Stockbrokers can aspire to trade on the New York Stock Exchange, which is the largest stock exchange in the world, the American Stock Exchange, which specializes in exchange-traded funds, along with small and medium-sized stocks, or the NASDAQ, which is the “over the counter” stock market.
The average salary of a stockbroker can exceed $175,000 for retail stockbrokers and about double that figure for institutional stockbrokers, while the average investment banker can take home around $850,000 in salaries. and bonuses.
Characteristics of successful stockbrokers
To convince clients to trust you with their investment, you need self-confidence, sales skills, and the ability to take repeated rejection. Stockbrokers must have integrity, along with competence and professionalism, to excel.
Employers prefer to hire mature individuals with good interpersonal skills, who have the ability to work independently. Successful people from other professions, who wish to make a career change, are also welcome by employers. Employers may want to do a credit check to make sure applicants have a clean record and good credit history.
Essential qualifications and licenses
There is no stockbroker requirement for any specialized qualification, although many stockbrokers have a college degree. A college degree in business, economics, or finance can be helpful, and one may be necessary, if you’re interested in joining one of the larger brokerage firms.
Typically, people don’t become stockbrokers right after they graduate. To become a stockbroker, you must receive professional on-the-job training with a stockbroker firm and become licensed, after passing the General Securities Registered Representative Exam. Before you can sit for this exam, you must undergo on-the-job stockbroker training with a brokerage for at least four months.
After completing the General Securities Registered Representative Exam, you may also be required to take the Uniform Securities Agents State Law Exam in many states.
Unlike other careers, online career training or free career training for stockbrokers cannot replace this mandatory period of working with a brokerage firm, and career scholarships are not available for this hands-on training.
The Series 7 Stockbroker Exam, administered by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), provides individuals with the necessary qualifications to trade in various types of corporate securities, with the exception of commodities and futures.
Posting your profile to a list of stockbrokers on the Internet can help brokers gain visibility through search engines like Google and Yahoo and get you more business. These listings can help clients do a broker comparison, before they decide to turn their business over to a particular broker.
Stock brokerage is an amazing profession and those who persist in their efforts to succeed can expect success beyond their wildest imagination.