A spot of green in a gray environment
If you are feeling depressed about politics, taxes or the stock market, take heart — your own future as a financial adviser is secure.
If you are feeling depressed about politics, taxes or the stock market, take heart — your own future as a financial adviser is secure.
According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, financial services ranks among the top 10 industries projected to offer “promise and jobs for the future.”
Advisers can attribute their good fortune to the millions of retiring baby boomers who will need professional advice to make sure that they don’t outlive their money.
The BLS predicts that the number of jobs in the category of “certified financial planners and financial advisers” will grow to more than 540,000 in 2016, a 36% increase from 397,000 today.
As members of the baby-boom generation retire, more and more experts will be needed to help them manage their retirement savings and personal investments.
Do you need further proof that the future looks bright for advisers?
Vault.com, a website that provides information for professionals who are pursuing and managing high-potential careers, developed a list of “recession-proof jobs” by examining all the 1.2 million jobs it aggregates through its site and then determining the ones that are available in the greatest number.
Despite the meltdown on Wall Street, “financial specialists” are back in demand, Vault reports. Advisers rank fourth on its list, and financial analysts are in the No. 10 spot.
In case you were wondering, registered nurses topped Vault’s recession-proof-jobs list.
They are apparently in high demand, thanks to a nursing shortage that will intensify as boomers age.
Retail jobs (including store manager, assistant store manager and retail-sales associate), rank No. 2, and United Parcel Service workers are No. 3.
Occupational therapists are fifth in the rankings, while sales and marketing representatives rank No. 6. Customer service reps are seventh, controllers, who direct an organization’s accounting functions, are No. 8, and accountants are ninth.
Amid all the doom and gloom, the 2010 job market is likely to be much better than last year’s depressing job market. As slow as the recovery is, it is happening — and jobs are slowly coming back in a variety of fields.
For 2010, a CNN report predicted that jobs will be most available in accounting, green-related areas and database administration.
Although it is true that the most recession-proof fields are those that are directly related to the necessities of life, we shouldn’t forget that peace of mind is also part of the equation.
And because few professionals can provide peace of mind better than advisers, there is probably a very good reason why your employment prospects appear so bright.
Jim Pavia is the editor of InvestmentNews.
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