It’s that time of year when school students, university graduates and newly qualified accountants will be thinking about their futures. Many will already have a clear idea about what they want to do. For others, the options will seem limitless and bewildering.

But if you want to work in finance, and you don’t know which niche to specialise in, why not think about a career in treasury?

Here are five reasons why treasury is a great career (as a treasury journalist, I think I am well placed to comment!):

1. Treasury is fun. 

Don’t snigger – it’s certainly the most fun that you’re going to get in finance in any case. You will play a crucial role in any mergers or acquisitions that your company undertakes and you may get to carry out eye-wateringly large foreign exchange deals. Not only that, but you’ll get the indescribable joy of being able to log in to your company’s online bank accounts every day and (hopefully) see a long row of numbers staring back at you. What more could you ask for in a job?

2. Treasury has a great sense of community.

Corporate treasurers are a close-knit community, numbering a few thousand in the UK. As a result, they are very well networked and keen to share best practice with each other. They are also a pretty personable bunch of people who like to get out and about. You can find out more about the treasury community from the Association of Corporate Treasurers at: www.treasurers.org

3. Your banker will love you.

We all know what it’s like to be the customer of a retail bank. You never hear from them unless you’ve exceeded your overdraft limit or they want to sell you home insurance. But if you’re a corporate treasurer, you will find out what it is truly like to bask in a banker’s adoration (providing your company is in a healthy financial state, of course). Expect to be wined and dined and to be a name, not just a number. It’s treatment that the rest of us can only dream of, so enjoy it on our behalves…

4. Treasury has a certain mystique.

A lot of people don’t know what corporate treasurers do. A lot of people who work in finance don’t even know what corporate treasurers do. So you will be able to exude a satisfying air of mystery to all your friends, acquaintances and the hot guy or girl who lives down the road when they ask you what you do for a living. Just lift your eyebrow like James Bond and say: “I’m in treasury, corporate treasury.” You will have them swooning, I promise.

5. Treasury is well paid.

I left this point to last since money should not be the only reason that you embark on a certain career. But if you are looking for interesting work, which is also well paid, then treasury is just the ticket. According to Hays’ Accountancy & Finance Market Overview & Salary Guide 2014, treasury analysts in Greater London start at £35,000 with group treasurers of large listed companies potentially earning up to £200,000.

Thus concludes my five reasons as to why treasury is a great career. So what are you waiting for?