2 answers
Debbie
Student
Kennewick
2
Questions
Asked
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How can I get a job teaching Personal Finance through a local bank or credit union?
How can I get a job teaching Personal Finance through a local bank or credit union?
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2 answers
Christopher Bain
Director, Performance Measurement (Ops Finance Related)
7
Answers
Lexington, Kentucky
Updated
Christopher’s Answer
Hi Debbie,
I really appreciate your desire to teach in this space. This is tricky because virtually all career paths that involve personal finance fall under the "financial advisor" or "financial planner" categories. Also, virtually all instances of teaching this topic will require you to be licensed for sure. For licensing, you will want to read up on Series 7, Series 6, Series 66, & Series 65. These are the licenses, and they are required regardless of where. Depending on where you work, it will be a combo of some or one of these most likely.
If you are truly passionate about the teaching side, it may be that you want to consider teaching at a school. This won't require licensing and is purely educational in nature. Anything with the general public is going to be a position where you are selling investments or charging a fee for advice on investments, or both. I would break down all financial institution related jobs in this space as follows (loosely speaking):
(1) Work at a Bank: (a) clients mostly come to you because they are patrons of that bank (b) you are paid a commission on financial products you sell to them based on what they need. This is dictated by their financial situation. The more quality the conversation with the client, the better you will be able to reccomend and sell financial products to them. These would be institutions like Bank of America, Chase, your local credit union, etc.
(2) Work at a firm that specializes in financial planning (a) you typically have to "find" prospective clients. They do not come to you or seek you out typically (b) you may charge an annual fee for your advice, or you may receive commissions, or both. These would be institutions like Edward Jones, Prudential, Morgan Stanley, etc. Going this route can be quite challenging at first, as it may be hard to find clients. This path has a very high failure rate. If you think you are up to it though, don't let this discourage you. I have referenced the bureau of labor statics below, which has info on this
(3) Once you have been doing this a while, you may be able to "set up your own shop". This means you have your own office somewhere and your own clients. This takes time! You will still be affiliated with one of the larger financial institutions, but you will be able to do your own branding and business name
Compensation in this space varies wildly! The very top fractional % can make upwards of $500K per year. Most are probably around $40-$50 K starting out. Again, see bureau of labor statistics.
Ultimately, this career path is not really teaching in the way you are likely thinking about it unless, as mentioned, you are an actual teacher/professor at a school. This does not mean you can't teach your clients, but understand there is a sales component to it. I will say that most people in this space that do make it almost never leave their profession.
Lastly as a mention, you will typically not see fee-based planners at banks, although it is possible. Also, you may want to read up on the CFP designation, or "Certified Financial Planner".
I sure hope this helps and good luck!!!
Research on US Bureau of Labor Statistics for Financial Planner. Good info here
I really appreciate your desire to teach in this space. This is tricky because virtually all career paths that involve personal finance fall under the "financial advisor" or "financial planner" categories. Also, virtually all instances of teaching this topic will require you to be licensed for sure. For licensing, you will want to read up on Series 7, Series 6, Series 66, & Series 65. These are the licenses, and they are required regardless of where. Depending on where you work, it will be a combo of some or one of these most likely.
If you are truly passionate about the teaching side, it may be that you want to consider teaching at a school. This won't require licensing and is purely educational in nature. Anything with the general public is going to be a position where you are selling investments or charging a fee for advice on investments, or both. I would break down all financial institution related jobs in this space as follows (loosely speaking):
(1) Work at a Bank: (a) clients mostly come to you because they are patrons of that bank (b) you are paid a commission on financial products you sell to them based on what they need. This is dictated by their financial situation. The more quality the conversation with the client, the better you will be able to reccomend and sell financial products to them. These would be institutions like Bank of America, Chase, your local credit union, etc.
(2) Work at a firm that specializes in financial planning (a) you typically have to "find" prospective clients. They do not come to you or seek you out typically (b) you may charge an annual fee for your advice, or you may receive commissions, or both. These would be institutions like Edward Jones, Prudential, Morgan Stanley, etc. Going this route can be quite challenging at first, as it may be hard to find clients. This path has a very high failure rate. If you think you are up to it though, don't let this discourage you. I have referenced the bureau of labor statics below, which has info on this
(3) Once you have been doing this a while, you may be able to "set up your own shop". This means you have your own office somewhere and your own clients. This takes time! You will still be affiliated with one of the larger financial institutions, but you will be able to do your own branding and business name
Compensation in this space varies wildly! The very top fractional % can make upwards of $500K per year. Most are probably around $40-$50 K starting out. Again, see bureau of labor statistics.
Ultimately, this career path is not really teaching in the way you are likely thinking about it unless, as mentioned, you are an actual teacher/professor at a school. This does not mean you can't teach your clients, but understand there is a sales component to it. I will say that most people in this space that do make it almost never leave their profession.
Lastly as a mention, you will typically not see fee-based planners at banks, although it is possible. Also, you may want to read up on the CFP designation, or "Certified Financial Planner".
I sure hope this helps and good luck!!!
Christopher recommends the following next steps:
Christopher,
Thank you for taking the time. I am a high school teacher teaching personal finance, and I would love to be part of an educational outreach for a credit union. Wishing you a great day!
Debbie
Debbie
Neil Clayman
Contract Proofreader/Editor
5
Answers
Brookline, Massachusetts
Updated
Neil’s Answer
I think you just have to be registered and licensed to be one. You can also be a financial advisor just about anywhere as long as you (hopefully) have integrity, intelligence and are licensed by the state you are working out of.