Career profile · SOC 13-2052

Personal Financial Advisors

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.

Median salary
$102,140
per year
Growth outlook
Faster Than Average
BLS 10-yr
Education
Bachelor's degree
AI exposure
7.4/10
automation risk

Salary distribution (US)

Real salary data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The p10–p90 spread tells you more than the median alone.

Bottom 10%
$46,390
25th %ile
$67,040
Median
$102,140
75th %ile
$160,240
Top 10%
$239,200

Top skills

Active Listening Speaking Critical Thinking Judgment and Decision Making Reading Comprehension Social Perceptiveness Complex Problem Solving Persuasion Service Orientation Mathematics

Knowledge you'll build

  • Economics and Accounting
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • English Language
  • Mathematics
  • Sales and Marketing
  • Law and Government
  • Administration and Management
  • Computers and Electronics

A day in the life

Your morning starts with scanning market news and reviewing how overnight developments might affect your clients' portfolios. You then sit down with a young couple planning for their first home, walking them through savings strategies, mortgage options, and investment allocations on a whiteboard. After lunch you might help a retiree restructure their withdrawal plan or build a comprehensive estate plan using financial-planning software. The work is deeply personal—you become a trusted confidant—and the satisfaction of helping someone reach a milestone like paying off student loans or retiring comfortably is what drives you.

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