Gekko Grundgesetz or Weiß Erlaubniselite
A play for Entrepreneurial Children
PROVISIONAL FIRST DRAFT
Child #2
Dear Future employer,
I started my career with 3 years in a call center,
& have been in my current role for just under a year
as a financial advisor.
I have been strongly considering the
Certified Financial Planner since
I was young and trying to kick start my career.
I really LOVE this.
I was excited to move from a call center to a ‘financial advisor’.
Moving up has made me more of a business development representative doing cold calls to businesses.
I've reviewed a few existing clients' portfolios
to help find gaps in their retirement needs,
but it doesn't feel like I'm getting enough hands-on experience
to excel soon enough.
My ideal job is one that focuses on maintaining high-value client relationships, where I can be a trusted advisor able to give honest, beneficial guidance wherever they are in life.
I've seen a lot of praise for fee-only advisory firms, and I can imagine myself feeling most fulfilled if there wasn't pressure to push specific investments like I see with some companies.
Since I'm early in my career,
it seems difficult to break
into fee-only without more years under my belt and the Certified Financial Planner.
My current boss has said that it's perhaps too soon to consider the Certified Financial Planner and offered me to seek other designations first.
I'm worried that I could be more productive towards a better career.
I've read that paraplanning is a solid path in, since it's focused on the actual planning rather than solely grinding out sales.
I'd be able to get the technical experience under my belt while earning my place as an advisor. I've been looking around and applied to a couple remote paraplanner roles but haven't heard anything back.
Other in-person paraplanner jobs are too far, and I don't plan to relocate since my partner can't follow yet. It seems like I need more time
and applications to find an opportunity.
Meanwhile, I was contacted by a recruiter about the Merrill Lynch Financial Solutions Advisor program. I was surprised they were posting the salary at what would be a 25% increase for me at their base offering, not considering expected bonuses. That made it feel like a no-brainer. I spoke with the local Merrill branch manager and he seems like a nice guy with decades in the business, so he could be a great mentor.
It's clear that this isn't my ideal path, but if I can't be in my dream job today, it's very tempting to go for the higher salary and the promise of more fruitful opportunity.
Plus, after 6-12 months (I need to confirm) I can go after the Certified Financial Planner too.
They say it's great for someone early in their career, gradually moving towards being more independence with my own book.
