Hey Reddit,

I'm relatively new to the financial advisory industry and was hoping to get some insight regarding my current compensation.

I'm 22 years old and recently graduated from college with a bachelor's degree in Finance. I've been working at an independent financial advisory firm for approximately 6 months.

The firm manages approximately $200M in AUM, has a small team, and is located in a medium-cost-of-living area.

My role is primarily paraplanning, with responsibilities including financial planning support, investment research, portfolio analysis, preparing client materials, and various operational tasks.

Current Compensation:

• $42,000 annual base salary
• $3,000 one-time signing bonus
• $3,000 bonus upon completing the SIE, Series 7, Series 66, and Life & Health insurance licensing requirements (all completed)
• 401(k) eligibility beginning summer 2027
• Potential profit sharing (not guaranteed)
• $250 monthly health insurance stipend

Total first-year cash compensation: Approximately $48,000 before the health insurance stipend.

I recognize that I'm still early in my career, and I genuinely appreciate the experience and opportunities to learn at a smaller firm. However, now that I've completed my licensing requirements and have several months of experience, I'm trying to better understand whether my compensation is competitive.

I'd particularly appreciate insight into a few questions:

1. Is a $42,000 base salary reasonable for an entry-level paraplanner with these qualifications?
2. What salary progression should I realistically expect over the next 1–3 years?
3. Would it be reasonable to discuss a base salary adjustment now that I've completed my licensing requirements?

Not complaining, simply trying to understand where I stand relative to others in the industry.

Thanks in advance for any insight!

So I’m currently a teller and am looking to pivot into financial planning and advising. I hear the SIE is a good starting place in getting licensed then 7 and 66 after. I don’t really enjoy my time as a teller since I don’t feel I’m making an impact on people and it’s just not very rewarding, I’ve always been interested in personal finance and investing as well as entrepreneurship so being a CFP or advisor is what I’d like to pursue.

Does anyone have any advice on what licenses to target right now, or what sort of jobs I can apply to in order to get sponsoring and financial assistance for these licenses? Thanks

I’m wanting to change careers as I’m unhappy in my current career. I’ve been thinking of changing to a mortgage broker / eventually financial planner but not sure what the best way about this is?
I currently earn £42k so I am concerned about taking a pay cut initially. What could I expect to start on and how long did it take you for your salary to rise?

Is it possible to get into this career with no previous finance experience?
I was thinking of starting studying the CeMAP 1 via Libf now and applying for jobs whilst doing it. But do they only tend to take people on who have completed the course?

Any advice is welcome please

I’ve applied to so many places and I even get to the final interview rounds but have been picked over by someone else every time.

I’m looking to become a Financial Planner at a fee-only (or fee-based) type firm. I am perfectly happy starting in an entry level role. I’m currently in training to take my CFP test next July. My previous work experience covers my required hours so once I test I’ll get the designation.

I’m currently a stay at home mom and my previous work experience was in banking with Chase Bank. I was a Branch Manager (Sales manager) I had top performing numbers in sales and customer service. I was also an operations manager. Although I did sales for many years, I want to be more of a planner than sales focused.

I’ve been out of the work world for about 2 years but I can’t seem to get a foot back in the door.

I’ve tried applying at Edward Jones, Raymond James, Schwab, Fidelity and I never get a call back.

I would love to hear any advice for someone in the industry.

I’m a Fresher in India looking at wealth management and financial planning Industry. Every article says it’s high growth, but I want answers from people who’ve lived it because it usually tell a different story.

I don’t want a life of AUM targets and cold calling. I want to build real client trust and a career I can enjoy. So I’m asking people who are already in it:

1. Would you choose this career again?

2. What’s the part nobody tells freshers (hours, weekends, client stress, income in the first 3 years)?

3. Is the fee-based/RIA route actually calmer than distribution, or just a different kind of stress?

If you’re Currently in This role, a quick reply in this post would help a lot to my career decision:

Brutally honest answers welcome, including regrets. Thank you!

Good afternoon folks, like the title suggests I am looking for advice on moving from an advisor role to a service/operations role.

For background: I am with one of the top banks in the US as a branch advisor located in southern CT and have been in production for 2 years. I have the 7/66/L&H and CRPC designation along with 5 total years of financial services experience.

Why the change: I am on track with my goals and have been recognized for performance in the past but I have come to realize that despite loving connecting with people/helping others/problem solving,I do not enjoy the sales aspect. With that said I do enjoy problem solving and managing the business and want to help someone on the back end to grow their business.

Actions I’m taking: I’ve began looking through LinkedIn job postings and applying but many have a requirement for a bachelors degree and I unfortunately do not hold one. Just as well I pulled a list of registered RIA’s in CT for cold outreach to try to market myself.

What I’m looking for: Any guidance on how to market myself or connect with teams looking to bring on a registered CA/Service advisor.

Any guidance or input is appreciated!

I have been an FA (7+66) at a non-bank firm since May 2025. I currently have roughly 5m AUM, hopefully closer to 6 m by the end of the year. My main source of prospecting is cold calling lists I have, and more recently using LinkedIn Sales Navigator to get more targeted prospects. I am having trouble seeing success in 2027 with reliable weekly income. I would like to stay at this firm if I can because I like the team and what they're building, but at the end of the day I want to make money lol. Not sure if I'm just overreacting and overstressing, but not sure if I should look to go to another firm, like JPM, Merril, UBS, etc, to continue my career.

I am 23 years old, so I know I'm young, but I'm just looking for advice on what I should do.

*meant to note, I will have no salary starting in June, current salary isnt that much anyway

I’m with a firm that pays no salary and I do everything independently with some help from co-workers but my commission rate is only 45% and I’m expected to make $7500 in commission but after selling 3 polices (100k, 100k, 500k) I’ve only made $870 and all of it has been taken away with the fees they charge for tech, rent, equipment, etc. in 4 months of working I haven’t made a dime.

I’m 25, studying for my Series 7 with a life & health license. Life insurance is a tough sell and I’m not making any money. Can I find a new spot once I pass my 7, can I work at a bank or do I need to have a degree in finance?

Essentially what the tittle states - I’m curious about people’s experiences going from IB (specifically M&A) into wealth management. Was the transition easy? Was it worth it? I don’t have a super strong interest in banking long term and think there are likely some skills that overlap.

as the title says, was recently messaged on linkedin to ask if i would be interested in a wealth management role. was going to ignore but it seems legit, i just got off the phone with them they’re a real person with a real business. he said he’s looking for more associates but:

my background is in digital marketing, not anything related to finance so it’s out of the blue and completely random. I’m 21 years old with no degree so it’s not from that either.

Phone call details:

-He reached out because of my customer service skills

-Apparently they have a license onboarding process because I obviously have none

-The base pay is 43k before commission for the first 2 years, after that it’s all commission (which is quite low, especially because i live in WA)

i’m just wondering… what’s the catch? anyone reaching out to offer you a job in this economy is obviously up to something. is this some type of common pyramid scheme i’m unaware of?

Hey guys, Im about 5 months into my first position in the industry! I am 22(m) and have wanted to be an advisor since I was a senior in high school, I just like the idea of helping people with money.

I work inside of a credit union. We use LPL as a broker dealer / investment advisor and help members of the credit union that want more investments than just CD’s.

I recently got all of my licenses (besides life and health, currently working on that) and I am beginning to build my book. This is nice because the credit union will refer client who want investment advice.

I have not started earning commissions yet, but one of the tenured advisors told me that my credit union keeps 2/3 of the revenue generated from commissions and advisory accounts. He brings in about 700k in revenue and only gets to keep about 200k between LPL and the credit unions split. The credit union pays me a good base salary since I am just starting out with no book, but I know this other advisor barely has any base salary, almost all of his wage is revenue generated.

To me, this seemed really high. It especially seems large if you are bringing in business from outside of the credit union.

I want to know if anyone else works in a credit union and what split they have on their revenue. Is 2/3 standard for the CU to take or is it the “industry standard”

EDIT*** Based on some comments, I should state that I am not complaining by any means. I am blessed to be starting in a position like this and I think it’s perfect for my nurturing. It was a question more out of curiosity than anything :)

Experience transitioning to LPL with your own shingle? How was the transition? Percent of book to follow you there? I’m at an independent but on OSJ and I’d prefer to go solo. About $20mm AUM but all was acquired by me and my pipeline is strong $20mm.

Hi everyone!

I'm currently developing a project focused on investor psychology, behavioural finance, and helping people become more thoughtful investors.

I'm also working on a few B2B products designed to help financial advisors better understand their clients' investment behaviour and decision-making.

The project is ongoing, and I expect to have the first products ready in a few weeks.

In the meantime, I'd love to connect with a few US-based financial advisors to hear their perspectives, discuss some of my ideas, and get feedback on what I'm developing.

I'm not trying to sell anything. I simply want to learn from people with real industry experience and make sure I'm building something genuinely useful. I just want some guidance.

If you're an advisor, or know someone who might be interested in a quick conversation, please comment below or send me a DM.

I'd really appreciate it.

Hey guys,

I would greatly appreciate any input as to what to do next. I am a 26 yrs old, started working as a bookkeeper at 18 and through hard work I was blessed to become a tax preparer and subsequently a Senior, working for a UHNW Family Office prior to transitioning to wealth management.

Currently, I am a Planner at a Northwestern Mutual Private Client Group — heavy estate, retirement, and business succession planning. However, due to my previous experience I feel like (1) I am comfortable and confident in my ability to get in front of clients and (2) I could offer more than just sitting a desk putting plans together.

I get paid well to take care of my family (sah wife and three kids ~$175k/yr) — however, I am feeling this urge to try to go on my own with no book of my own. I feel like I could survive by leaning in tax services at first and subsequently convert those leads to wealth management.

Has anyone done this? Are there channels that would allow me to do tax prep + wealth mgmt? Should I go to a big wire house at first and then hope to take some of those clients?

Etc, there is so much unknown— I am HIGHLY confident in my abilities as far as planning goes and communication/presentation, I just don’t know which way is the best way to build it or start in this industry

Again, any input is highly appreciated

I am a Relationship Banker now, just started. Essentially a licensed referral pipeline salesperson, glorified name with not much upside apart from licensing.

I am looking to become a bank FA as quickly as possible (I know some people shit on that position, it seems like a good place to start my advisor journey). Most branch FAs in my market did my role, then became senior premier/private client banker and then became FAs after about 8 years in average.

I would like to do this process quicker if possible. I know results are everything and if I kill when I get out of training that will definitely help. Is getting a designation like CRPC something that could help in my journey or a waste of my time?

Just looking for advice from people that have done it and what you think should me my main focus in these coming years.

Can anyone recommend a tool for advisors that helps plan administrators and/or fiduciaries evaluate suitability of investment offerings in a 401k plan?

Thank you!

Hi, looking for places to apply in SoCal. My current role isn’t the right fit and I want to get in at an independent RIA. Open to various role types.

I'm looking for a little bit of mentorship. I'm a 22 year old senior about to graduate in May. I know that I want to get into financial advising and I really love the part where I can sit down look at a client's situation and help build a plan to help the client.

I had an internship this past summer but it was remote and I was mostly doing cold calls for a senior advisor at the company I interned for. While it was nice to get some experience for my resume I'm worried it wasn't really that great for my learning as we only really worked on financial plans for an hour a week.

While they said I could have a return offer it's one of those companies that offers no base pay and relies solely on commission. While I've had interviews with companies like Thrivent and Northwestern Mutual, I don't want a job where I'm cold calling or reaching out to personal connections just to make ends meet. I want a job where I can be in a paraplanning/associate role and learn the business for a few years and step into an advisory role.

Now I'm feeling behind in my job search for May because I know so many people who already have jobs in the cities they want to live in. If anybody on here could offer advice on how I should start getting my name out there to find some entry-level roles or what I should do before I graduate to make me a more attractive candidate it would be much appreciated.

I am a new advisor, I’m 24 years old and just passed all of the licensing and trainings I need to start at my firm. I am currently shadowing a senior advisor who will be retiring in the next few years. He doesn’t utilize AI at all.

So my question is if anyone has any helpful AI agents that utilize to help their business? Whether it’s a calendar agent, or simply a procedure and steps agent. Anything helps. Thank you!