The first job in financial planning is usually a salaried support role, a paraplanner or associate planner working for a lead advisor, and those roles start around $58,000. After that, an advisor's pay follows the book of business they build more than their title. The median CFP professional earns about $209,000, based on the CFP Board's compensation study, and the top decile, mostly established lead advisors with a large book of business, earns roughly $400,000.

I passed the CFP and built FreeFellow's CFP practice bank. The CFP mark is the standard credential for financial planning, and more and more firms expect it from anyone giving clients comprehensive advice.

How the pay grows

From paraplanner you become an associate advisor with a few smaller clients of your own, then a lead or senior advisor managing client relationships and a book, and some people go on to own a practice or become a partner in one. Pay shifts toward a base plus a share of advisory fees as you move up, which is where it climbs. The ceiling is high for people who bring in clients and keep them, and the mark helps because clients trust it.

CFP professionals work at independent planning firms, at RIAs, in wirehouse wealth management and in family offices, with titles like Financial Planner, Wealth Manager, Private Wealth Advisor and Family Office Director. The work is client-facing: building financial plans, managing relationships, and advising on investments, tax, retirement and estate planning.

Earning the mark

You need to complete an education program, pass the exam, hold a bachelor's degree and log about 36 months of qualifying experience. If you already hold the CFA, the CPA or a JD, there's an accelerated path through the education requirement. FreeFellow's CFP question bank is free, solutions included, so what you pay for is the education program, the exam and your time.

For institutional investing or corporate finance, the CFA or CPA fits better, and the ROI map compares them. But if you want to advise individuals and families about their money, this is the credential to hold, and your pay grows with the relationships you build.