Personal Financial Advisors
What Personal Financial Advisors Do
Advise clients on financial plans using knowledge of tax and investment strategies, securities, insurance, pension plans, and real estate. Duties include assessing clients' assets, liabilities, cash flow, insurance coverage, tax status, and financial objectives. May also buy and sell financial assets for clients.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
- Self-employed
- 15.8%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 4 of 5Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Experience
- A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
- Education
- Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
- Job training
- Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.4/5
- Economics and Accountingimportance 4.1/5
- English Languageimportance 3.9/5
- Mathematicsimportance 3.7/5
- Psychologyimportance 3.1/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 2.9/5
- Sales and Marketingimportance 2.9/5
- Computers and Electronicsimportance 2.9/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- E-Mail4.8/5
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.6/5
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.6/5
- Telephone Conversations4.6/5
- Spend Time Sitting4.4/5
- Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals4.3/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents98% skill match
- Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists97% skill match
- Credit Analysts97% skill match
- Insurance Underwriters96% skill match
- Compensation and Benefits Managers96% skill match
- Financial Managers96% skill match
- Epidemiologists96% skill match
- Urban and Regional Planners96% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.6/5
- Service Orientationimportance 3.6/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.6/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.6/5
- Persuasionimportance 3.4/5
- Systems Analysisimportance 3.4/5
- Systems Evaluationimportance 3.4/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
- ACT! ACT4Advisors
- ASI Client Acquisition Solution
- Advent Axys
- AdviceAmerica AdvisorVision
- Advisory World ICE
- Asset allocation software
- Automatic Data Processing ProxyEdge
- Brentmark Stock Option Risk Analyzer
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Attention to Detail
- Integrity
- Dependability
- Cautiousness
- Intellectual Curiosity
- Social Orientation
- Achievement Orientation
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- EnterprisingHigh
- ConventionalHigh
- SocialMedium
- InvestigativeMedium
- ArtisticLow
- RealisticLow
Specific Interests
A more detailed breakdown of this occupation’s interest profile, per O*NET.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where personal financial advisors make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT3.60× national avg
- 2Manchester-Nashua, NH2.79× national avg
- 3Trenton-Princeton, NJ2.59× national avg
- 4Durham-Chapel Hill, NC2.56× national avg
- 5Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC2.08× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Financial ManagersCareer Change
- Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales AgentsCareer Change
- Budget AnalystsLateral Move
- Marketing ManagersCareer Change
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Finance, General
- American College of Financial Services (King of Prussia, PA)
- CUNY Bernard M Baruch College (New York, NY)grads earn ~$84,956
- Ohio State University-Main Campus (Columbus, OH)grads earn ~$97,986
- Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL)grads earn ~$87,089
- University of South Carolina-Columbia (Columbia, SC)grads earn ~$92,578
Family Resource Management Studies, General
- Arizona State University Digital Immersion (Scottsdale, AZ)grads earn ~$50,074
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Lincoln, NE)grads earn ~$48,305
- Arizona State University Campus Immersion (Tempe, AZ)grads earn ~$50,074
- University of Georgia (Athens, GA)grads earn ~$74,107
- Arizona State University Digital Immersion (Scottsdale, AZ)grads earn ~$60,420