No…It will take you at least 5 years to replace your income. 5 UGLY MOFO years!!! Stay in IT!

I SAY GO FOR IT.  If the temporary decline in income won’t kill you or anyone else who depends on you, then why stay in a career that you constantly are stressed over.  Not to say you won’t be stressed and work harder that you ever have in your life as an advisor.  You have to have a passion for being an advisor and the willingness to persist unrelentlessly.  If you really want it, you’ll do what it takes and live with temporary pain.  I’m in your exact position also.  I’m changing career and my income will go from $90K to maybe about $40K.  Its going to depend on the wirehouse, which I’m still waiting to hear from.  Plan for this significant change carefully, work hard and the rewards will be worth it.

There is probably no good reason you would be happy in this business, unless you have a unique situation that will create some regular inflows of money. Do you really want to call people all day and night, and beg to explain why you are the guy who can solve there financial concerns. Dude...it is a painful process, I know I must sound like Mr. negative, But it's not a real exciting business. Iv'e said it before, if you were able to get into a situation where you were Doing a sweet Goodnight program through Jones or taking over a book, or have some fairly passive way to make money, I would say DO IT! To try and prospect and build a book that will pay you any money,....It just takes a long long time. The guys you may hear of or know who make alot of money in this business (A LOT = $300,000 yr or more)have either paid dues for a long time, fell into a good situation, or had a niche that may not necessarilly work for you. And if an income of $150,000 is "good enough for you" There are a hell of alot easier ways to make that than in this biz.

I know I know, there will be responses that will argue this, but if you ask MOST guys who are in the business 2,3,4 or 5 years, honestly?!?!?, I think they would tell you the same thing.  

BTW, Door knocking sucks. If you live in Mayberry, and you and your wife were the homecomming King and Queen, and your daddy is a minister on sundays at the local church,(and he also runs the family hardware store) and your mom is the #1 real estate agent in town -again this year, and oh yea.... you saved the towns number one citizen from drowning when you were 17.......OK Maybe you will get enough clients over a few years to matter. If your in a busy area with competition, and don't really know anyone.....your screwed!

Your is you’re not your - jeeeeeeeeez

huh?

I believe D Gaddy meant:  “…your screwed!” should be “…you’re screwed!” as you’re=you are.  But I believe we all got yore point–that it’s a bia o tch to survive in this bi-ness.  On a happier note, it’s not that hard to thrive (relatively to the avg job) if you survive.

Are you comfortable with the prospecting method?  Door to door?  25 names a day and 125 a week entered into a computer system?  If you want to build your business the way you think is best, try Raymond James.

I am very comfortable knocking on someone’s door, or going into a business and introducing myself. I just never got enough results in 18 months of doing it, to keep me interested. At some point…you have to get to eat the carrott.

Thanks everyone, just feeling so confused.

I guess I will try the door2door for the survey part just to see for
myself if could do it.  However the money thing is a big issue,
you folks seem to tell it like it is (good thing) however reading and
talking to some folks they made it seem like I would probably be making
150k in my second year. 



Knocking on doors I don’t think that will happen



Money is an issue now because I am 40ish, 2 kids (6&3) a wife and a MTG.



whew, I am glad I found this board though.



Will keep you guys posted if you like



spetropo

With your given situation, you will not make 150k your second
year.  Very few make anything even remotely close to that. 
Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you. 



You can do whatever you want, but the only reason I am even trying this
is because I am 23 years old and can live off scraps, work 14 hour
days, and still have the energy to go out at night and pick up some
females



I don’t think I could manage the stress of trying to support a family
as a struggling FA.  If you can pull it off you are a better man
than I. 



From what I have seen in my office, the older trainees (40+) are having a much harder time than the others. 

Scorpio is dead on. I have a buddy who is with Jone 10 years now, makes all the trips, has some LP, is a pretty dilligent guy,....he makes about 150k per year, and it aint smooth! It's 40 gross for one month or two, then 15 gross, or 10, then 25 gross. ANYONE who is telling you 150K in 2 years, is either trying to recruit you, or is not in the business. I do know a Jones guy who probably made 150k in his 3 rd year,......he also started with 40 million AUM, has an existing office in Jones town  USA.

I started in the business 3 1/2 yrs ago, I'm 38 w/ 2 kids, It is very difficult to switch into this career in your late 30's (if I had to make the decision again at 35, I would not do it, i do wish I started 15 years ago). I look around at guys in my firm who are 2-3 yrs younger than me, they have been here for 15 years and are making $500,000 yr. talk about a frustrating situation. The good thing is, if your young, and you can survive, the payoff is truly 2nd to none!!!

Please, PM me if you want to go further into discussion.

It makes my blood boil when I here of managers or recruiters inflating the numbers. People are making life altering decisions based on info they gather, and when a Jones guy who needs to get a couple of hires to make a diversification trip, tells a 40 year old guy w/ 2 kids making 90K, that he will be at 150K in year 2, that's BS. It's no different than if I told a client to expect 50% returns in the market.

I will wrap up with this. Once you get to a point in this career, where you are making enough money to comfortably pay your bills month in and month out, you can begin to build a more ideal book, and you can look to increase your business by 10, 20, 30 percent a year. At least at this point you are not desperate, and the big number will come, down the road. At that point, I don't know of too many ventures, businesses or professions, where you can work 30 hours per week, make 250K plus, not get phone calls at night or on weekends (Yea Realtors are making tons of dough lately, but they are a slave to the clients schedule). But to get there,.....you will be entering a profession where you are dealing with the thing that is nearest and dearest to peoples hearts......THERE MONEY!!!!! It's not like selling a service, product, pharmaceuticals, or widgets, you know,... if you sell widgets, you are presenting to people all day that need to buy widgets,..it's alittle easier. In our career, we are constantly approaching people who are not in the market for our service. It just is NOT an easy thing to get people to hand over the reins to their finances, and it's perfectly understandable.  

With your given situation, you will not make 150k your second year.  Very few make anything even remotely close to that.  Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you. 

You can do whatever you want, but the only reason I am even trying this is because I am 23 years old and can live off scraps, work 14 hour days, and still have the energy to go out at night and pick up some females

I don’t think I could manage the stress of trying to support a family as a struggling FA.  If you can pull it off you are a better man than I. 

From what I have seen in my office, the older trainees (40+) are having a much harder time than the others. 

I have to disagree loud and clear.

Many firms will not hire the 20 somethings.  They have no past work relationships, neighborhood relationships, wealthy friends, etc.  They have to cold call to bring in clients becauser they have no networks - - and so they fail.

If you are 40 with kids, you probably already have 1000s warm relationships (or you should if you are thinking about starting in this business).

I think it is tough for someone in their early 20s out of college to get a 401k rollover (or any account) from someone.

Maybeeee must be young,

It's not so much the age / experience thing. The issue for me, and I am guessing spetropo, is I came from a career (Business owner) where I was actually making pretty decent money, but like any ambitious guy I wanted more. Where I was making 100 - 125 and working crazy hours, I saw my friends in the financial businesses (Leasing, wholesaling and brokers working reasonable hours, and making 250 + ). For the past 3 years I have made 40,000 - 50,000. It's frkn painful. At 38, with 2300 mortgage and 2 kids That obviously cannot continue. And like I said before, being surrounded by guys your own age making 5 - 10 times what you are.....bites.

The fact that somone is older, and has contacts from prior experience  does not make a significant difference. They see you in a new career. "Oh yea, Joe works for ML now, let's roll our SB account over to him" NOT.

We have hired at least 6 college grads and 23 yr olds into the ML POA program within the last year, so the big firms do hire younger people. This group is used to not making money, so a salary of $30,000 is an increase to them. I actually believe it is a little easier for them to get by financially. But you are right, it is hard for younger people to gain trust amongst prospects. It is not easy for anyone....who is building the business from scratch.

Not young.  MBA in Finance.  Years in a financial position at a big firm.  It has not been a hard transition for me.  BUT, I have always treated EVERYONE with respect.  I am in general, just a nice person, good friend, good neighbor, good employee, you name it.  People like me and I like people.  They trust me.

If you can say the same, join the business, the rewards are great.  If not, you are wasting your time.

That doesn't mean I can sit back.  I still prospect my butt off.

Most problems in this business are from a lack of prospecting.

Oh, just for the record, I think knocking on doors stinks!!!!!!

Let Ed Jones have at it.  It is NOT one of the major prospecting methods at Raymond James.  I mean it is your business and you can do that if you want, but no one tells you how you must prospect.  You find the best fit for you.

Face to face is best for me.

Moneyadvisor,



It is kinda funny how my situation is similar to what yours was, WOW.

This door knocking thing with EDJ has me so bummed, everyone I talk to
and ask them the “what would you if I knocked on your door” question
basically tells me that they would close the door right back up. 
These are people that I know so I can imagine that the folks that I do
not know maybe will slam the door rather than close it :).  I have
talked to a few other folks at SSB and MS and nothing has come up
yet.  Funny thing though, my broker/friend left Morgan last week
and went to Bear Sterns.  Maybe I can get an in at Bear Sterns.



Gonna keep trying, may even try the door thing for the survey just to
prove to myself that I could (i think LOL).  It is also the money
now, I have enough cash and with the EDJ 1st year salary to hold us at
around my current take home salary.  Originally from talking to
EDJ and thinking I can make 150 in the second year, 90 would even be
good, I figured I was golden.  Howeve, Thankfully to some of the
post here I can 't see the promised salary possible in such a short
time. 



Thanks so much to all of you folks. Will keep you posted if you like



Thanks again

Wow great posts.  Thanks..

Sounds like a diverse networked 29er is the right age. :)