A loan officer is normally employed by a financial institution or organization that deals with lending money to its clients, and is responsible for the actual lending process. This involves hearing a client’s case, evaluating their situation then making a proper decision based on the current conditions. The loan offer may simply give advice to the client on how to proceed with their situation, or even authorize a loan for them, with the specifics determined in a conversation with the client.
To become a loan officer, at least a Bachelor’s degree is required in most cases – the particular fields accepted include finance, management, economics and business. It’s good to have some prior working experience in the loan industry, as well as knowledge of finances in general. A good loan officer must be attentive and able to work out creative solutions to the problems that arise with their customers, in ways that benefit both customers and the company itself.
The job of a loan officer can be somewhat demanding, making the compensation of $31,000 – $59,000 per year seem rather not justified. Additionally, the job rarely offers bonuses for good performance from those who practice it, and considering the opportunity the loan industry gives for improving one’s performance in general, it’s easy to see how some may consider the job to be a bad choice and not worth it. One of the factors that actually attributes to its popularity are the benefits it provides to those wishing to progress in the loan industry at later points.