Choosing a new career based on personal interest is imperative to the growth of a person professionally. If you are ready to stay invested in finance and want to try out sales, stock brokerage might be the right career path for you. For any individual who can use their networks to build revenue, stock brokerage is the answer for an ambitious person. But one thing anyone asks before considering becoming a stockbroker is whether it will be hard.
There is some dedication required for any career path and thai is no different. Make sure that you pick this path with proper consideration. One way to decide if it is good for you is to look at the necessary steps that will help you become a stock broker.If you feel you can do it, it would not be hard. Otherwise, it may be time to reevaluate your expectations.
Get a Bachelor’s Degree
The first step towards becoming a stock broker is to get a bachelor’s degree. Having this as your minimum qualification can qualify an individual for an entry level job in security and other financial services. While any Bachelor’s degree would work without specialisation, a degree in finance, business, accounting, or economics will give you a significant edge over the other candidates.
It can be a stepping stone and give important information regarding statistics and quantitative analysis which will be used later. Rather than someone who does not have a finance background and individual with a finance related degree can speed up the process and make stock brokerage easier for them.
Get an MBA
Due to the high level of competition, we have to mention that a bachelor’s degree will not suffice for a good job. It would be best to have an MBA in your hand as a leverage for the employers. A master of business administration offers additional specialisation that can benefit candidates who have decided to pursue this career path.
If an individual has a dream company, this degree will increase their chances of securing better paying jobs in advanced positions. However, if you already have done diploma courses and other certificate programs regarding finance, a master’s degree may not be necessary.
Choose a Good Internship Opportunity
While pursuing a bachelor’s or a master’s degree, many universities will offer internship opportunities to interested students. These internship opportunities are at the top companies and brokerage firms. They provide indispensable work experience to all the interested in terms and help you loan about the market closely.
Since a stock broker works on their networks, this might be the right time to start building contacts. Knowing people in the financial industry before beginning a career is a significant advantage to any intern trying to make a place in a competitive job market.
Choose to do Additional Certifications
Apart from getting a degree in a specific course, it is also essential to have additional information. One should always be ready to learn as much as possible about the market and finances. Additional certifications are one way to get extra knowledge which will help serve the clients better.
There are many additional certifications depending on whether you are completing it through distance education or the offline medium. These are meant for investors, stock brokers, and sub brokers and provide detailed information regarding the trends of the stock market. Online registrations are possible with the certification and they also offer practice tests to all students.
Take Some Time Out
We are asking you to take some time out not for relaxing but to start investing. It should be in your own time and not during a time when you can build a client base. Starting one’s own investment is very important to learn the market’s ins and outs through actual experience.
There is so much one can learn in an internship but actually investment is also a great way to get into future market analysis. If you are willing to learn more, click here.
Volunteer to Trade Stock
We also recommend volunteering to trading stocks whenever you get some down time. It is a good practice for any budding stock trader who needs experience more than money. When one is just beginning it is important to do everything right which can only happen through an internship or via volunteering. Wall Street will offer many opportunities for interested individuals. Working on the weekend does not feel like a good bargain but it will help in building a good career down the line.
Know What You Will Be Doing
Since you will be working as a licensed professional, it is important to know the job responsibilities to better serve the clients. With adequate education it is easy to get a general idea of what one is supposed to be doing as a stock broker. The payment they get is a commission fee which is a fixed percentage of every transaction they help in facilitating.
The clients can be institutions or individuals both of which have different needs. It will be your job to advise them to make the right financial decisions on when to buy and when to sell. Finding the best prices is one of the most important goals expected from a licensed professional. Other responsibilities include:
- Managing the different investment portfolios of all the clients.
- Staying updated with the latest market trends and related financial news.
- Giving out accurate and beneficial advice to clients.
- Making correct evaluation of the financial reports.
- Changing the current investment strategies based on the information gained from the changing market trends.
- Updating all the clients regularly about their investment portfolios and the progress.
- Looking for new clients through maintaining a stable network and by cold calling.
The Takeaway
It is not hard to be a stock broker if you are willing to follow all the steps mentioned above. Understand that the learning process will continue even after you function as a licensed professional. Work hard to make things easy.
