Financial advisor career

The biggest thing about starting in this career is it’s sales for the first 3 years. You are selling yourself and trust to as many folks (who have money) as you can.

It’s not easy, it’s highly competitive, and it’s a highly regulated industry.

Some say it’s the hardest job you can have to make $100k and it’ll be the easiest job ever to make $200k.

Like the prior posted said its all about sales. How can you convince someone that investing their $3 mil retirement account with you is a wise decision compared to all the other advisors out there? These decisions don't happen over night for people and it will be rice and beans for the first few years while you try and build your client base.

The guy that lives across the street is a financial advisor and he is a self admitted socialist.. If I were a financial advisor to people who are about to be paying a lot bigger taxes I wouldn't admit that..

I was planning on doing this in college until I got out. I had interned at Ameriprise Financial with a Planner for a year. I looked around and realized...who is going to trust a 24-25 year old kid with their money?

Nobody.

I went into supply chain and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.

I’d have a lot more credibility now because of my connections but I’d have to go back and get certified and just, no.

The only guy I know in early 30s who is doing it is also a CPA. He earns his money being a CPA.

The more I look into it, it surely does appear to be Saturated. then again, So is my current field. I’m not rushing into anything. The handful of people I know who do it do well for themselves, but like many have said, I know it’s bare bare bones for a few years at least.

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The biggest thing about starting in this career is it’s sales for the first 3 years. You are selling yourself and trust to as many folks (who have money) as you can.

It’s not easy, it’s highly competitive, and it’s a highly regulated industry.

Some say it’s the hardest job you can have to make $100k and it’ll be the easiest job ever to make $200k.

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All of this is correct information.

The first 3-5 years are horribly difficult. Most don’t make it because they won’t put in the effort. Even a lot that put in the effort don’t make it.

My advice is to start at a local bank where there are accounts/ clients that need to be serviced. You can switch to a wire house later once you understand the field, have some experience and some contacts with money.

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handful of people I know who do it do well for themselves

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That’s sales. If you’re good at it and can handle the pressure, it’s a good career. If you’re not a natural, you’ll weed yourself out.

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I was planning on doing this in college until I got out. I had interned at Ameriprise Financial with a Planner for a year. I looked around and realized...who is going to trust a 24-25 year old kid with their money?

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I was in the same boat coming out of college with a finance degree at 21. I thought to myself, there is no way in the world a 45-50 year old man is going to listen to a 21 year old regardless of if I had 10x the financial knowledge of them. It simply isn’t going to happen.

So I ended up going a completely different direction with my career, but now than I’m older I still think about going back into finance sometimes.

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Any financial advisors here?
Been thinking about taking a 180 and rerouting my career. Currently In a totally different field, just not enjoying it.
In early 30’s and have been giving this profession serious thought.
Been doing a little reading on it, talked to a couple people. Any advice on where to start/which company to try and perhaps interview with? Would be of course starting from square one, no financial back ground.

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33 year old financial advisor and planner (CFP(R) professional) here.

One misconception that you might have gathered from almost all these posts is you have to be a salesman. You do not have to be a salesman if you look in the right places and get hired by the right firm. I would recommend looking for a mid-to-small fee-only RIA firm on NAPFA.org and interviewing or shadowing the owner or key advisors. A surprising amount of firms are semi-looking for another advisor or planner even if they aren't advertising for the position. This strategy gets your name with the firm and they'll come back to you once they need help.

I am not a salesman and never have been. I am the servicing advisor for a little over 90 clients. Our firm AUM is in the $150MM range. I don't get paid commissions. I love what I do and am a part owner of the company.

I repeat, you do not have to be a salesman to be a financial advisor. You DO have to work hard and know what the hell you're talking about if you're going to build trust with a 50-something year old who is on the road to retirement with a couple million of assets to manage.