<p>Can anyone out there tell me a little bit about this job from experience? USnews ranks it highly as a career.</p>
<p>If U.S. News ranked Septic Tank Cleaner/Designer as a #1 career, would everyone on CC look to get into civil engineering to make special septic tanks? I wonder.</p>
<p>My friend's dad is a financial advisor. I think you have to be a good people person. Some late hours, lots of client contact obviously. He makes very good money too.</p>
<p>I might be heading that direction. I am often giving my friends advice about money and all that stuff. Two of them recently told me they are spending $700/month to own/drive a car. I nearly passed out.</p>
<p>"If U.S. News ranked Septic Tank Cleaner/Designer as a #1 career, would everyone on CC look to get into civil engineering to make special septic tanks? I wonder."</p>
<p>If they did then id come here and ask about the job i guess.</p>
<p>On a less sarcastic and more productive note:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos259.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos259.htm</a> = Government info about financial advisors. Looks fairly comprehensive.</p>
<p>The bls link is good. Just to reiterate the key points, it is a social/people business. In order to succeed, you need to build a book of clients. A lot of FAs may specialize in types of clients/services, for example, I know a guy that specializes in b,c,d list celebrities. Another specializes in municipal portfolios. The financial aspect is not extremely-complex for the most part.</p>
<p>The office hours are 9-5; however, a FA will probably spend a lot of time entertaining and networking if he/she needs to. Most FAs work solo but there are also a lot of teams of FAs that function as a firm within the larger firm that employs them and other FAs. A successful team may be lured away by another firm that gives them an attractive reason to jump ship. Succesful FAs may also be recruited this way by other firms.</p>
<p>My experience comes from being a summer intern at the #1 global firm for WM in NYC. Obviously, it is different in NYC than in say Florida, but a lot of the same principles are the same. If your client likes your service, you may get referrals. If not, the client will close their account.</p>
<p>What else do finance majors do?</p>
<p>Is it hard to get into this business after graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration - Finance from a CSU? Do you need prior experience in other field before or can one start as a Financial Advisor right after graduation with let's say being a CPA for a few years?</p>
<p>[Edit] and is the salary average on <a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/profiles/facts.asp?careerID=176%5B/url%5D">http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/profiles/facts.asp?careerID=176</a> old? $20,000?</p>
<p>no financial advisors generally don't make a lot of cash. There are a few who make a great deal, but don't expect to become a multi-millionaire doing it. They make a comission (usually 100 basis points) of whatever profit your portfolio makes and sometimes a commission for opening new accounts. I don't know if there is a base salary so if you have a bad year, well then you have a really bad year. It really depends on where you work (firm and locations). A financial advisor in boston, new york, or la is going to make better money than someone in tujunga, california.</p>
<p>really? i thought financial advisors at firms have at least a base salary and then maybe a bonus commission...wouldn't they start at around $50,000?</p>
<p>I interned with one in Tx, he pulled in 500k for the year.
I've also heard that some of the PWM guys at Goldman Sachs in NY pull in 7 figs, but these are real big guys.</p>
<p>average salary for someone not socially inept and has a good idea of what is happening in the market so that they can give advice and bring in more clients would be 120k in the greater so cal area extending from san diego upwards to ventura. After that who knows. I know plenty that make 200k, i know some that make 30k. I know people bringing in 60k in 60 months at a pyramid scheme. If you can sell, you can make money. Timing also has a factor. Just look at the housing market, do to the impending chaos (or not) about 200,000 realtors will probably go bye bye. Similarly, financial advisors deal will similar situations due to market fluctuations, increased expendable cash created by the real estate boom, etc.</p>