Getting Licensed in Financial Services: What to Expect
Two Pass Perfect instructors share what it’s really like to break into financial services — and how to clear the licensing hurdles standing in your way.
So you’ve decided to pursue a career in finance. Maybe you’re fresh out of college with a business degree. Maybe you’re mid-career and ready for a change. Either way, you’ve probably done enough research to know that you’ll need to pass some licensing exams before you can do much of anything — and that the industry has real earning potential on the other side.
What most people aren’t prepared for is everything in between.
We talked to two Pass Perfect instructors, both of whom came up through the industry before moving into education, about what the early days actually look like. Here’s what they told us, and how to walk in ready.
Barry came to the securities industry as a career changer, joining a broker-dealer as a registered rep where he earned his SIE, Series 7, and Series 63. He experienced the full licensing journey — including a firm that invested heavily in structured study time and Pass Perfect materials — before transitioning to teaching and helping others clear the same hurdles.
Anushka entered the industry as a financial advisor at one of the country’s largest firms, where she was licensed in the Series 7, Series 66, and state insurance within her first months on the job. Over her career she worked alongside senior financial advisors at two major firms, learning investment strategy, client communication, and portfolio management from the inside before moving into education.
The exams are their own world even if you studied finance
It’s a common assumption: if you have a finance degree, the licensing exams should be manageable. Barry has seen that assumption humbled more than once.
One of his favorite students was a finance major who came in confident. “He used to tell me, ‘Barry, I’m a finance major, this should be no big deal,’” Barry recalls. That student took three attempts to pass his licensing exams. He has a great career now, but the degree didn’t shortcut the process.
The reason, as Anushka puts it, is that the industry speaks its own language. “Yeah, it’s English, but it’s not normal English,” she says. The exams test a specific vocabulary and a specific way of thinking about securities and regulations that doesn’t map neatly onto a college curriculum. Structured preparation matters more than your starting point.
You might feel alone, and that’s normal
Here’s something the recruiting brochures don’t mention: when you’re deep in exam prep at a firm, the established people around you may not give you much attention. You’re not licensed yet. You haven’t crossed the threshold they crossed. In many offices, that means you’re largely on your own until you do.
That isolation is one of the biggest reasons people struggle — not because the material is impossible, but because adults don’t learn well in a vacuum. As Anushka observes, we need human interaction to solidify new concepts. We need someone to explain things in plain language when the textbook version isn’t clicking.
One antidote to that isolation: Pass Perfect’s live online review classes, taught by instructors like Anushka and Barry. Available for the most popular licensing exams, like the SIE, Series 7, and 65, these classes put you in a room (virtually) with an expert and a cohort of other people working through the same material at the same time. If you’re studying on your own or your firm’s support is limited, they’re a way to get the human interaction that makes the difference.
The pressure is preparing you for the job
At many firms, the timeline is unambiguous: pass your exams within a set window or your position is at risk. Anushka experienced this firsthand. The message from her firm was consistent and direct: pass, or you don’t have a job.
That can be stressful. But there’s something worth understanding about it: the pressure of licensing exams isn’t entirely different from the pressure of the job itself. Financial services is a field where rejection is common, where confidence under stress matters, and where persistence is a professional requirement.
As Anushka puts it: “It teaches you how to survive after failure. It teaches you how to believe in yourself when you feel like you’re being kicked while you’re down.”
Passing your exams, even if it takes more than one attempt, isn’t just about earning a credential. It’s evidence — to yourself and to the people around you — that you have what this career actually requires.
Something shifts when you pass
Barry still remembers the phone call. Newly licensed after passing his Series 7 — the exam that qualifies registered reps to actually serve clients and trade securities on their behalf — he was still finding his footing when a client called asking about a wash sale. It was exactly the kind of topic the Series 7 covers, and he knew the answer cold.
“I know more about these products and services than 90% of our clients do,” he realized in that moment. “I am valuable to this client. I can help them with their needs.”
That shift from feeling like an outsider to feeling like someone with real, usable expertise is what most people in the industry remember as their turning point. It doesn’t come the moment you decide to pursue this career, or even the day you get hired. It comes when you’ve put in the work, passed the exams, and picked up the phone knowing you’re ready.
How to set yourself up for that moment
A few things that make a real difference, based on what Anushka and Barry have seen work:
Start before you’re hired. The SIE (Securities Industry Essentials) exam doesn’t require employer sponsorship, which means you can take it before you ever walk into an interview. Passing it gives you an edge in the hiring process, signaling to firms that you’re serious and capable. Plus, it means one less hurdle once you’re on the clock.
Don’t go in cold. If the securities industry is new to you, Pass Perfect’s Introduction to the Securities Industry course is a low-stakes way to build a foundation before your first industry exam. Getting familiar with the language and concepts before you’re under a deadline changes the experience considerably.
Use structured prep materials. Barry’s firm provided dedicated study time and Pass Perfect materials — a clear sequence of reading, practice questions, live classes, and mastery exams that built on each other all the way through. That structure is a big part of why his firm’s pass rates were high. Not every firm offers that level of support, but the structure itself is replicable: Pass Perfect’s courses are built around the same methodology, whether your firm provides them or you seek them out on your own.
The people who struggle most, both instructors agreed, are the ones who underestimate the preparation required or go through it without support. The ones who thrive are the ones who take the process seriously from the start.
Not sure which licenses you need or where to begin? Take our free Financial Career Track Quiz to get a personalized roadmap for your specific path.