If you have a passion for finance and wish to work directly with people to help them plan for a safe, comfortable future, then you could be the perfect fit for becoming a personal financial advisor. As the name suggests, personal financial advisors are responsible for giving expert advice to assist clients in making important investment, insurance, tax, and retirement planning decisions. Since the large baby boomer population is approaching retirement and decreased funds have caused drops in pension funds, many more people will be enlisting the help of qualified personal financial advisor to settle their financial worries. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that employment of personal financial advisors will grow rapidly by 27 percent, which will create around 60,300 jobs by 2022. Below we’ve created a brief job overview for determining whether the in-demand financial planning field is right for you.

What Personal Finance Advisors Do

In short, personal financial advisors meet with clients, assess their financial needs, counsel them on their fiscal troubles, and give advice for creating a profitable investing plan. Personal financial advisors are responsible for educating their clients on the different types of financial services available while pointing out the potential benefits and risks of each. Many clients rely on personal financial advisors to make investments on their behalf by buying and selling products like stocks, bonds, annuities, and insurance policies. From there, personal financial advisors will pay close attention to their clients’ accounts and take action to make changes when needed to boost profit.

Where Personal Finance Advisors Work

As of 2012, there were around 223,400 personal financial advisors working across the United States in a variety of settings. The highest percentage of personal finance advisors are employed directly by financial investment firms. However, job opportunities can also be found at insurance carriers, banks, credit intermediation companies, securities and commodities brokerages, corporations, and other financial services. Around 20 percent of personal financial advisors are self-employed in their own private practice, which often requires a considerable amount of time spent networking and marketing their services to new potential clients. Nearly all personal financial advisors work full-time, but many work longer than 40 hours per week.

How to Become a Personal Finance Advisor

Before you can work as a personal finance advisor, you’ll need earn at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited business school. Most aspiring advisors will receive an undergraduate major in finance, accounting, business administration, economics, or mathematics. For good job preparation, it’s advised that you take courses related to financial planning, investing, estate planning, debt management, taxation, and risk management. Earning an MBA or master’s degree in finance can also help advance into managerial positions too. Most personal financial advisors register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to legally buy and sell financial products. Many also boost their credentials by becoming a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) after at least three years of financial work experience, according to the CFP Board.

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Overall, personal financial advisors put their excellent problem-solving skills, financial training, and love of numbers to good use in helping clients meet their short-term and long-term financial goals. If you make the rewarding decision of becoming a personal financial advisor, you’ll have the opportunity to assist clients in creating an effective budget plan and carefully investing their savings to provide a bright future free from money troubles.