29M considering a transition from military to CFP role. If you had to start again, what career advice would you give?
Hi all. Thanks for your time in advance. I am currently active duty Navy 0-3 (5 YOE) making a decent salary overseas (~130K), but feel limited by the lack of competition and opportunity of being in the military. I have always had a knack for personal finance, have a good understanding of personal finance and real estate and very much enjoy the planning process.
Biggest reasons for getting out and pursuing the financial planner route.
Income opportunity - I am somewhat at a glass ceiling, I can be the highest performer in my rank structure and it means nothing for compensation or increasing in rank in a significantly faster time frame.
Work flexibility - working at most 50 hours a week (seems to be the industry standard of CFP) staying the military for the next 15 years will almost certainly mean an additional 4-5 cross country moves. As I increase in rank, responsibility will correlate to 55-65 hour work weeks with a significant increase in stress. Of course deployments will take me away from my family.
Opportunity to live near family- I have aging parents and my family lives in MI and there are no Navy job postings in MI that I would be eligible for. My wife and I are starting a family and having our kids near their grandparents is important to us.
My biggest concerns with getting out and pursuing CFP route are:
Lack of the same salary stability I have in the military - I am highly confident that I could do 15 more years in the military and pay off 7 houses by then and have 200k in passive income in 15 years for the rest of my life (there is just a lot of sacrifice that would have to happen to endure that).
I would be giving up something good for something potentially better- Fully acknowledge the grass is not always greener
This is all I have known since I was 19. I went to the Naval Academy and then commissioned and have been in a military setting all my adult years.
I am concerned by the indications that most starting in this career field appear to be service reps only making around 50K for the first three years. This would be a significant hurdle for my family financially since we are used to making 130K/year.
What career route would you recommend if you had to start all over again?
US Naval Academy grad, political science major, 29M, experience in leadership, leading teams in stressful situations, significant experience briefing high level military leadership on recommended courses of action from tactical to strategic.
Finance related experience - setting up and running an airbnb, have three long term rentals, have been investing with Fidelity personally managing finances since 2018.
All wisdom, critiques, and disparages welcome. Thanks for reading and for your time!