Is a Career as a Financial Professional in Your Future?
With uncertainty looming in the midst of the current crisis and unemployment on the rise, you may be considering a career shift to a new job—or even a new industry. If you’ve experienced previous career success and are looking for the opportunity to grow and succeed in a rewarding career, you may want to consider becoming a financial professional.
Acting as a financial professional allows you to help people deal with the most essential factor of their day-to-day lives: money. Because when it comes to managing finances, a lot of Americans need help.
Did you now that 78% of workers1 in the U.S. live from paycheck-to-paycheck? It’s also not just lower-income households that are struggling. A recent Nielsen study2 revealed that 25% of households that earn more than $150,000 a year are also living paycheck-to-paycheck.
What’s more, one in three Americans does not have a budget3, nearly 40% would not be able to cover a surprise $400 expense4, and the average credit card5 debt per household is $8,509.
Why Financial Professionals are Essential
Some of the valuable services financial professionals can offer are education, accountability and motivation, and tools and resources to help people meet and exceed financial goals. Financial professionals help individuals and companies develop written strategies that consider growth and protection goals, and can also offer guidance across a range of needs from risk management to planning retirement to buying a house, saving for college, building a rainy day fund and more. Many people in these types of roles lean on masterful analytical skills as well as strong people skills to help their clients problem-solve.
Financial Professional Career Paths
There are many career paths in financial services that require diverse abilities and levels of experience. So even if you don’t consider yourself a math whiz, other qualities like goal-setting, being detail-oriented and having strong customer service skills are great assets to have.
Rethink Wealth provides our financial professionals with the tools and development they need to drive their own career path. Below are a few examples of opportunities you can explore when you join our firm.
Financial Representative (FR):
Financial Representatives build a practice of their own, working with individuals and businesses to protect their assets and save for the future. Our FRs often can work autonomously, or as part of a team. Many of our FRs leverage the local and national development available to them but also continue to build their skills by gaining designations such as a CFP®, ChFC, or the CLU. In addition, many FRs build their practices around a market which they are passionate about, often becoming the firm expert in areas such as special needs planning, business exit strategies and more.
Firm Career Path:
A firm career path is for FRs who want to continue to grow and hone specific skill sets and experience they have, without going into an official leadership role. Whether it is simply being a mentor to newer financial professionals, building a team, becoming a retirement specialist or even a training director. We understand our FRs each have their own career path they are building towards and we provide the support and development needed to take your practice and career where you want.
Firm Leadership:
Entering into firm leadership is a formal agreement between an FR and the leadership team in which an FR has decided to build a team, coaching and developing other FRs. Our development programs for leaders are an excellent way to slowly take on that more formal leadership role, while maintaining your personal practice, gaining new skills and helping the firm to grow.
A Strong Choice in a Changing Market
In a landscape where the economy has experienced multiple tectonic shifts in the last decade alone, people and businesses need more help organizing and planning their finances than ever.
One of the most rewarding aspects of being a financial professional is the relationships you build with your clients, providing guidance and education that helps them achieve their dreams and financial goals. The entrepreneurial nature of the business also provides you with the flexibility to build your schedule in a way where you can accomplish what you want with your career and your life, allowing for plenty of family and personal time.
In addition to your affinity for details, accuracy, and helping people and companies meet their financial goals, there are many reasons a career as a financial professional is a good move. Lean into all the advantages the opportunity has to offer, and you’ll enjoy a satisfying professional and personal life.
For more information on a career as a financial professional with Rethink Wealth visit the Careers Section of our site.
[2] https://www.fa-mag.com/news/nielsen--even-many-high-earners-live-paycheck-to-paycheck-22704.html?mod=article_inline
[3] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fewer-americans-are-budgeting-in-2019----although-they-think-everyone-else-should-300824384.html
[4] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nearly-40-of-americans-cant-cover-a-surprise-400-expense/
[5] https://wallethub.com/edu/cc/credit-card-debt-study/24400/