Pros
-Cost of training for securities licensing and life insurance is paid while paying you a reasonable temporary salary. -Most other FAs will teach you good sales tips and techniques if you ask them. -Lots of autonomy if you are meeting or exceeding performance standards. -Excellent service and support from departments at headquarters. -Unlimited earnings potential. -Opportunities to earn bonuses throughout your career.
Cons
-Don't buy the addage that you can "run your own business." You can't because there are lots of corporate rules to follow, your performance will be closely watched, and the investment selection is limited. -The CEO has said, "Assets attract assets" but unless you inherit an existing branch or are gifted significant assets from a senior advisor within the first year there is a 90% chance you will fail. Improvements have been made in offering a temporary starting salary but it's near impossible to make a living building a branch in a fiduciary world, from scratch, when you have little experience and people have little reason to trust you with their savings. -Financial planning training and asset allocation tools are weak. Foremost, this is a sales job, not a place to give sophisticated, comprehensive advice with well-balanced portfolios. A certification (CFP, CRPC, etc) will set you heads above most other EJ FAs in the eyes of your community. -There are many out of pocket expenses including all mailing and postage, office and bathroom supplies, local advertising, long distance phone calls, cell phone and daily mileage. -Door knocking is still the most emphasized way of building a business but this just doesn't work well anymore where people are suspicious of you dropping by their home and studies show millenials (who will be the largest part of the workforce soon) hate answering the door.