On this page
💰 Finance & Accounting
Financial Planner
Help people manage money for life.
Entry earning
$55k
Associate Planner
Senior tier earning
$250k
Partner / Own Practice
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook
Words with a dotted underline are industry terms. Hover or tap for a plain-English definition.
What the job actually looks like
Financial planners help individuals manage their money — retirement savings, taxes, investments, college for their kids. A typical day is client meetings and building personalized financial plans.
Paths inside the field
Pick a branch to retrace the arc
Click any specialization. The timeline and salary curve above update to match.
The full arc
How this career unfolds
Associate Planner
(certified)
Senior Advisor
Partner / Own Practice
Surprising fact
Top financial planners often out-earn their doctor clients, by building a book over 10 to 15 years.
Lifestyle & optionality
The day-to-day reality
Typical hours
40 to 50/wk
High
Very high
High
Moderate
Where this is heading
10-year outlook
Projected job growth (2023 to 2033)
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
AI and automation risk
AI will handle parts of the job, shifting what humans focus on.
Tailwinds
- Boomer wealth transfer = record demand
- Fee-only model growing fast
Headwinds
- Robo-advisors absorbing low-balance clients
Real wages vs. inflation
Real wages up moderately.
Two ways in
Education paths & payback
Standard route
Public university +
Total cost
$48k
Length
4 yrs
How we calculate it: total education cost ÷ (15% of first-year pay put toward paying it back).
Standard route
Private +
Total cost
$250k
Length
6 yrs
How we calculate it: total education cost ÷ (15% of first-year pay put toward paying it back).
The real cost will be different for you
The numbers above are medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The price you actually pay depends on financial aid, scholarships, family help, state residency, and which schools accept you. A "$250k" private university is often $60k to $120k after aid. A "cheap" community college can still be out of reach without a plan. Use these as a starting point, then get real quotes from the specific schools you're considering.
Location matters
How pay changes by metro
Pay differs by about 20-35% across the country. Cost of living often cancels most of it.
| Metro | Pay at Senior Advisor |
|---|---|
San Francisco Bay Area, CA | $203k |
New York City, NY | $195k |
Seattle, WA | $183k |
Boston, MA | $177k |
Washington, DC | $176k |
Los Angeles, CA | $173k |
Denver, CO | $159k |
Chicago, IL | $156k |
Austin, TX | $155k |
Atlanta, GA | $147k |
Dallas–Fort Worth, TX | $146k |
Phoenix, AZ | $141k |
Nashville, TN | $138k |
Indianapolis, IN | $132k |
Rural / small metro | $117k |
How to read this: Pay is US median for Senior Advisor scaled by BLS metro wage data. Cost of living index is C2ER (US avg = 100). A means that metro isn't just paid better. It's essentially required to work at the top of this field.
Start now
What you can do in high school
Classes & electives
- Calculus
- Statistics
- Economics
- AP Computer Science
Things to try outside class
- Open a paper-trading account or track a mock portfolio
- Join a math team, quant club, or finance club
- Do a finance internship junior/senior summer if possible
- Learn Excel and basic financial modeling (WSP or Breaking Into Wall Street have free intros)
Read, listen, watch
The cheapest way to find out whether you actually like a field is to read what people in it read.
- 'The Intelligent Investor' by Benjamin Graham and 'One Up on Wall Street' by Peter Lynch
- 'Liar's Poker' and 'The Big Short' by Michael Lewis (how Wall Street actually works)
- Matt Levine's 'Money Stuff' newsletter (free, daily, the best finance writing)
- 'Odd Lots' and 'Capital Allocators' podcasts
None of this is required. It's just the lowest-friction way to find out if you actually like this kind of work before you commit money or time.
Salary and progression source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook (bls.gov/ooh). Figures are medians or typical ranges in today's dollars; real outcomes vary by employer, city, and specialty.