Career Change

[YP1]

Hello everyone. Looking for some feedback from fellow professionals. I have an opportunity to join the FDNY (something I wanted to do for a while). As a firefighter I would only work 2-3 days a week.

Currently, I'm a CFP, mostly do investments and refer life insurance to my business partners. I am thinking of focusing on Life Insurance once I start the FDNY job but not sure how realistic that is. Any advice/feedback is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[lifeandhealth]

If it was your dream to be a firefighter, I'd say chase after your dream. Firefighters make good money and have excellent benefits too. Which job will ultimately make you happy?

 

[split789]

Hello everyone. Looking for some feedback from fellow professionals. I have an opportunity to join the FDNY (something I wanted to do for a while). As a firefighter I would only work 2-3 days a week.

Currently, I'm a CFP, mostly do investments and refer life insurance to my business partners. I am thinking of focusing on Life Insurance once I start the FDNY job but not sure how realistic that is. Any advice/feedback is appreciated. Thank you.

where will you be stationed? bronx?

 

[DHK]

Hello everyone. Looking for some feedback from fellow professionals. I have an opportunity to join the FDNY (something I wanted to do for a while). As a firefighter I would only work 2-3 days a week.

Currently, I'm a CFP, mostly do investments and refer life insurance to my business partners. I am thinking of focusing on Life Insurance once I start the FDNY job but not sure how realistic that is. Any advice/feedback is appreciated. Thank you.

The question you are asking is how realistic is it to focus on life insurance instead of referring it out... while you are a CFP, and a fire-fighter 2-3 days per week.

If you're not giving up the investment side of being a financial advisor, it should be quite easy to bring up life insurance planning with your existing clients, instead of referring it out.

You may want to learn about various kinds of permanent life insurance and their uses. Check out the Insurance Pro Shop for some training on how to present life insurance planning concepts to your clients.

As far as having the energy for doing both financial advice and being a fire-fighter... I'll leave that up to you. You know the demands of your current clients and how you've structured your practice.

If it were me, I wouldn't give up being a financial advisor. It's a career that you can do for the rest of your life... while being a firefighter, well, it is a shorter career lifespan... but is very important and rewarding.

Being a hero is a big deal, and I would never talk someone out of doing something noble like that.

I'll say this: financial advisors are like firefighters and arsonists. Sometimes you're putting out fires... and other times you're lighting fires under others.

 

[chrisinsman]

I say do it. Do both.

 

[xrac]

I say do it. Do both.

I agree. Most of the firefighters I have known work at some other job. I had two friends who were brothers who ran a construction company that mostly built horse barns and tobacco barns around Lexington, KY. They worked at the fire department on different shifts and so the construction company worked 5-6 days a week with the brother who was off from the fire department managing the jobs that day.

 

[YP1]

Thank you everyone for your input. I should of gave more details. I am currently a salaried employee with annual bonuses and work for a company where the clients aren't really mine. So if I was to leave, it would be starting from scratch. I work with hospitals in the NYC area and have good relationships with my clients who are nurses and doctors. If I was to do this, I would focus on that market. But again, since I don't have real Life Insurance experience, I am not sure how realistic it would be doing it part-time or with what company letting me do it part-time.

I am supposed to go into the academy either this summer or in the winter. Since starting out as a FF, my pay would be cut significantly, I would definitely need to work my ass off to provide an income with a second job.

Would it make sense to start doing it full-time now (with no income coming in) so that I can start learning the ins and outs? But then I would have to go into the academy for 18 months with no ability to do any insurance business.

Also, are there companies who are better positioned to serve the hospital market for life and disability insurance or is it really more on an individual basis?

Thanks again for all the replies.

 

[milliondollaragent]

Do it. It's hard but lucrative.

 

[Chazm]

I'm confused by the person who said firefighters make good money.

 

[kgmom219]

Its totally doable. Assuming FDNY works 24 on/48 off.

No one is going to be upset when you can't call them back on your shift day. Life Insurance isn't time sensitive. You sell/prospect 2 days a week. You are at the station on the 3rd day.

My only advice...don't have meetings the morning after your shift. Some days you are going to be too tired. I would meet/prospect on Day 1. FDNY Day 2. "In the office" on Day 3. Scheduling appts. Calling parameds in. Etc.

Congrats on your dream job!