Series 7 without college?

I live in West Palm Beach, I currently work at a small precious metals brokerage. I am self taught and captivated by economics and trading etc. I trade my own account, being consistently profitable, and I am wondering if there is a chance in hell that I could get sponsored, even by a small firm, with no college degree.

Really what I'm asking is whether or not they would even consider me or is a bachelor's pretty much mandatory? BTW I am not in school, never went, would love to but never was able to.

10 Comments
 

You don't need a college degree to take the series 7 exam but getting sponsored for the exam is a different issue. Today, the majority of firms will not hire you unless you have an undergraduate degree. There are some firms that will hire you without one, though. Send your resume to a bunch of firms in your area and make your case.

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The objective is to become a sales-trader. I'd be looking at small local/regional brokerages etc. I know I'm not getting a spot at MS, I'm at peace with that.

A friend of mine got sponsored by a small brokerage and he has a degree in computers of some sort. I know my chances are less than stellar, trust me, but the only way to find out is to go and find out. Appreciate the input guys.

 
Best Response

What firm sponsored you and what did you do to get a foot in the door? I am currently a freshman in college, and I know I want to be a wealth manager, then create partnerships until I can afford, and there is a sufficiently valuable opportunity, to officially start my own holding company. That said, I feel that my current classes, as well as most of the ones I am on track to take down the road, with a few exceptions that are few and far between, are ultimately useless. Not to mention, I have to pay for it 100% on my own and the amount of debt I'm racking up is just disgusting to say the least. As such, I am seriously considering dropping out, provided I can get a Series 7 sponsorship. As someone who wanted to, but could not, attend college, do you think it is even a feasible option for me to consider, or should I just stick it out and maintain my mediocre GPA just so I can say that I got a degree, and enjoy the perks that come with it (which, on a moral level, I struggle with whether it's right to suffer through something I don't want to do, essentially to impress someone else, instead of aggressively pursuing my dreams like I'm dying to do).

 

I'd say finish school and don't go into pwm. If you have student loans you will need to start paying them upon graduation. If you get a job in pwm straight out of school you'll be getting max $30k a year salary and 98% of people who enter pwm fail to build enough of a book to make a living on within 2 years of starting.

I'd say try to do something else until your loans are paid and you have some cash in the bank to live off of while you make no money for the first yearish that you're building your book.

Also, the best way to describe pwm is being the NFL of sales. If anybody tells you it isn't sales, they are either lying or they're stupid. If you want to be I the Asset Management process, do no pursue this. If you want to be in sales, pursue this. It's that simple.

 

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