Financial Risk Specialist Career Assessment
Finding what could go wrong with the money — before it does
Welcome
Financial risk specialists look for the things that could cost an organization a lot of money, measure how likely and how bad they are, and help plan what to do about them.
This is a small, senior, well-paid field. You will explore what it takes to get there.
This takes about 15 minutes.
What is a Financial Risk Specialist?
Risk means the chance that something goes wrong and costs money. A financial risk specialist studies risks like borrowers who cannot pay, interest rates that move the wrong way, fraud, and rules a company might break. They measure those risks with data, write them up, and recommend limits and controls. Most work for banks, insurance companies, and large organizations.
The Reality: This is the least entry-level job in this whole group. North Dakota shows only about 90 of these positions statewide and about 10 openings a year. Employers expect a bachelor's degree plus several years of experience in accounting, credit, auditing, or compliance first. Nobody is hired into this from a training program. Treat it as a destination you reach in your thirties or forties, not a starting point — and know that the step below it, such as credit analyst or internal auditor, is where you actually begin.
Your Responsibilities:
- Find the things that could cost the organization money
- Measure how likely each risk is and how bad it would be
- Build models that test bad-case scenarios
- Watch data for early warning signs
- Check that the organization follows banking and financial rules
- Recommend limits, controls, and backup plans
- Write clear risk reports for leaders and regulators
- Explain hard ideas to people who are not specialists
You are the person who asks what happens if this goes wrong, before it does.
A Day in the Life
8:00 AM — Review the overnight risk report. One number is outside its limit.
8:45 AM — Trace where it came from. It is a data error, not a real problem.
10:00 AM — Run a stress test: what if farm incomes drop 20% next year?
11:30 AM — Meet with the lending team about what the test showed.
12:30 PM — Lunch.
1:15 PM — Work on a compliance review before the regulators visit.
3:00 PM — Write the quarterly risk summary for the board.
4:45 PM — Update the risk register with two new items.
Analytical desk work, careful writing, and a lot of meetings where you deliver unwelcome news.
Training in North Dakota
A bachelor's degree plus years of finance experience. There is no shortcut. Finance, accounting, economics, statistics, and data analytics degrees all fit. What matters just as much is the experience: time spent in credit, audit, compliance, or accounting where you learned how the money actually moves. The credential most people in this field pursue is the FRM.
Training Pathways:
- Bachelor's degree, then work your way over (4 years plus 3 to 5): Get the degree, take a job in credit analysis, internal audit, compliance, or accounting, and move into risk once you know the business. This is how most people get here.
- Two-year degree, then a bank job, then finish the bachelor's: Slower but it works, and you earn the whole time. A Financial Technologies or business associate degree plus a bank support job is a real starting place.
- Bachelor's plus the FRM (4 years plus 2 or more): The Financial Risk Manager credential from GARP is two exams plus two years of relevant work experience. It is the recognized mark in this field.
Where to Train in North Dakota:
- Bismarck State College (Bismarck) — Bachelor of Applied Science in Finance, 4 years, online or on campus, with stackable certificates in Accounting and Data Analytics — bismarckstate.edu
- Bismarck State College (Bismarck) — Financial Technologies, AAS, 2 years, on campus or online, transfers into the Finance BAS — bismarckstate.edu
- University of North Dakota (Grand Forks) — Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance, 120 credits, on campus or online — und.edu
- North Dakota State University (Fargo) — Accounting major plus the Master of Accountancy (30 credits, downtown Fargo) — ndsu.edu
- Minot State University (Minot) — Accounting, BS, 120 credits. Minot State lists the Certified Internal Auditor and Certified Fraud Examiner exams among those its graduates qualify to sit for, both of which fit risk work — minotstateu.edu
- University of Mary (Bismarck) — Accounting, BS, in person, online, evening, or blended — umary.edu
Before You Start: High school diploma or GED to start a degree. This field leans harder on statistics and data than the others in this group, so be ready for that. You also need to write clearly and stay steady when people push back on your findings.
Tip: Start with financial aid, scholarships, and any help an employer offers — that is where the money starts. After that, ask a career counselor or Job Service North Dakota whether WIOA or other programs can help with what is left over, like training, tools, work boots, or exam fees. What can be paid for depends on the program and on your own situation, so ask before you sign up rather than after. Registered apprenticeships let you earn a paycheck while you learn — see jobsnd.com/job-seeker/apprenticeships for ND programs.
Certification & Licensing
No license is required. The FRM is the credential that carries weight. There is no state or federal license for financial risk specialists. If you work at an FDIC-insured bank, the same Section 19 criminal-record rule applies as for any bank employee.
Credentials and Rules:
- No license required — your degree, your experience, and your track record are the qualification
- FRM (Financial Risk Manager, from GARP) — two exams. Part I is 100 multiple-choice questions on risk foundations, quantitative analysis, markets and products, and valuation models. Part II is 80 questions on market, credit, operational, liquidity, and investment risk (garp.org)
- FRM experience — you must submit evidence of at least two years of relevant work experience to earn the certification. GARP does not list a formal education prerequisite and describes roughly 240 hours of study (garp.org)
- CPA — not required, but common among risk people who came from accounting. See the accountant path for North Dakota's rules (ndsba.nd.gov)
- Section 19 of the FDI Act — if the job is at an FDIC-insured bank, a conviction involving dishonesty, breach of trust, or money laundering bars employment without written FDIC consent. The Fair Hiring in Banking Act excludes many offenses outright, including ones seven or more years old, ones where five or more years have passed since release from incarceration, ones committed at 21 or younger with more than 30 months since sentencing, expunged or sealed convictions, and simple drug possession (fdic.gov)
- If your offense is still covered, a bank can sponsor a Section 19 application for a specific job, or you can file an individual waiver yourself with court records and evidence of rehabilitation (fdic.gov)
The Exams: The FRM Part I and Part II exams are multiple-choice and are offered on set dates each year. Most people study for months for each part.
Cost: GARP sets FRM registration and exam fees, so check garp.org for current amounts. Your degree is the main cost. Many employers pay for the FRM once you are hired.
Keeping It Current: GARP strongly encourages ongoing Continuing Professional Development to keep the FRM current. Bank employers also require yearly compliance training.
Salary & Job Outlook
North Dakota Financial Risk Specialist Pay (May 2025):
- Starting out (bottom 10–25%): $24.19–$29.57/hour ($50,320–$61,510/year)
- Middle (median — half earn more, half earn less): $35.88/hour ($74,630/year)
- Experienced (top 25–10%): $47.97–$72.03/hour ($99,770–$149,820/year)
What that means: The middle North Dakota risk specialist earns about $35.88 an hour, or about $74,630 a year. Be careful with these numbers: the state has only about 90 people in this job, so a small survey sample can swing the figures. The spread is huge, from about $24.19 at the bottom tenth to about $72.03 at the top, because the title covers both a junior risk analyst and a senior risk officer. North Dakota is far below the national middle of about $56.41 an hour — this is one of the jobs where the national pay picture does not apply here.
Jobs in North Dakota: About 90 people do this work in ND today. By 2034, that should be about 90 (about 8% growth). Expect about 10 job openings every year in ND from growth and people retiring or changing jobs. Across the U.S., the change is about 7% growth — much faster than average.
Outlook: Growing, but very small. North Dakota shows about 90 of these positions and about 10 openings a year, with roughly 8% growth by 2034. The national picture is stronger in raw numbers, so people who want to specialize deeply in risk often end up working remotely for an out-of-state employer or relocating.
Who Hires in ND: Banks and the Bank of North Dakota, credit unions, insurance companies, Farm Credit and other agricultural lenders, large health systems, and state government finance offices.
Work Setting: An office, mostly in Fargo, Bismarck, or Grand Forks. Regular weekday hours, with pressure around regulatory exams, quarter-end, and board meetings. Remote work is more common in this field than in most.
Physical Demands: Low. Desk and computer work with long screen hours. Larger monitors, a sit-stand desk, and screen-reading or magnification software are ordinary accommodations.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, North Dakota, May 2025 (SOC 13-2054); North Dakota and U.S. long-term employment projections 2024–2034, via O*NET OnLine. Numbers are rounded.
Where This Leads
Path 1: Credit Analyst or Internal Auditor — Where nearly everyone actually starts.
Path 2: Compliance Analyst — Check that rules are being followed.
Path 3: Risk Analyst — Your first job with risk in the title.
Path 4: Financial Risk Specialist — Own a risk area and its models.
Path 5: Risk Manager — Lead a risk team.
Path 6: Chief Risk Officer — Answer to the board for the whole organization's risk.
The Real Talk
What's Great:
- Well paid for desk work
- Growing field nationally
- Remote work is realistic here
- Your work protects real people's money
- Interesting problems, never the same twice
- Respected voice with leadership
What's Hard:
- Only about 90 of these jobs in ND
- Definitely not entry-level
- Needs a degree plus years of experience
- Heavy statistics and data work
- You deliver bad news for a living
- ND pays far below the national middle
Be Honest: Are you willing to spend several years in credit, audit, or compliance first? Are you comfortable with statistics and data? Can you keep saying an unpopular thing calmly when leaders do not want to hear it?