Loan Officer

When someone wants to open a business, buy a home, or build up their credit, they don’t have to come up with the money all by themselves. Banks and other financial institutions are always willing to offer loans, but before they hand out the cash, they ask the experts if it’s a good idea or not. These experts are loan officers.

Personal Connection

Numbers, numbers, numbers. Loan officers are all about the numbers and how they describe a person’s financial situation. Offering a loan always involves a bit of risk, which is why it’s so essential that loan officers understand what good risks and bad risks look like financially:

Do you like working with numbers?
Are you good with your finances?
Would you like to help people get the funds they need to start their own business?
Can you take bits and pieces of information and put them together to get an idea of the bigger picture?

Other Connections

Loan officers aren’t the only ones who get to deal with numbers all day and talk finances:

Real estate brokers manage a team of real estate agents and help them perform duties like making offers on houses, evaluating what someone can afford, and putting together counteroffers

Financial advisors work one-on-one with people to help them build and maintain their wealth through smart financial decisions

Stockbrokers work for clients who want to buy and sell stocks but don’t have the required knowledge of how the stock market works

Insurance agents set people up with everything from life to health to automobile insurance, helping them find the coverage they need at prices suitable for their situation

Financial analysts are a bit like advisors, but they tend to work with more prominent companies and look at the overall financial picture to advise about smart investment decisions and future economic concerns

STEM Connection

Back in the day, loan officers may have only had their brains and a calculator to work with, but not anymore! Here’s a look at how emerging technologies are transforming the loan industry:

Artificial intelligence in mortgage lending reduces errors and speeds up work for loan officers:

Artificial intelligence has a lot of applications, and some loan officers are actively implementing it to do their jobs more effectively. Read more:

Credit reports offer a more efficient way of evaluating risk:

Before credit reporting was a thing, loan officers would assess risk based on personal connection and other factors. These days, credit reports give a quick and simple overview of a person’s financial stability. Read more:

Online applications provide more convenience and bring in more clients:

Who fills out paper applications anymore? Loan officers who get with the times and offer online applications see far more client activity than those who don’t. Read more:

Mobile apps offer better client experience:

When someone applies for a loan, they don’t want to have to wait for days with no information. They want to be able to contact their loan officer at any time to find out what’s happening, and mobile apps tailored to lenders can give them this ability by providing up-to-date loan processing info on the go. Read more.

Journeys to Becoming a Loan Officer

The path to becoming a loan officer may seem like a distant reality, but did you know you can get started on that path while in high school?

Read about one woman’s journey into her future as a loan officer:

Shelly Nelton started in the army before working in public safety in the relative comfort of a government job. After several years, she decided to go back to school and try out a different career as a software engineer. The coursework proved to be a challenge, so while on a break, she took a job as a loan officer’s assistant to give herself some time to evaluate her future. To be an assistant, she had to get her license, and once she passed the test, she was thrust into the world of loans.

She had no intention of being a loan officer herself until a persistent recruiter kept calling her, offering her a job as a loan officer at his company. She finally decided to go for it, and a year later, she has no regrets.

Read about a veteran loan officer’s secrets to having a loan accepted here:

Joe Parsons works as a senior loan officer at Pinnacle Home Loans in Dublin, California. He originally started his career as a real estate broker, then decided after 13 years that he wanted to work as a loan officer. He has now been in the mortgage industry for over three decades and is renowned as a master communicator and problem-solver.

Joe describes his job as the smiling face that clients see when they walk in the door, but the determining factor if a client’s application is accepted is up to underwriting. Joe is interviewed by Forbes’s magazine and advises consumers based on his years of knowledge in the industry.

Articles, Videos, Podcasts of Interest

This article looks at how loan officer careers compare to other similar job roles and how you can become one:

Find out what it takes to become a loan officer and the kind of schooling you can expect to need:

Take a look at potential job growth and the average salary for loan officers:

If you’re going to become a loan officer, you’ll need to know some industry tips before you get started:

Years of Lending:

Did you know that lending has been around for over 4,000 years? Read more here:

Rising Prices:

Loan officers are needed now more than ever since the average home value in 1940 was around $2,000 compared to today’s $100,000! Read more here:

Credit Confusion:

Did you know that before 2001 consumers had no way to access their credit score and find out what it meant? Read more here:

Similar STEM Careers

FBI Finance Expert

Protect national security and gain evidence against criminals by following the money trail inside international crime.

View Career

Climate Change Focused Insurance Agent

Ensure clients are adequately insured for natural disasters by updating policies and coverage with climate change in mind.

View Career

Retirement Investment Specialist

As healthcare improves and people live longer and longer, it becomes ever more important to have solid financial plans in […]

View Career

Venture Capital Investment Specialist

Support new businesses by evaluating their idea, product, or technology and providing funding to those with growth potential.

View Career

Loan Officer

Personal Connection

Other Connections

STEM Connection

Artificial intelligence in mortgage lending reduces errors and speeds up work for loan officers:

Credit reports offer a more efficient way of evaluating risk:

Online applications provide more convenience and bring in more clients:

Mobile apps offer better client experience:

Journeys to Becoming a Loan Officer

Articles, Videos, Podcasts of Interest

This article looks at how loan officer careers compare to other similar job roles and how you can become one:

Find out what it takes to become a loan officer and the kind of schooling you can expect to need:

Take a look at potential job growth and the average salary for loan officers:

If you’re going to become a loan officer, you’ll need to know some industry tips before you get started:

Fun Facts

Years of Lending:

Rising Prices:

Credit Confusion:

Similar STEM Careers