Hi Steven,
These are all great questions to contemplate before you make the leap into your career change. Fortunately, there are so many resources out now there to help answer your questions, and I will list some of these here:
1. As Rob Rea mentioned, join your local
FPA. You can do volunteer work for your local FPA without paying the membership fee. It's a great way to network and help at the same time. I recommend joining FPA as a student member to have access to other great resources such as webinars, discounts (i.e., CFP® exam discount), etc.
2. Another organization you can join as a student member is the
National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), especially if you're passionate about the fee-only, fiduciary model. NAPFA may have a great study group in your area which would give you additional opportunities to network and learn technical topics in a smaller group setting.
3. Read "
So You Want to be a Financial Planner - Your Guide to a New Career" by Nancy Landon Jones, CFP®. I read the 8th edition, but I understand that the author updated this book. I strongly recommend anyone interested in entering the financial planning profession to read this book as it talks about the financial planning coursework, preparing for the CFP® exam, the different types of financial planning career paths out there, starting your own firm, to name a few. She also interviewed many financial planning professionals, and they all share their stories in this book.
4.
Michael Kitces - Watch his videos and read his blog posts on his website:
https://www.kitces.com/. He addresses your question about entering the profession on a part-time basis here:
https://www.kitces.com/blog/transitioning-part-time-into-financial-planning-as-a-career-changer/ and here:
https://www.kitces.com/blog/cfp-board-experience-requirement-part-time-career-changer-3-years-6000-hours/.
5.
New Planner Recruiting - They also have some great resources and blog pages with a lot of good information for new entrants into the financial planning profession.
https://newplannerrecruiting.com/.
6.
Simply Paraplanner - One way to enter the profession is to work as a remote paraplanner. Simply Paraplanner has so many resources to help you learn how to begin working as a virtual paraplanner. You can post your resume on their site:
https://simplyparaplanner.com/. You can also join the Simply Paraplanner Portal to learn from a community of paraplanners:
https://paraplannerportal.simplyparaplanner.com/.
7. Find a
mentor! I cannot stress this enough. The CFP Board, the FPA, and NAPFA all have formal mentoring programs. A mentor (or mentors as you do not have to limit yourself to one) can help make your journey as a career changer seem less daunting. Having a cheering crowd can also help you stay motivated.
I wish you all the best for your career transition. You are off to a great start asking the right questions on this forum. You will find that there are so many people in this profession who are willing to offer their help and support. I was lucky to find many of them who helped me on my journey as a I made my career change.
Sandy
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Sandra Cervantes, CFP®, EA
Owner, Virtual Paraplanner
eParaplanner LLC
Scottsdale, AZ
Phone: (480) 757-0277
Email:
sandy@eparaplanner.com------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 01-21-2020 21:08
From: Steven Zai
Subject: Career Change
I have been interested and managing my personal finances for years and always wanted to make a career out of helping others do the same. How do you get over the fact of starting over in a new position while earning significantly less money? Would you recommend starting off part-time?
A bit of background. I have been a finance professional at 2 large Investment banks and currently working at Deutsche Bank as a Product Controller. While I don't hate my job, I don't find it fulfilling and a strong passion of mine. I am struggling with having to start fresh and earn significantly less in the beginning. I was also never really into the "sales" aspect of trying to sell and acquire clients which also is holding me back. However, I have been approached several times by friends who have asked for my help regarding personal finance and was more than happy to help without a fee.
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
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Steven Zai
AVP
Commack NY
(631)896-9975
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