FINRA Licenses

I am a college student, and I was thinking about becoming a "financial advisor" only to secure FINRA licensing from a firm and then tell them it was not the right fit for me. Will this affect my FINRA standing or licensing? I want to secure the licenses to apply for better positions. The financial advisor role is commission based and I genuinely don't want to sell these products to people. Should I even pursue this position to boost my resume with licenses and experience? I want to go the IB > PE route. I am currently a sophomore and I am in the process of applying to transfer from a CC to a 4 year semi target, fingers crossed. My plan is to work in the financial services industry full time or part time during school so that I can load up on relevant experience besides the classic summer internships. If anyone has any advice, please share it! Thank you!

 

You just said yourself you don't want to do anything with a Series 7 & 6x, so why are you asking us? You listed out what it is you think you want to do, so why not do some more reading up on the internship posts on the IB and PE forums or the Jobs forum?

Also, there's wayyyyyyyy more to PWM than some salesman advisory role. A lot of the "background" jobs in PWM pay extremely well and offer a ton of growth opportunities and exit opps to other fields (I'll spare my story since there's plenty of copies of it out there already). Get your mind out of the Northwestern Mutual gutter and think better of yourself.

While you're mulling all this over and you get hungry, eat Domino's.

The poster formerly known as theAudiophile. Just turned up to 11, like the stereo.
 
Most Helpful

First, you can take the SIE on your own without being employed but I do not think it will be big resume enhancer for PE or IB.  You need a sponsor/employer to take the next exam like the series 7.  Getting hired to take exams and then leaving will not have any impact on your FINRA standing but it might look a little weird when broker check shows that you were with this company for only like 2 months.  Personally, I would not use a firm as way to get licensed, as it is kind of shady. 

 

For IB you only need the Series 79 and 63, which are 1. not what you would take for financial advisor roles and 2. beyond easy to take, you are given weeks of training and time to study during analyst training

This is not worth it - even if you got those licenses it wouldn't help your application at all. Get real internships and network.

Array
 

eloquence

For IB you only need the Series 79 and 63, which are 1. not what you would take for financial advisor roles and 2. beyond easy to take, you are given weeks of training and time to study during analyst training

This is not worth it - even if you got those licenses it wouldn't help your application at all. Get real internships and network.

I appreciate your advice though on it not being worth it. I will make better use of my time.

 

I had my Charter, and could have basically sat and passed the CFP any day of the week when I sat for the 7 & 63.  Studying and passing were a joke, less than two weeks to get both.  They are not things worth going out of your way for.  If you want to impress people show progress towards capstone designations, not minimum competency licencing exams. 

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
 

Network. Get an internship. Don't put blinders on and think only an SA at BB matters. You can lateral out of CC into a state school (target or not, doesn't matter) just like you can intern at a community or regional bank's lending group and use that to lateral over to at least a Tier 3 national bank. Meanwhile, keep applying to internship and SA positions at the banks you want to wind up at. Be willing to move. Hell, be preemptive and think about moving anyways so you're in the right place at the right time for the right opportunity to show itself.

Edit: trawl the hell out of the Jobs board on here for other topics just like your question because it's definitely been discussed since time immemorial.

The poster formerly known as theAudiophile. Just turned up to 11, like the stereo.
 

K-Peezy

Network. Get an internship. Don't put blinders on and think only an SA at BB matters. You can lateral out of CC into a state school (target or not, doesn't matter) just like you can intern at a community or regional bank's lending group and use that to lateral over to at least a Tier 3 national bank. Meanwhile, keep applying to internship and SA positions at the banks you want to wind up at. Be willing to move. Hell, be preemptive and think about moving anyways so you're in the right place at the right time for the right opportunity to show itself.

Edit: trawl the hell out of the Jobs board on here for other topics just like your question because it's definitely been discussed since time immemorial.

You’re right man, I don’t know why I keep trying to find a back door instead of tackling it head on. Personally I feel like I am not ready to head into an investment bank and start working. I have no technicals, I have straight soft skills. I didn’t really get a good grip of accounting from my community college so I am looking to tackle it when I transfer to a 4 year. I also need a job, and I am looking for something finance related because I need the money.

 

Quis in consequatur animi consequatur qui voluptas. Repellat ullam ab debitis debitis. Exercitationem labore non vel ratione culpa ex.

Sit omnis magni vel illum et corrupti. Alias eos vel natus eum molestiae ex. Quis alias exercitationem aut quo. Dolores neque ipsum ipsum ut molestias eum.

Quisquam ad velit provident. Eaque excepturi sunt sunt et eveniet repellendus. Rerum molestiae culpa alias recusandae quasi eligendi. Amet explicabo impedit est omnis ea maiores quidem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (85) $262
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (65) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (198) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
9
pudding's picture
pudding
98.8
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”