Career Trends: Personal Financial Advisors

Personal financial advisors provide advice on investments, insurance, mortgages, college savings, estate planning, taxes, and retirement to help individuals manage their finances.  

Most personal financial advisors work in the finance and insurance industry or are self-employed. They typically work full time and may meet with clients in the evenings or on weekends.

Personal financial advisors typically need a bachelor’s degree. A master’s degree and certification can improve one’s chances for advancement in the occupation.

Employment of personal financial advisors is projected to grow 30 percent from 2014 to 2024, much faster than the average for all occupations. As the population ages and life expectancies rise, demand for financial planning services should increase.

This occupation supported 223,400 jobs in 2012 and 249,400 jobs in 2014, reflecting an increase of 11.6%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 27.0% in 2022 to 283,700 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 235,400, compared with an observed value of 249,400, 5.9% higher than expected. This indicates current employment trends are much better than the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to increase by 33.0% in 2024 to 323,200 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 295,700 jobs for 2024, 8.5% lower than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are much better than the 2012 trend within this occupation.