It’s been ten months since I wrote a blog post on my decision to change careers to become a financial planner, and a lot has happened since then. Back then I decided to attain my Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) credentials, which is basically the gold standard for financial planning. It’s one of the more difficult certifications to get, but I figured it would give me the knowledge and experience I needed to change careers. The requirements are:

1. Education – Completing a course on financial planning, and holding at least a bachelor’s degree.
2. Exam – Passing the CFP® exam, a six-hour, 170-question test.
3. Experience – Completing either 6,000 hours of professional experience related to the financial planning process, or 4,000 hours of apprenticeship experience.
4. Ethics – Passing a background check and signing the Ethics Declaration.

By far, the most intimidating requirement to me was passing the CFP® exam since I have not taken any sort of exam, let alone a 6-hour exam, in 15 years. The first step was to complete a course on financial planning.

Backing up… A year ago I started an online CFP® education course through the Boston Institute of Finance/Bryant University. It was self-paced but had calls with instructors every two weeks which I could join live or listen to after the fact. This kept me to an eight-month schedule, pushing me to finish in December. The course covered these areas:

• General principles – A smorgasbord of info including college cost planning, mortgages, leasing vs. buying, creating financial statements, code of ethics, etc.
• Insurance – All types of insurance including life, disability, long-term care, homeowners, auto & health
• Investment management – Asset allocation and investment vehicles
• Tax planning – Strategies for reducing taxes
• Retirement planning – Calculating how much one needs, retirement plans (IRAs, 401Ks, pensions, etc.) and Social Security
• Estate planning – Trusts, gifting and strategies for reducing estate taxes

Honestly, it was a slog. Much of the content was exciting to learn because it was immediately applicable to my or my family members’ lives, but some was incredibly boring, and I doubt I’ll ever use the knowledge (such as different approaches for depreciating business equipment).

Once I finished the education course, I signed up for an exam prep class through Danko Education because I had read that it was very difficult to pass the exam without one, especially as a career changer. I’ll be honest, it was really hard to study again at the ripe old age of 52, compared to my test taking prime 30+ years ago, and I felt I needed all the help I could get. I was easily distracted by my cat, my phone, a bird chirping, thoughts of snacks, you name it. It felt like there was only so much room in my brain and for every new fact I learned, there was another I forgot. I couldn’t retain information just from reading it and had to use different mnemonic devices to get things to stick.

Fortunately, all the studying started to come together a week or so before the exam, and I went into the exam with the dual mindset of “I got this” and “at least the misery is over.” The exam itself was six hours and had 170 questions split into two sections with a 45 minute break in between. I had to take it at a testing center where you get frisked before entering the room and can only bring a financial calculator, which they check to make sure it doesn’t have any notes hidden in it. You’re not even allowed to wear jewelry! When I was done, I held my breath as I clicked “Submit.” It was such a relief to see the “Passed” message!

So now that I’ve completed the education and exam requirements, the next step is to accumulate 6,000 relevant experience hours. Since I’ve already accrued 2,000, I have just 4,000 to go.

One way you can accumulate hours is through volunteer work, so I’ve started volunteering for Savvy Ladies, a nonprofit organization that provides free financial education to women. It has a free financial helpline where you can submit questions that are answered by volunteer financial advisors (one of whom is me!). It’s been very gratifying to help guide women in crisis or transition just by sharing information I’ve learned.

I’ve also signed up to do Amplified Planning’s Externship again this summer. This was a fantastic virtual internship that let me experience first-hand what it was like to create a financial plan for clients. Based on what I learned, I’m able to do pro bono consulting for friends and family which has been incredibly rewarding.

As of now, my goal is to complete my CFP® certification by the end of August 2027. I’m not sure yet if I will then try to get a job as a financial planner, open my own firm, or just continue doing volunteer and pro bono work, but I’ll see where the journey takes me!