Financial planning is a satisfying career, but there are a few things to do before you can reap the rewards. Individuals wishing to pursue a career as a financial planner must be able to pass the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Examination. 

To get you started toward a financial planning career, we have lined up the path you will need to follow. These requirements are sometimes referred to as the four E’s.  

Education

A financial planner maps out the financial futures of others. Because this is such an important task, strict education requirements must be fulfilled. These include a bachelor's degree from an accredited university or college, extensive knowledge of nearly 100 topics in the financial planning field, and extra coursework from CFP Board-registered programs.

Exam

After you have completed the required education, you will be expected to take the CFP Certification Exam.  The exam tests your knowledge in the financial planning realm and a passing score proves to potential clients that they can trust your ability to handle their finances. The exam is multiple choice and designed to test knowledge, comprehension and application, analysis and evaluation.

Experience

As a certified financial planner, you will work with public finances.To prepare you for this responsibility and reassure your clients that you are capable of handling their finances is through the requirement of work experience before you are certified to work without supervision. 

The CFP Board defines this requirement as, “the supervision, direct support, teaching or personal delivery of all or part of the personal financial planning process to a client.”  There are six work experience elements under which your working time may be included for credit.     

Ethics
 
Since you are being trusted with the hard-earned finances of others, financial planning and moral ethics must go hand in hand.  With this in mind, the final requirement to becoming a certified financial planner is your agreement to work under the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc.’s Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Financial Planning Practice Standards as well as agree to the board’s right to enforce these guidelines.  This is another way that the public may be reassured of your ability as a Financial Planner and clients will therefore be more willing to trust you with there money.

So there you have it, the basics of becoming a financial planner.  Good luck and may God bless and guide you on the path to your new career!