Why I Became a Financial Advisor

Over the years I have been asked many times why I became a financial advisor and if I am going to be honest about it I kind of fell into the field while I was in college. That being said I am certainly glad that I did as it has proven to be a very rewarding career field. While the reasons that first became a financial advisor can be hard to explain why I like the job really isn't.

The main reason that I became a financial advisor was to help people to deal with their money. It is really quite amazing how little most people know about looking after their money and it really isn't their fault, nobody teaches them. This is the biggest thing that got me into this career; I wanted to learn more about how to manage my own money. This required me taking a number of courses which soon put me on the path to becoming a financial advisor. It was also pretty obvious that a lot of people desperately needed help which is something that I really wanted to do.

The biggest part of my job is to sit down with my clients and talk to them about their financial goals; this can be really eye opening. In many cases people have goals that they have no idea how to achieve and in many cases their goals are completely unrealistic. Working with them to get them on the right track to meet their goals is a very rewarding part of the job of being a financial advisor and it is something that I really enjoy doing.

Of course there are parts of the job that are not so much fun; the worst is explaining to people that they need to make a budget. The reality is that most people are not saving nearly enough and this is creating serious problems with them. Sometimes it is necessary to be brutally honest with people and explain to them that they have to make changes in the way that they are living. Not surprisingly there are quite a few people who really don't want to hear this but most will eventually come to the realization that what I am telling them is the truth.

Once I have people on the right track a big part of the job is to make sure that they are making good progress and that they are getting closer to their goals. This is where I get to see that what I do actually makes a difference in people's lives and really this is the best part of the job. Of course sometimes the news isn't so good and I have to help people to get back on track again. Sometimes this can result in difficult conversations but it is something that has to be done.