Should I Pursue a Career of Financial Advisor?

A career of financial advisor is great if you are ambitious, smart, and interested in helping people reach their financial goals. However, it is hard to become established in this career path, which is why so many new advisors give up and choose to pursue a different career.

There are many other advantages and drawbacks of entering the financial services industry as an advisor, and this article will help you explore them.

What Personal Financial Advisors Do

Before we focus on the pros and cons of becoming a financial advisor, let's first see what that career path includes. There are many things you can do as a financial advisor, such as:

• Financial planning - building financial plans to achieve specific financial goals.
• Managing financial investments - researching investment opportunities, developing investment strategies, and managing asset allocation.
• Risk management - identifying and assessing potential risks and helping your clients minimize those risks.
• Educating your clients - on financial products, financial markets, and global market trends.
• Assessing the financial performance of your clients
• Other services - retirement planning, tax planning, advising on insurance policies, etc.

In short, personal financial advisors work with businesses and individuals who want to manage their finances wisely. However, apart from working with the existing clients, personal financial advisors typically spend several hours every week looking for potential new clients.

Some do it through social media, online ads, while others visit various networking events. The process of looking for clients is often overlooked and forgotten when listing the usual duties of financial advisors. Yet, this process is just as important as providing specific services.

Pros and Cons of a Financial Advisor Career Path

Now that you have a basic idea of financial advisor responsibilities, let's take a closer look at why this career path could be good for you. Then, we'll explore the potential drawbacks of choosing a career as a financial advisor.

Pros

Here are the biggest perks of becoming a financial advisor:

Job Growth Opportunities

Increasingly more individuals and businesses are realizing the importance of financial management. Many of them tried to do it on their own and failed miserably. That's why the demand for financial advisors keeps growing. If you choose that as your career, there shouldn't be a shortage of work for you. And if you prove yourself, you will advance in your career rather quickly.

High Earnings Potential

Financial advising is one of those professions where money is all around you. That's why it's no wonder that most financial advisors earn six figures or more. If you manage to build your client base, your salary will be much higher than that!

Diverse Career Options

As we already mentioned, there are multiple services you can offer as a financial advisor. You can specialize in one of these services, or choose to offer several different services to your clients. In any case, you won't be stuck with doing the same thing your whole career.

Work Flexibility

Unless you work for someone else, you will be in total control over your work hours and schedules. This is great for those who are seeking more freedom without sacrificing their career success. Most financial advisors use this flexibility to build their side hustles and other alternative income sources.

Cons

There is no career that doesn't come with certain downsides, so it is no wonder that choosing financial advising will also come with some difficulties:

Tough Start

Even though financial advising is a promising career with high job security, getting started is not so easy. Entry-level advisors often struggle to secure their first clients, which is why so many give up right away.

Stress and Burnout

Another reason why so many people can actually work this job is that it's extremely stressful. After all, you are responsible for someone's finances, which can often be millions of dollars. For many people, that's too much responsibility and stress.

Burnout is also rather common in this career. Even though you have a certain flexibility, you still need to finish a lot of work, which can eventually lead to burnout.

Pressure to Make Sales

Once you build your client base, you will notice one peculiar thing - your search for potential clients is never really over. Some of your existing clients might no longer need your services, and you will need to replace them with new clients. This can become tedious over time, as you will start to feel like all you do is make sales for your services, instead of actually doing your work.

Becoming a Financial Advisor: School Vs. On-The-Job Training

Most financial advisors have a bachelor's degree in economics, finance, or business administration. Some even have a master's degree, but it's not necessary. If you don't have a college degree, you can pursue various programs to become a certified financial planner.

In theory, you could build a successful career as a financial advisor with no college or business degree. However, you would have to prove your skills and knowledge in practice, by working many years in the finance and insurance industry, and climbing up the corporate ladder.

Obviously, there aren't many successful financial advisors who built their careers without any formal education. When you think about it, it makes sense. Would you hire a financial advisor with no relevant education? The answer is no. So, if you want to become a financial advisor, pursue your education first.

After doing that, you can pursue your first job. Start by working for someone else. Look for a large and reputable company with years of experience. Such a company will be able to offer you the on-the-job training, which is just as important as learning things in college.

As a matter of fact, no matter how good your college was, and how much you learned there, some things can only be learned once you start working. Oftentimes, the real world is nothing like what you learned in the books.

Finally, keep in mind that you need to keep learning new things even after obtaining your diploma. Lifelong learning is the only way to sustainable professional development, and that's true for many careers.

Technical Skills Needed for Financial Services

Apart from understanding the financial systems and markets, you will also need other technical skills to succeed. For example, you will need to have strong analytical skills. Apart from collecting financial data and market insights, you will need to know how to interpret them and make reasonable decisions.

You will also need to hone your IT skills. Most financial advisors use advanced software tools to manage their client relationships and to make their planning more precise. AI tools are also becoming increasingly popular. Unless you hop on this wagon, you might be left behind!

Successful financial advisors are also well-versed in regulations and compliance. Knowing some of the most important laws is essential for giving good financial advice. Your career would be destroyed if your advice caused legal issues for your clients.

You also need to have some non-technical skills, often called soft skills. These are basically certain interpersonal skills that will help you when working with existing and prospective clients. No matter how good your financial advice is, if you are rude, abrasive, and hard to deal with, clients will avoid you.

Is the Career of a Financial Advisor Right for You?

To help you determine whether this career is right for you, we have prepared a short self-assessment checklist. For each positive answer, you get one point. If you have more than 7 points, becoming a financial advisor might be a good choice for you:

1. Are you prepared to struggle at the start?
2. Do you have a degree in economics, finance, or business administration?
3. Can you talk to people every day?
4. Are you interested in helping people reach their financial goals?
5. Are you detail-oriented?
6. Can you deal with uncertainty and make decisions under pressure?
7. Are you ready to learn something new, even after finishing your formal education?
8. Can you handle rejection?
9. Are you ready for a dynamic and fast-paced working environment?
10. Are you ambitious and determined to succeed?

Financial Advisor Vs. Portfolio Manager - Is There a Difference?

Many people confuse financial advisors with portfolio managers. While their roles might seem similar at first, they are actually very different. They both work with investments, but their focus, responsibilities, and intended clientele are different.

Financial advisors work directly with individuals, families, and businesses. Their work includes developing investment strategies, but that's just one of their responsibilities. The main role of financial advisors is to help their clients achieve certain financial goals.

As their name suggests, the main and only role of portfolio managers is to manage investment portfolios. A portfolio manager is basically an investment advisor to large and institutional investors, mutual funds, hedge funds, and very rich individuals.

Similar Career Paths to Financial Advising

If you want to work with finance, but you don't want to work as a financial advisor, there are several other options you should try:

• Financial analyst - you can work for companies, banks, or other organizations. Your job will be to evaluate the financial data of your clients, forecast their business performances, and evaluate investment opportunities.
• Wealth manager - you will work with high-net-worth clients. As such, you will offer more personalized, in-depth services. These include estate planning, tax optimization, and investment management.
• Insurance agent - you will work both with individuals and companies. Your role will be to help your clients manage risks related to life, health, property, and long-term care insurance.
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) - your primary focus will be on taxes, audits, and accounting. However, many CPAs also advise clients on retirement, business finances, or budgeting, which makes them rather similar to financial advisors.
• Mortgage advisor - your job is to help clients get financing for their homes, businesses, and other needs. You evaluate financial information and match people with suitable financial products.
• Portfolio manager - as we mentioned above, portfolio managers handle investments, often for large and institutional investors, or for very rich clients.

Conclusion

A career as a financial advisor is highly attractive for many people, offering the potential for both personal fulfillment and financial success. It can be a rewarding path if you enjoy working with people, solving complex problems, and helping others reach their goals. However, it also comes with its share of challenges—long hours, client pressure, and the constant need to build and maintain trust.

This is a profession that can lead to substantial income and long-term stability, but it requires persistence, emotional resilience, and a willingness to hustle, especially in the early years. Before committing, take the time to evaluate whether your skills, mindset, and lifestyle align with the demands of the role.

If you're up for the challenge, becoming a financial advisor can be an incredibly satisfying and prosperous career choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are the Biggest Challenges for Financial Advisors?

The biggest challenge that financial advisors face is building a client base, as well as dealing with pressure and stress. Not many people are capable of dealing with these challenges, which is why many beginner advisors quit and switch to different careers.

Can Financial Advisors Make Millions?

There isn't an upper limit on how much a financial advisor can earn, so yes, they can make millions. However, that much money doesn't come overnight. The biggest earners among financial advisors usually work for many years, and they have built a large and loyal client base.

How Do Financial Advisors Make Money?

This depends on their agreement with the clients. Some advisors work for commissions, others charge direct fees for their services, and there are even advisors who work in salaried positions.

Is Becoming a Financial Advisor Worth It?

Becoming a financial advisor can be worth it if you're passionate about finance, enjoy helping people, and are willing to put in the work. The career offers flexibility, high income potential, and personal satisfaction—but it also requires resilience, continuous learning, and strong interpersonal skills.

Do You Need a Degree to Become a Financial Advisor?

While a degree isn’t always legally required, most financial advisors have at least a bachelor's degree in finance, economics, business, or a related field. Having a degree improves your credibility with clients and increases your chances of getting hired or certified.