Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Post office counter clerk to financial trader

A post office counter clerk already meets 26% of what the financial trader role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From post office counter clerk
26 % overlap
Distant match
To financial trader
6 You already bring
11 Still to learn
35 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

71/ 100

1 How much of what a financial trader is expected to do is already part of a post office counter clerk’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the financial trader role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A financial trader role treats 6 of its required skills as things a post office counter clerk already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • advise on financial matters
  • communicate with customers
  • financial markets
  • financial products
  • handle financial transactions
  • offer financial services

What stands in the way is 11 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 6 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A financial trader role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a post office counter clerk background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held offer financial services communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held financial markets business, administration and law
  • already held financial products business, administration and law
  • already held advise on financial matters communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held handle financial transactions management skills
  • already held communicate with customers communication, collaboration and creativity

All 6 carried skills, including the 6 the financial trader role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 29 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 information skills 4 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn analyse economic trends required
  • still to learn analyse market financial trends required
  • still to learn maintain records of financial transactions required
  • still to learn obtain financial information required
  • optional, not held assess risks of clients' assets optional
  • optional, not held forecast economic trends optional
  • optional, not held manage financial risk optional
  • optional, not held monitor stock market optional
  • optional, not held perform stock valuation optional
02 business, administration and law 2 required, 6 supplementary
  • still to learn cryptocurrency required
  • still to learn financial jurisdiction required
  • optional, not held fundamental analysis optional
  • optional, not held investment analysis optional
  • optional, not held banking activities optional
  • optional, not held modern portfolio theory optional
  • optional, not held securities optional
  • optional, not held stock market optional
03 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn protect client interests required
  • still to learn provide financial product information required
  • optional, not held advise on investment optional
  • optional, not held communicate with banking professionals optional
  • optional, not held review investment portfolios optional
  • optional, not held trade securities optional
04 management skills 1 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn operate financial instruments required
  • optional, not held create a financial plan optional
  • optional, not held develop investment portfolio optional
  • optional, not held make investment decisions optional
05 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 required
  • still to learn actuarial science required
06 social sciences, journalism and information 1 required
  • still to learn economics required
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a financial trader role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 6 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held advise on financial matters skill
  • already held communicate with customers skill
  • already held financial markets knowledge
  • already held financial products knowledge
  • already held handle financial transactions skill
  • already held offer financial services skill
18 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held advise on investment optional
  • optional, not held fundamental analysis optional
  • optional, not held investment analysis optional
  • optional, not held assess risks of clients' assets optional
  • optional, not held banking activities optional
  • optional, not held communicate with banking professionals optional
  • optional, not held create a financial plan optional
  • optional, not held develop investment portfolio optional
  • optional, not held forecast economic trends optional
  • optional, not held make investment decisions optional
  • optional, not held manage financial risk optional
  • optional, not held modern portfolio theory optional
  • optional, not held monitor stock market optional
  • optional, not held perform stock valuation optional
  • optional, not held review investment portfolios optional
  • optional, not held securities optional
  • optional, not held stock market optional
  • optional, not held trade securities optional
19 held skills the financial trader role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role assist customers skill
  • not needed by the target role carry out active selling skill
  • not needed by the target role characteristics of products knowledge
  • not needed by the target role characteristics of services knowledge
  • not needed by the target role convert currency skill
  • not needed by the target role customer service knowledge
  • not needed by the target role deliver correspondence skill
  • not needed by the target role distribute pensions skill
  • not needed by the target role handle registered mail skill
  • not needed by the target role issue sales invoices skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain store cleanliness skill
  • not needed by the target role operate cash register skill
  • not needed by the target role process payments skill
  • not needed by the target role promote financial products skill
  • not needed by the target role register mail skill
  • not needed by the target role sales argumentation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role satisfy customers skill
  • not needed by the target role sell post office products skill
  • not needed by the target role types of pensions knowledge
10 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn actuarial science required
  • still to learn cryptocurrency required
  • still to learn economics required
  • still to learn financial jurisdiction required
  • optional, not held fundamental analysis optional
  • optional, not held investment analysis optional
  • optional, not held banking activities optional
  • optional, not held modern portfolio theory optional
  • optional, not held securities optional
  • optional, not held stock market optional
Index

Other moves recorded from post office counter clerk

Full index of moves from post office counter clerk

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a post office counter clerk become a financial trader?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A post office counter clerk already covers 26% of what a financial trader is expected to do: 6 skills carry over, 6 of which the financial trader role treats as required.

What skills does a post office counter clerk need to become a financial trader?

11 required skills are missing, plus 18 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is actuarial science.

How hard is the move from post office counter clerk to financial trader?

Its learning distance is 71 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.