What to Expect in the Early Years of Your Financial Planning Career

Learn what to expect when you land your first job

In the early years of your professional journey, you can expect to perform support-oriented tasks in client services or operations. Then over time, as you build your base of knowledge and learn client service processes, your responsibilities and opportunities should expand. 

The early stage of your career is a great opportunity to explore a variety of roles, company types and approaches to financial planning until you find a fit and style that suits your needs.

What Will I Do on a Daily Basis? 

In your support role, you’ll do things such as gather and maintain client data. You’ll enter the data into financial planning software, and then analyze and examine financial plans with a more experienced financial planner or the financial planning team. 

Although most companies do not allow their newest hires to start working with their clients or more complex cases, they will sometimes allow you to work with clients who have simpler needs or questions. For example, some companies may have you start out working with the children of primary clients who may have less complex financial planning needs.

Training Programs 

Large national companies tend to have a distinct training program where future advisors spend a year or two obtaining their certifications and licenses while attending classes and coaching sessions. Some programs may provide up to five years of training. Typically, there is fixed compensation in the form of a salary during the training period. 

In other companies, there is no formal training program. Instead, new professionals are assigned to a client service team where they receive on-the-job instruction and coaching while they contribute to team activities.  

Finally, companies that provide planning and advice through a remote or virtual relationship with the client may also assign new recruits to call centers or virtual teams where they handle basic questions as they accumulate experience and complete training.

Where You Start Isn’t Where You Have to Stay 

It’s important to keep in mind that where you start isn’t nearly as important as where you finish. Therefore, it’s not essential to find the perfect fit right away in your first job or internship. Each place where you work, as you advance in your career, should provide you with valuable experience.