skills, experts say having a sense of design and UX<\/a> is a helpful skill for a job seeker\u2019s toolkit \u2014 particularly given the slick, well-branded nature of many rising stars in the FinTech sphere.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at a bank website, it’s so standard. There’s nothing interesting,\u201d says Odynn. \u201cIf you look at a FinTech website, it’s brighter colors, pop-ups, it’s very easy to understand what’s going on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of these growing companies are targeting millennials she notes and catering to this design-savvy generation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s incredibly important for startups to be able to differentiate, and what we differentiate is probably not the functionality… it’s really that distinct layer that we put on top of what we build that makes it stand out in a really competitive market,\u201d echoes Frank.<\/span><\/p>\n

While design isn\u2019t everyone\u2019s forte, he says candidates need to at least be aware of its importance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you that conversations when somebody has a design in mind \u2014 they’re just more meaningful,\u201d he explains.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bottom line, according to Frank, is that companies are looking for truly \u201cimpressive\u201d candidates, which also goes beyond your resume and skill set.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBe keen,\u201d he says. \u201cYour approach, your mannerisms, your aptitude to how you do things is so key.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Want to hear more from FinTech leaders? BrainStation Community members get 20 percent off FinTech Canada Conference tickets<\/a> using code BRAINSTATION20.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How can you break into this fast-growing field? It might all come down to developing a few crucial, in-demand digital skills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":9346,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[533],"tags":[332,111,227,238,987,988,112],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Digital Skills You Need to Become a Fintech Leader | BrainStation\u00ae Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How can you break into this fast-growing field? It might all come down to developing a few crucial, in-demand digital skills.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Digital Skills You Need to Become a Fintech Leader | BrainStation\u00ae Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How can you break into this fast-growing field? It might all come down to developing a few crucial, in-demand digital skills.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"BrainStation\u00ae Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-07-11T20:44:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-05-14T18:34:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d2re7sjnpekmig.cloudfront.net\/prod\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/GettyImages-1063579368-2-e1562877831397.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1036\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"BrainStation\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"BrainStation\u00ae Blog\",\"description\":\"The Digital Learning Company\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d2re7sjnpekmig.cloudfront.net\/prod\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/GettyImages-1063579368-2-e1562877831397.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/d2re7sjnpekmig.cloudfront.net\/prod\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/GettyImages-1063579368-2-e1562877831397.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1036,\"caption\":\"Fintech skills\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader\",\"name\":\"What Digital Skills You Need to Become a Fintech Leader | BrainStation\u00ae Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-07-11T20:44:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-14T18:34:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9f37983a6c4da6cf5dd422481ac8cf11\"},\"description\":\"How can you break into this fast-growing field? It might all come down to developing a few crucial, in-demand digital skills.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Digital Skills You Need to Become a Fintech Leader\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9f37983a6c4da6cf5dd422481ac8cf11\",\"name\":\"BrainStation\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/80c14b8388838ae1453aec36606b232d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/80c14b8388838ae1453aec36606b232d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"BrainStation\"},\"description\":\"BrainStation is a global leader in digital skills training, empowering businesses and brands to succeed in the digital age. Established in 2012, BrainStation has worked with over 250 instructors from the most innovative companies, developing cutting-edge, real-world digital education that has empowered more than 50,000 professionals and some of the largest corporations in the world.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/author\/brainstation\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Digital Skills You Need to Become a Fintech Leader | BrainStation\u00ae Blog","description":"How can you break into this fast-growing field? It might all come down to developing a few crucial, in-demand digital skills.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Digital Skills You Need to Become a Fintech Leader | BrainStation\u00ae Blog","og_description":"How can you break into this fast-growing field? It might all come down to developing a few crucial, in-demand digital skills.","og_url":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader","og_site_name":"BrainStation\u00ae Blog","article_published_time":"2019-07-11T20:44:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-05-14T18:34:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1036,"url":"https:\/\/d2re7sjnpekmig.cloudfront.net\/prod\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/GettyImages-1063579368-2-e1562877831397.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"BrainStation","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/","name":"BrainStation\u00ae Blog","description":"The Digital Learning Company","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d2re7sjnpekmig.cloudfront.net\/prod\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/GettyImages-1063579368-2-e1562877831397.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d2re7sjnpekmig.cloudfront.net\/prod\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/GettyImages-1063579368-2-e1562877831397.jpg","width":2000,"height":1036,"caption":"Fintech skills"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader#webpage","url":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader","name":"What Digital Skills You Need to Become a Fintech Leader | BrainStation\u00ae Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2019-07-11T20:44:02+00:00","dateModified":"2020-05-14T18:34:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9f37983a6c4da6cf5dd422481ac8cf11"},"description":"How can you break into this fast-growing field? It might all come down to developing a few crucial, in-demand digital skills.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-digital-skills-you-need-to-become-a-fintech-leader#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Digital Skills You Need to Become a Fintech Leader"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9f37983a6c4da6cf5dd422481ac8cf11","name":"BrainStation","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/80c14b8388838ae1453aec36606b232d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/80c14b8388838ae1453aec36606b232d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"BrainStation"},"description":"BrainStation is a global leader in digital skills training, empowering businesses and brands to succeed in the digital age. Established in 2012, BrainStation has worked with over 250 instructors from the most innovative companies, developing cutting-edge, real-world digital education that has empowered more than 50,000 professionals and some of the largest corporations in the world.","url":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/author\/brainstation"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9343"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9343"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11578,"href":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9343\/revisions\/11578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}