Story time Sunday

Great first post.  I'm going to make this VERY easy for you.

1.  The job at Ameriprise is to be a glorified assistant.  These deals work out very rarely, especially when it's a family business.  You'll be on the outside looking in. 

2.  There is no part of that job, beyond sitting in on meetings, that is of any value to you being successful as an advisor.

3.  Stop trading options unless it's just for fun.

4.  If you think this job even remotely resembles "trading," think again.  

Now for what you should do...

5.  Tell Ameriprise you are going to start studying from home because you have the time, and your current income is higher.  Have them sponsor you for the Series 7.  Work with the owner about the terms of your deal once you have your licenses.  

6.  Save some money up, once you are licensed, you can then take the AMP deal if it's legit and in writing.  

If it's not, you're now licensed and can go wherever you want.

There is no reason for you to take a huge pay cut just to do paperwork.  Starting right now essentially guarantees failure.  Cold prospecting is a huge FAIL during COVID and we are 6 months away from any type of normalcy.  Use that time to get licensed, work a deal, save money, learn what you're doing, come up with a plan.

Hit the ground running this summer.

You may even find you can keep the current job and part-time your way into this career.  That's what I did.

For what it's worth, I was a relatively slow starter.  I was not naturally good at sales, in fact, I was horrible.  I did two full years while running another business.  This enabled me to fee-base and trail EVERYTHING (read threads about renewal income, it's similar to renewals in the P&C world).

My 3rd year (first year full time) I made about $30K.

My 5th year (three years full time) I made about $80K.

My 10th year (eight years full time) I made just over $500K.  

Keep your current income.  Study from home.  Get licensed.  Fee/trail everything.

This is the same shit I would tell people I want to hire at 45k/yr. Without measurable benchmarks, it doesn't mean shit.

You need to finish your degree because you need to show that you can actually finish something. Also, if you ever want the CFP, you need a degree (you don't need the CFP to be successful). 

Ten years ago your chances of getting hired without a degree were ok, but they increasingly become more difficult.

Also, it looks better if you have one to clients.

Like Luv said - if it is not a written down and defined path, there is none. "The road to hell is paved with the best of intentions". Get something written that not only pays you, but moves your forward. Achieve (goal), you get _____. Whether that's $, position, title, etc. Otherwise you will likely stay an assistant for a long time. 

I started in this business with a family friend.  He was bringing me on to show me the business and I would take over for in in 5 years.  Two months later, another guy started there who I found out was told the same thing. He treated me fairly, but I was never taught ANYTHING from him.  He had his own book/business to run.  I was in a large firm training program (for better or worse).  

No.  The only thing you care about is CLIENTS.  There needs to be a clear, written path to you becoming an advisor, not an assistant.  Your payout, and the progression of your payout needs to be in writing.  If they are offering to give you lower end clients to cultivate, that needs to be in writing. 

Obviously you pitch this nicely and work up your deal as you're studying (and making $80K instead of $45k).

I would pitch doing it this way because you need to know your job is SALES and PROSPECTING for the next 3-5 years.  You can't really do much prospecting or meetings with COVID.  The cards are stacked WAY against you until next year when this is behind us.  So use that time to study (while getting paid $80K) and learning the answers to the questions you asked about products.  Also coming up with a business plan (can be informal) about how you will acquire clients once you start.

Truly, keep your current job, study, and be ready to roll next year.  You can "sit in on meetings" in June.  

Not that you need to worry about this now, but Ameriprise is in the bottom half of the industry in terms of which firm you probably want to be with.  They aren't awful.  You can make a career there.  But it wouldn't be in the top 10 places you'd want to.

The more I think about this, I'd pitch it to them with 100% honesty.  I'd just say, "I've given it some thought.  I definitely want to make a career of being a financial advisor with your firm.  I think the best move though is for me to get my studying done and tests taken on my dime.  I don't think I can live on $45,000 per year and I have plenty of time to study while working my current job.  The way I foresee my plan working out is being licensed within 6 months, which will coincide with mass distribution of the COVID vaccine, so I'll actually be able to prospect and hold meetings.  I can start learning your systems and do some shadowing in the meantime, and we can work out the details as we go.  I've already order the SIE book from Kaplan.  Let's rock!"

Or something like that.