Best Finance Classes in San Francisco
The field of finance is involved with managing an individual’s, company’s, or agency’s monetary assets. This broad field includes tasks like monitoring investments, savings, lending, borrowing, or budgeting. Finance professionals often assist with risk management, investment banking, and stockbroking. The finance sector has three primary subcategories, and most finance professionals focus on one. Personal finance entails managing a person’s or family’s money to offer strategies that help them reach monetary goals for their future needs. Corporate finance involves overseeing a company’s finances. This is done to increase profits while managing risks. Public finance is devoted to managing the finances of a government entity. This subcategory can involve tasks that affect how the government funds the public services it offers and may include taxing, spending, or budgeting. Those with a finance background can pursue various career options, such as investment banking, financial advising, and accounting. If you live in San Francisco and are interested in learning more about finance, enrolling in a course is a great way to explore this in-demand field.
Best Finance Classes & Schools in San Francisco
If you’re committed to learning the basics of finance or taking your finance skills further, you can search for finance classes in San Francisco to find the one that’s the best match for your professional and learning needs.
Wall Street Prep - Financial & Valuation Modeling Bootcamp
Corporate finance professionals who want to learn investment banking and equity research skills can do so in Wall Street Prep’s Financial & Valuation Modeling Bootcamp. This program prepares students to work with fundamental finance skills and concepts, such as financial modeling, DCF, valuation, and M&A. The valuation and financial models participants create during this bootcamp are designed to have real-world applications for financial endeavors. Day one of instruction provides learners with the skills needed to create a three-statement model from scratch, work with assumptions and historical data, and incorporate suitable projection drivers. The second day of this program focuses on the basics of DCF modeling. Those enrolled explore how to value a company by employing a step-by-step process. On the third day, participants are taught how to work in Excel to create a merger model that reflects the pro forma ramifications of various acquisition scenarios.
Bootcamp tuition ranges from $1,699-$1,899, depending on enrollment date. It takes three full days of coursework to complete the program. This course is taught in the live online format. Students should have Excel proficiency equivalent to Wall Street Prep’s Excel Crash Course as a prerequisite to study. In addition to live online training, students can access post-seminar resources, such as online courses, once they graduate. Course content includes LBO Modeling, Comps Modeling, M&A Modeling, DCF Modeling, and Financial Statement Modeling. Tuition also includes ongoing network opportunities that provide an opportunity for graduates to connect with professionals who work in industries like FP&A and investment banking, as well as other MBAs. All graduates also have access to Wall Street Prep’s webinar series and continuing education online training platform.
Investment Banking Institute - Financial Modeling and Valuation
Financial Modeling and Valuation teaches various modeling techniques and valuing methodologies used on Wall Street. During this class, participants learn how to create discounted cash flow models, perform comparable company analyses, and learn how to analyze SEC filings to extract important information. Those enrolled create a three-statement model that ties in a cash flow statement, income statement, and balance sheet. Instruction is provided on how to create a back-of-the-envelope accretion dilution model, a leveraged buyout model, and a full-blown merger model.
This intermediate-level class takes 20 hours to complete. Instruction is provided in person in San Francisco and live online. In addition to hands-on, live coursework, participants in this program also receive help in creating a marketable resume and preparing for the sorts of technical questions that may be asked during the interview process. Supplemental class videos are included with tuition. This training is intended to provide students with fluency in finance and prepare them for a career in investment banking or other finance-related roles. Those interested in enrolling should contact the provider to learn about the cost of study.
Silvia Gonzalez - Wise Finances (Virtual 6-Week Workshop)
In Wise Finances, students begin the process of transforming their relationship with money. Through a combination of live online coursework and hands-on activities and exercises, participants explore how to have a healthier outlook on their finances. Those enrolled acquire basic financial literacy terminology. Instruction is provided on how to create a viable budget to promote financial success. By course completion, students will have acquired training on the routines they can adopt to provide structure to their financial affairs.
This live online workshop costs $450. It takes 12 hours to complete this program, which is divided into six sessions that each span two hours. Students should arrive to class at least five minutes early to ensure their computer connection works. No prerequisites are required. Additionally, participants should wear comfortable clothes to class since meditation is one facet of this program. To complete the budgeting exercise, students should bring a list of weekly expenses, which can then be entered into their budget.
Noble Desktop - Intro to Financial Accounting
Intro to Financial Accounting is available to those who want introductory-level instruction on basic accounting principles. Those enrolled complete hands-on exercises that allow them to work with financial statements from well-known companies and real-life 10-Ks. Coursework explores fundamental accounting concepts, such as cash versus accrual accounting and generally accepted accounting principles. Learners also work with financial metrics and income statement line items. They become familiar with balance sheets and learn how to handle cash flow statements. The training provided in this class can be applied to jobs at companies like Apple, Amazon, and Facebook.
Tuition is $325. This program is taught in the live online environment. It takes a full day of study to finish this class. There are no prerequisites for study. All participants can retake this class for free for up to one year to revisit course content.
Berkeley Extension - FinTech Boot Camp
FinTech Boot Camp is a beginner-friendly course intended to provide participants with a comprehensive overview of financial technology. This program employs a project-based curriculum that was created to teach students the most popular programming languages and tools in finance, such as machine learning algorithms, blockchain, Ethereum, Python, and financial libraries. Fundamental financial skills are taught during this bootcamp, such as working with financial ratios, time-series analysis, and financial modeling. Participants also become familiar with cryptocurrency during bootcamp study. In the machine learning portion of this class, those enrolled study algorithmic trading, linear regression, forecasting, recurrent neural networks, support vector machines, and deep learning. By course completion, those enrolled will be familiar with programming languages like SQL and Python and financial libraries like SciPy, NumPy, PyViz, and Pandas.
Tuition for this bootcamp is $12,495. It takes 24 weeks to complete this bootcamp at a ten hour a ten-hour-a-week pace. Coursework is taught live online. All participants create a professional portfolio showcasing the skills they acquired in this class, which can be sent to employers. Additionally, those enrolled have access to career services, which is available to provide support to graduates applying for their first career in finance. Students can take advantage of one-on-one career coaching, interview training, resume help, or portfolio reviews.
San Francisco Industries That Use Finance
San Francisco is a vibrant, diverse city that draws from a highly educated workforce. Many of the city’s top industries, such as software, biotechnology, and finance and insurance, require those with a finance background. The following sections will briefly explore three of the city’s main industries, and the role finance plays in each.
Software
San Francisco is home to over 300 IT firms, many of which are key players in the tech industry. The Bay Area draws from the nation’s most saturated aggregation of federal research institutions and research universities. Thanks to the area’s world-renowned colleges and universities, such as The University of California, San Francisco, Stanford, and Berkeley, more Engineers and Scientists with PhDs are produced in San Franciso than any other metro in the US. Berkeley and Stanford hold the top-two spots in the US for Ph.D. programs in computer science. San Francisco’s diverse cultural landscape, liveability, and concentration of top-tier educational and research institutions continue to make the city a great place to pursue a career in software. Software Engineers who work in San Francisco are paid higher salaries than anywhere else in the country.
Fintech is a field that combines the world of finance with that of technology. In San Francisco’s world-famous tech sector in Silicon Valley, those with a background in finance contribute greatly to helping startups, businesses, and other organizations manage their finances and stay on top of current financial innovations. By automating how financial services are delivered and leveraged, finance professionals provide safer, better financial support to organizations of all types and sizes, such as software companies.
Biotechnology
Northern California’s life sciences industry continues to evolve and develop, in no small part due to San Francisco’s contributions. The city is the birthplace of what is now the biotechnology industry. It is home to nearly 300 life science firms, several of which are top in the country. Top-tier universities in the Bay Area, such as the University of San Francisco, Berkeley, Stanford, and UC San Francisco, offer top-tier biotech programs and provide the city with a highly educated and skilled workforce. The NIH awarded these schools with $1.4 billion to continue with their biotech research.
Much of the work done in the live sciences industry, such as healthcare, diagnostics, or biotechnology-related, relies on a substantial amount of capital. However, it’s not always possible for those involved in research and development to have the training or time to continue seeking funding. This is where those with a background in finance come in. Finance professionals can help those who work in biotechnology acquire external funding to at least in part pay for their research and initiatives. Venture Capitalists sometimes assist those in biotechnology in acquiring the essential funding needed to begin new projects and continue working on those that show promise.
Finance & Insurance
In June 2023, finance and insurance ranked as the second-largest industry of employment in San Francisco, with over 66,000 people working in this sector. The city’s Financial District dates back to the Gold Rush and is considered the main central business district in San Francisco. It houses the city’s largest concentration of law firms, real estate firms, corporate headquarters, insurance companies, savings and loan banks, and other types of financial institutions. Several Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in the Financial District, su has Uber, Williams-Sonoma, Wells Fargo, Gap, and Salesforce. San Francisco is considered the finance capital of the western US.
Many top financial service companies can be found in the Bay Area, such as Bank of the West, First Republic Bank, Essex Property Trust Inc., and Charles Schwab. These institutions employ many finance professionals who work in careers such as investment banking, accounting, venture capital, and financial analytics.
Finance Jobs & Salaries in San Francisco
If you’re interested in pursuing a career in San Francisco that draws from a background in finance, there are several career paths available. The following will explore three popular finance-related professions in the San Francisco metro area and the job requirements and pay rates for each role.
Investment Banker
Investment Bankers play a range of finance-related roles for their employers. These professionals serve as financial advisors. They assist corporate clients with securing funds in capital markets. On certain occasions, they also help their employer with mergers and acquisitions. On a daily basis, Investment Bankers send emails, make financial projections, prepare offers, attend meetings, sign new clients to the company, assist with mergers and acquisitions, and provide initial public offerings. These professionals also sometimes float bonds, issue stocks, or negotiate the acquisition or sale of a company. Within investment banking, there are entry-level positions as well as roles that are more senior, such as high-level executives.
Salaries for Investment Bankers are high in San Francisco. These professionals earn approximately $351,000 annually.
Biotechnician
Biotechnicians work in a laboratory setting with biological organisms. They leverage the newest technologies to create new products and biological interventions, as well as to improve existing processes and products. They study the chemical, genetic, and physical characteristics of tissues, organisms, and cells to propose industrial uses. On a daily basis, these professionals execute experiments, collect and analyze data, devise new research protocols, work with patent applications, oversee lab technicians, and gather research to solve problems and create innovative products. Biotechnicians are employed in industries like medicine, environmental conservation, or food and agriculture. They can work in fields like pharmacology, biomedical research, and genetic engineering.
The field of biotechnology is currently in demand, and qualified professionals are needed to fill roles to help keep innovation continuing. Biotechnicians who work in San Francisco earn a yearly salary of $104,000.
Software Developer
Software Developers draw from a background in design and programming to create software for users. These professionals often meet with clients who specify their software needs and then work to develop, test, and deploy the software using these specifications. Software Developers are involved with the software development process from conception to completion. This often involves being well-versed in user requirements, performing research to find options to meet those needs and establishing a viable plan to create the software. These professionals draw from skills such as problem-solving, attention to detail, mathematical training, time management, and organization. They are also usually fluent in several programming languages, depending on their employer and the type of technology they use.
In San Francisco, Software Developers make about $136,000 a year.
