[quote=BondGuy]

DA has it right, you're still a kid. As such I'm not skeptical of your abilities. You have no abilities. You have no sales experience or for that matter life experience. How are you going to relate to your target market, which is mostly plus 50 years old? What idiot 50 plus person would give their life savings to a 22 year old with no experience? The BOMs are trying to tell you something they know that you don't. Your reluctance to believe them points exactly to the inexperience they speak of.

The door isn't closed to you. It's just not yet open. To get the door to open the BOMs are advising you to get on the path that will open that door. Step one; get some sales exerience. Show that you can be successful. Do that and after spending two or three years of getting doors slammed in your face, or hung up on, or UPs walking off the lot without buying, give us the success report. Tell us that inspite of how hard it is selling whatever it is that you're selling, that you are the company's top salesperson.  Because when you can tell us that you can also tell it to a BOM. And the door will open.

[/quote]

I do understand your points, but in response to my sales experience. Between ages 19-20 I was the top producing Personal Banker at my branch without any licenses, which means I was limited only to bank products and services. At age 21 I was licensed with Life/Health and sold life insurance as well as car insurance for a year (I never stayed long enough to be top producer). Although these positions might appear meaningless, there is sales experience and skill required. I realized that this day would come soon, when the rest of the world will shut the door on me telling me I'm too young. I guess it's just sort of difficult taking this all in as I have planned this route for the past 4 years while busting my butt off in college. Any help to actually "make it" or be "given a shot" will be greatly appreciated. Take golf lessons? haha.

Age is not that important if you can position yourself as a “student of the industry” or at least keep your inventory very small.  It’s a numbers game and keep those numbers way up. 

The cards are stacked against you, but its not only because of age and sales ability, its mostly your peer network vs a 40 year olds network.  There’s a reason the average rookie is about 43 years old, and its not sales ability.  Its who you know and what contacts you have to get off the ground fast from former careers. 

You may know a little less on “life issues”, but you’re ahead of the curve on financial planning issues, and can adapt to changing industry trends faster than a 40+ year old transactional broker worried about paying his mortgage and child support.

Jim, I am young myself and started in this business right out of school.  I started with Edward Jones and learned a lot.  I will say that Jones is a good place to start but if I had to give you some advice from what I have learned I would say listen to these guys and do something esle first.  You ask for me what would I do. . . Myslef being single and willing to move I would go become an internal wholesaler.  This would allow you to work with multiple firms while not only learning the business but feeling the firms out to see which one fits you and your personality the best.  If you sign with a firm typically they want some kind of commitment (typically 3 to 5 yrs) this is assuming you are producing.  If you aren't producing they will be more than happy to let you go be a drag on a different firm.  Also these postions tend to pay fairly well for a recent college grad ranging anywhere from 60k to 100k depending on which firm and what product.  You would also get to see if you might want to become an external wholesaler one day.  I believe there is a whole lot more positive out of that route than the speculation of becoming an advisor right out of the gate.  I have seen many of many of people that start right out of school fail or do as well as they expected to (remember no one comes into this business thinking they are going to fail but 90% of people do) and then become frustrated and even some leave the industry because of there expierences.  Hope this helps.