Business and Financial Operations · Holland code ECS

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. May also buy and sell financial assets for clients.

Also called: Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Financial Advisor, Financial Planner, Portfolio Manager, Financial Consultant, Financial Counselor, Financial Life Planner, Investment Advisor.

O*NET 13-2052.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $105,070; Middle half earn $72,440 to $176,790. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 58% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +10% · Much faster than average; 326,000 jobs in 2024, projected 357,200. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Personal financial advisors".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Interview clients to determine their current income, expenses, insurance coverage, tax status, financial objectives, risk tolerance, or other information needed to develop a financial plan.
Analyze financial information obtained from clients to determine strategies for meeting clients' financial objectives.
Answer clients' questions about the purposes and details of financial plans and strategies.
Review clients' accounts and plans regularly to determine whether life changes, economic changes, environmental concerns, or financial performance indicate a need for plan reassessment.
Manage client portfolios, keeping client plans up-to-date.
Recommend to clients strategies in cash management, insurance coverage, investment planning, or other areas to help them achieve their financial goals.
Recommend financial products, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or insurance.
Implement financial planning recommendations, or refer clients to someone who can assist them with plan implementation.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.1 / 5
Active Listening4.1 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Writing3.9 / 5
Critical Thinking3.8 / 5
Mathematics3.6 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.4 / 5
Economics and Accounting4.1 / 5
English Language3.9 / 5
Mathematics3.7 / 5
Psychology3.1 / 5
Administration and Management2.9 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic0
Investigative38
Artistic12
Social51
Enterprising81
Conventional77

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

financial planner · DE Finanzplaner/Finanzplanerin · FR planificateur financier/planificatrice financière
investment adviser · DE Anlage- und Vermögensberater/Anlage- und Vermögensberaterin · FR conseiller en investissements/conseillère en investissements
personal trust officer · DE Privater Vermögensverwalter/private Vermögensverwalterin · FR agent des services de fiducie personnelle/agente des services de fiducie personnelle
asset manager · DE Vermögensverwalter/Vermögensverwalterin · FR gestionnaire de patrimoine financier
credit adviser · DE Kreditberater/Kreditberaterin · FR conseiller crédits/conseillère crédits

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Credit controllers (4121)29,000 employed
Finance and investment analysts and advisers (2422)268,700 employed
Brokers (3531)67,900 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.40. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (13-2052).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test