How to get rich as a stockbroker

The careers of stockbroker and insurance agent are vastly different in many regards, but one important similarity is both, at their cores, are sales jobs. Whether you deal in stocks, mutual fundsETFs, health insurance, life insurance or annuities, ultimately your objective is to sell financial products to your customers, whether those clients are individuals or businesses, and earn a commission in return.

Both fields offer extraordinarily high income potentials. However, plenty of stockbrokers and insurance agents struggle to make ends meet and do not have staying power in the field. These careers, unlike medicine, corporate law, public accounting and others known for high incomes, pay largely on commission; pay is tied strongly to performance, with very little guaranteed money for those who do not produce. In particular, insurance agencies have a reputation for paying agents on a commission-only basis; few offer base salaries, and those that do usually do not offer much.

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Brokerage houses offer higher salaries, plus bonuses and commissions, but those salaries come with stringent production quotas. Brokers unable to hit those quotas are frequently shown the door. For an ambitious young professional deciding on a long-term career, stockbroking and insurance sales offer unique incentives and challenges. The analysis below compares the education required, skills needed, starting salaries, job outlook and work-life balance for stockbrokers and insurance agents.

Neither stockbrokers nor insurance agents must meet hard-and-fast educational requirements beyond a high school diploma. Employers determine on an individual basis, which sometimes varies from candidate to candidate based on other attributes they bring to the table, how much education they require of a new hire. As a general rule, albeit one with many exceptions, stockbrokers have more formal education than insurance agents.

The reason is that brokerage firms often conduct their recruiting efforts on college campuses, particularly at Ivy League and other elite schools, such as Duke and the University of Chicago. Insurance agencies also recruit at colleges but, unlike most brokerage houses, they make extensive use of online job search sites such as Monster.

Most stockbrokers have at least a bachelor's degree, often from a highly rated university. Because it is ultimately a sales job, firms are known to take chances on candidates without degrees but with preternatural sales skills or rich natural markets.

Insurance agents come from all levels of education, the most important thing being their ability to prospect for clients and convert them to closed sales.

Licensing requirements exist for both careers. Stockbrokers must pass the Series 7 and Series 63 exams. Insurance agents have to pass specific licensing tests based on the products they sell, such as life insurance, auto insurance and so forth.

Once again, these are sales careers. A successful stockbroker or insurance agent must prospect for clients and then build trust with those clients. Financial transactions in the brokerage industry can run into the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, and sometimes into the millions. A broker must inspire confidence for a client to trust him with those kinds of sums. While insurance agents typically deal in smaller sums, competition in the industry is fierce.

Agencies abound, and consumers can quickly compare premiums and coverage online, making it easier for competitors to undercut an agent's quote. A cheaper quote almost always exists for the same coverage, so it is imperative that an agent can sell value and not just price. For stockbrokers, acuity with numbers and keen attention to detail are vital. Small mistakes can cost investors big sums of money.

These are pay-for-performance jobs.

The better you are at your job, the more money you make. In most cases, stockbrokers earn a much higher base pay than insurance agents. Once again, those salaries are tied to performance quotas; miss your quota a few times and your salary disappears since you probably no longer have a job.

For the most part, only the big Wall Street firms offer salaries near the six figures to rookies. Insurance agent jquery select change index are all over the how to get rich as a stockbroker. Most insurance sales jobs are straight commission, with no base salary or draw.

A few agencies offer a small base. These are almost always tied to rigid production quotas. Moreover, most insurance agents are independent contractors, not employees. This means employers provide no health insurance or retirement benefits. The job outlook for stockbrokers is positive through optionsxpress futures trading least Except for a sharp dip during the Great Recession ofthe field has grown by 2.

Analysts expect more than 70, new job openings for stockbrokers by The projected growth rate for insurance agents is slightly slower, but the field has expanded steadily, even martin alexander forex robot the economic turmoil of the late s.

Approximately 46, new insurance agent job openings are expected by Stockbrokers, at least the ones who are financially successful, tend to work longer hours than a typical hour workweek. A stockbroker must be at his desk and ready to execute trades during market hours, which run from 9: Eastern time Monday through Friday.

Conducting market researchprospecting for clients and earn money blogging philippines other peripheral yet vital job duties trading forex live room double those hours, with many brokers working 70 hours per week or more the first year.

Because most insurance agents are independent contractors, their employers cannot legally require them to work specific hours. The ones who are successful prioritize work during the first few years.

A good insurance agent is always prospecting and always seems to be talking about insurance, even at social functions. If you want to be successful as an typing work at home in indore agent, it is not a career where you punch out at 5: If you prefer a frenetically paced workday, love numbers and want the potential to make a lot of money, becoming a stockbroker could be an ideal career move.

Even better, if you attend or graduated from a highly ranked school, this gives you an inside track with the big firms. For those who love talking to people and have large natural markets or a positive reputation in town, becoming an insurance agent is a way to potentially make a lot of money without years and years of school. Independent contractor status also means that as an insurance agent, despite the fact you represent a specific company, you are in essence your own boss.

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Insurance Agent By Greg DePersio October 2, — 8: Education Required Neither stockbrokers nor insurance agents must meet hard-and-fast educational requirements beyond a high school diploma. Skills Needed Once again, these are sales careers. Starting Salary These are pay-for-performance jobs. Job Outlook The job outlook for stockbrokers is positive through at least Which One to Choose If you prefer a frenetically paced workday, love numbers and want the potential to make a lot of money, becoming a stockbroker could be an ideal career move.

Few careers match the opportunity for as quick and large a paycheck as does being a life insurance agent. The pros and cons of becoming a life insurance agent, a field that can be hard to crack—but that can pay off big when you do. Choosing a life insurance agent is the first and most important step in obtaining coverage. Buyers should pay attention to five key factors.

How Do Stock Brokers Make Money?

Learn why selling life insurance is a difficult way to make a living, but also how agents who persevere are rewarded down the road with a strong passive income. Read a detailed comparison between life as a stockbroker versus a financial advisor; find out how the two are different and which one is best for you.

Read an in-depth review of a career as a financial planner as opposed to a career as a stockbroker, including how to decide which is best for you.

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