Comments on: So You Want My Job: Financial Planner

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 23:31:36 +0000

You’re an idiot if you don’t listen to an experienced financial planner, and think you can do better on your own. There’s a reason they have certifications.

By: Eric

Eric — Tue, 11 May 2010 16:43:55 +0000

@ Mr. Rose

Any good books that you can recommend for this profession?

Thank you,
Eric

By: linda

linda — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:41:53 +0000

I have been unemployed for about 4 months now. Without any income coming in for that long because my company I worked for felt they fired me for just cause, I had to depend on my boyfriend to support me and my kids. That made me very uneasy but I won my appeal finally and in the past months I have had a LOT of time to rethink my employment issues. Do I want to continue doing what I was doing or do I want a change? I have checked on going to college either online or campus but couldnt decide on a field or didnt really have any inclination of what I wanted to do now. I was as far as I was concerned, perfectly content in the job I had. But with time on my hands I weighed my options and decided I should just get another job like I had. Then I woke up this morning and I was happy and stress free. Yesterday I sat down with my boyfriend and told him what we were going to do financially. I explained what the order of getting the bills paid and caught up was going to be and by when we should be out of debt to be able to look further at when we do get married and need to get life insurance or plan for the future for retirement or whatever we may need. Just doing that yesterday and waking up today the way I did makes me feel good about financial planning. Long story short, I am glad I came across this site. What kind of schooling would I need to be a financial planner? I’ve never went to college, have 3 kids and dont know if it is even feasible to be thinking about changing careers at age 42. If online courses would even be acceptable or not to get a job once completed? I dont want to continue being dependent on my boyfriend while trying to do this if it turns out that it wouldnt matter anyway. Any advice would be much appreciated. thank you

By: Ivan

Ivan — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:02:19 +0000

Hi there,
My name is Ivan and I am a financial planner in Hong Kong. Your article is great and educated. Good to learning more from you. However; Financial planning is a tough job and I am kind of out of calls now since I am new. Therefore; please advise me some efficiency ways to get more people to know me and try my restaurant, thanks

Ivan

By: Wil

Wil — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:03:09 +0000

Your article was very helpful. I have been doing paralegal work for over 10 years and was layoff a year ago. I am in the process of obtaining my series 6 license but faced financial hardship and its now hard to pass diligence in order to take the series 6 exam. I have my life & health license. My questions to you is how could I get into the financial field with my credit being a factor. Could I take the series 63 and 7 with out a sponsored by a company.
Thank you advance and when I get back on my feet I will start investing. You just made a new client.

By: santhoshi

santhoshi — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 16:51:20 +0000

hi, i want to know how can i start my career in investment banking. i have done my graduation in business management and then PG in International Business. worked with SIEMENS for a banking process as a customer accounts manager. now in US with my husband and want to start my career in investment banking.

Thanks in advance

with regards
santhoshi

By: Stephanie Watson

Stephanie Watson — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:26:10 +0000

I am in a Master’s Program with the University of Alabama majoring in Family Financial Planning & Counseling.

Before I started my program what I envisioned was to become a Financial planner working from home helping normal families plan their family finances. I don’t want to make commission on products and saw myself as “fee for service.”

Now that I am in the program, while I LOVE LOVE LOVE the classes I have discovered it’s not so easy. I have been told I will need to work under another financial planner for three years before I can work on my own.

Is this true?

Can you recommend a path for me that will enable me to do what I want from home? I currently work as a Virtual Assistant at home and love it, I simply saw this as another avenue to work from home doing something I love, and a much tighter niche.

Advice?

By: Jeff Rose

Jeff Rose — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 05:33:26 +0000

@ Matthew

Although your career is not finance oriented, at least you are working with people. Helping people find solutions is what I do. Starting off though, many of my clients were very responsive to me being a finance major. Being enrolled in the financial planning courses is definitely a good start.

Working for a big firm will definitely get you good experience, but just don’t think it will be easy to walk away. Most firms will require you to sign a contract and if you decide to walk away. will go after you to recoup training costs. Figure anywhere from $50-$100k that you will be expected to payback. Luckily, I had been with the firm 5 years, which satisfied my contract period.

You could also consider an independent RIA (Registered Investment Advisor). They are growing everyday as wirehouse advisors are jumping ship. Try to get an internship, even if unpaid. That will get you a lot of the experience you might be seeking without having to be locked down for a specific period.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 05:18:26 +0000

I am currently a college student majoring in Agricultural Consumer Economics with a concentration in financial planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I am mainly interested in financial planning because I have a knack for finance and I really enjoy helping people. I am currently working at the UIUC IT Help Desk as a consultant. We provide IT support for various computer-related issues. I know it isn’t personal finance oriented, but I have to assess situations and provide solutions to a client base that includes all of UIUC’s students, staff, and alumni.

@Jeff
First of all, thanks for the awesome information in the interview. Do you think my Help Desk job is something that would actually help me in my job search after graduating college or should I look for something more finance-related? After graduation, would I want to look for a position with a large firm so I can learn what I like/dislike and can go from there? I know larger firms push certain investments and have quotas for consultants to reach. That’s why I’d like to end up being part of a smaller firm eventually.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

By: Jeff Rose

Jeff Rose — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:18:02 +0000

@ Rob

Sorry for the technicalities. As part of the exam and one of the requirements of the Financial Planning board is to utilize the correct trademark and copyright designations. So in essence, I’m letting the financial planning board ,who allow me to use the proper credentials, do the talking.