Can I get a finance job without a finance degree?

Yes, especially for entry and mid-level roles. Many accounting technician, accounts payable, and payroll specialist roles do not require a degree. Your military experience with budgets, procurement, and financial controls counts as relevant experience. Tailor your resume to highlight the financial functions you performed, and you can compete with degree-holding candidates. For senior analyst and management roles, a degree helps but certifications like the CMA or CIA can substitute.

What finance roles are the best fit for veterans with no direct finance MOS?

Compliance and internal audit roles are a natural fit. The military teaches you to follow procedures, document everything, and spot things that are out of place. That is exactly what internal auditors and compliance analysts do. Accounts payable and receivable roles are also good entry points. They require attention to detail and process discipline, which you have. And budget analyst roles map directly to the resource management work most NCOs and officers did as a secondary duty.

Should I list my security clearance on a finance resume?

Yes, if you are applying to defense contractors, government agencies, or financial institutions that do government work. A clearance is a hiring advantage for finance roles at companies like Lockheed Martin, Booz Allen, and government agencies. For commercial banking and corporate finance roles, it is less relevant. Put it on your resume for defense and government roles. Leave it off for commercial roles where it does not add value.

How do I explain that I managed a budget but I was not a finance person?

You do not need to explain it away. You frame it as experience. 'Managed annual operating budget of $X, including cost tracking, variance analysis, and compliance reporting' is a true statement about what you did. It does not matter that your MOS was not finance. The function is what the employer cares about, not the job code. Lead with the budget management experience and let your title be secondary context.

Tailor Your Resume for Finance and Accounting Jobs — What Veterans Need to Know

By GetVetsHired · July 2026 · 5 min read

You tracked millions in equipment. You managed unit budgets. You processed pay and allowances. You reconciled accounts and passed audits that would make most accountants sweat. In other words, you have been doing finance and accounting work for years. The problem is that your resume describes it in military language, and the ATS at a bank or accounting firm does not speak that language. Here is how to fix it so your real qualifications actually get read.

Why finance is one of the best career paths for veterans (that nobody talks about)

When people talk about veteran career transitions, they mention logistics, IT, law enforcement, and project management. Finance rarely makes the list. Which is strange, because finance and accounting roles pay as well or better than most of those fields, hire in large numbers, and map directly to skills that many veterans already have. If you were a supply sergeant, you managed a budget. If you were a company commander, you managed a budget. If you were a disbursing officer, a finance NCO, or anyone who touched a government purchase card, you were doing accounting and financial controls. The median salary for financial analysts is around $85,000. Accountants earn $75,000 to $95,000. Compliance officers and internal auditors earn $70,000 to $100,000. These are desk jobs with regular hours, career stability, and promotion paths that reward attention to detail. The same attention to detail the military spent years drilling into you.

Keywords finance and accounting employers actually scan for

Finance and accounting ATS systems are tuned to look for specific technical and regulatory language. These are the terms that get your resume past the filter:

Financial operations. Use: accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger, journal entries, month-end close, reconciliation, financial reporting.
Budget and forecasting. Use: budget preparation, variance analysis, cost tracking, financial planning, forecasting, capital budgeting.
Compliance and controls. Use: internal controls, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), GAAP, audit preparation, regulatory reporting, segregation of duties.
Systems and software. Name specific platforms: QuickBooks, SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP), Salesforce. If you used military financial systems like GFEBS or STARS, mention the function (enterprise financial system) instead of the acronym.
Analysis and reporting. Use: financial analysis, data reconciliation, trend analysis, management reporting, key performance indicators (KPIs), dashboard creation.

Translating your military financial experience

The military taught you financial discipline that most civilians learn on the job. You just need to reframe it in accounting language:

'Unit supply sergeant managing $4M in equipment and supplies' becomes 'managed $4M asset inventory, conducted monthly reconciliations, and maintained audit-ready documentation with zero discrepancies across 3 audit cycles.'
'Finance NCO processing pay and allowances for 500 soldiers' becomes 'payroll and benefits specialist processing compensation for 500 personnel, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with regulatory requirements.'
'Company commander with budget authority over training and operations' becomes 'managed annual operating budget of $1.2M, including cost tracking, variance analysis, and quarterly reporting to senior leadership.'
'Government purchase card holder with $25K monthly limit' becomes 'managed procurement and expense reconciliation for $25K monthly budget, ensuring policy compliance and accurate documentation for all transactions.'
'Internal control officer for battalion' becomes 'internal controls specialist responsible for audit readiness, compliance monitoring, and process improvement across a 500-person organization.'

Certifications that open doors in finance

Finance is a credential-heavy field. The right certification can add $10,000 to $20,000 to your salary. The good news is that your GI Bill covers exam fees and many prep courses. For entry-level accounting roles, the Certified Bookkeeper (CB) or QuickBooks certification signals you can do the work. For financial analysis, the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) is the gold standard but requires significant study. For management accounting, the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) is respected and maps well to your military experience in resource management. And for internal audit and compliance, the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) or Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) open doors to government and corporate roles. You do not need all of these. Pick one that matches the roles you are targeting and start there. Many veterans pass the CMA or CIA with a few months of study because the logic and controls mindset is already wired in from military service.

The fastest way to tailor for finance and accounting jobs

A staff accountant role at a manufacturing company scans for completely different keywords than a financial analyst role at a bank. You cannot use the same resume for both and expect results. Tailor your resume to each job description by matching the exact finance terms the employer uses. A tailoring tool can do this in minutes. Upload your resume, paste the job description, and get a version that speaks the language of the finance department you are applying to. Same experience. Better framing. More interviews.

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