Financial adviser

This role is open to graduates of most subjects.

Particularly relevant subjects include:

• financial services
• business management
• accountancy

Once you finish your course, you could apply to join a finance company or a bank as a graduate trainee adviser.

You could apply to do an apprenticeship, with a financial organisation, such as:

• Paraplanner and Financial Planner Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship
• Financial Services Professional Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship

You could start as a financial services administrator, pensions administrator or customer services adviser and work your way up.

To do this, you'll need to study for a level 4 qualification in financial advice recognised by the Financial Conduct Authority.

These include:

• Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning from the Chartered Insurance Institute
• Diploma for Financial Advisers from Walbrook Institute London
• Investment Advice Diploma from the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment

If you work in pensions, you could do qualifications offered by the Pensions Management Institute, while you move into an adviser role.

You'll usually need a degree at upper second class or higher. Most degree subjects are accepted, but you may find these particularly useful:

• economics
• maths
• business studies
• accountancy
• finance

If your degree is not related to business or finance, you can do a postgraduate qualification like a master's in business administration (MBA).

A course with a placement year or a summer internship will give you valuable experience and an advantage when applying for work. Your university careers service can help you with this.

You could apply to do an Investment Operations Specialist Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship, with a bank or regulator, or investment and financial services company.

You could also join a Senior Investment and Commercial Banking Professional Level 7 Apprenticeship, depending on your experience and qualifications. This is equivalent to a postgraduate award.

These normally take up to 2 years to complete. You will sit professional exams as part of the apprenticeship. At the end, you will be able to apply for membership of the professional body that covers your role.

You could start as a graduate trainee in an investment bank or a stockbroking firm. Trainees must pass an exam that is recognised by the Financial Conduct Authority. These include:

• Investment Management Certificate from the CFA Society UK
• Investment Advice Diploma through the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment

You could do a college course which will give you some of the skills and knowledge you need to get into a trainee mortgage adviser role.

Courses include:

• business
• business and administration
• providing financial services

Once working, your employer may put you through mortgage advice training.

You could apply to do a Mortgage Adviser Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship, or Financial Adviser Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship.

These take between 1 and 2 years to complete. They combine training on the job and study with a learning provider.

You could do a college course which would teach you some of the skills and knowledge you need to be a paraplanner.

Subjects include:

• regulated financial services operations
• financial planning
• providing financial services

You could do a Paraplanner and Financial Planner Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship.

This will take around 2 years to complete and will include a mix of learning on the job and studying at college.

You could join a company as a trainee and learn on the job.

Your employer might want you to do qualification while you train, such as the CISI level 4 Certificate in Paraplanning.