Been a mortgage adviser for 22 years... I started in a national chain of estate agents so had leads given to me, after 10 years I fell into self employment, again working with an estate agent but a local independent..
Had a great time during the boom years and then the crash happened. Went from writing 10 mortgages a week to 10 over the following 2 years! 33,000 mortgage advisers nationally in 2007 fell to 8,000 by 2009, I was a survivor, thankfully I had the insurance side of the business to fall back on and a loyal client bank I had built up during the boom times whom I have spent the last 8 years servicing religiously. If I had to rely on new business only I would have gone under many years ago, unless you are sat in a bank or estate agency or have a good source of leads, the mortgage industry is a dead duck. A hell of a lot of work, compliance, regulation and cost for very little reward.
There is money to be made on the insurance side but unless you have a very good source of leads, have an existing client bank you can service or are a superb salesman able to gain 5 new hot leads from every client you meet, you will find it pretty much impossible to break into the industry. Then there are clawbacks to deal with.. cashflow on the insurance side can be an absolute nightmare..
If you are serious, the ONLY place I would start would be approaching the banks/building societies and getting in at that level. They will train you, they will provide leads but I wouldn't go back to that for any amount of money, would rather have a career change myself..
With regards to financial advice. Please don't think it's like being an adviser at the CAB giving good old advice over the table, it is all about selling, it's just that the product you are selling is highly regulated and complex. If you don't have the killer instinct and the ability to bond and close a deal, you will fail miserably.. As an example, When I joined the industry, Black Horse Agencies, regionally, took on 30-40 new starters each month, by the end of year 1, there were always only 2 or 3 left. It wasn't that they weren't intelligent enough, we all had to get through our licensing exams and later FPC and then MAQ (CeMap equivalent from a different direction.) It was all down to sales performance... it is a very cut throat, highly targeted industry. Remember, Financial services is about selling first and foremost but selling compliantly for the best outcome of the client. It is not like being a solicitor to whom people go to for help and guidance and pay them a fee.
Sorry to sound negative... I love my job sometimes, I did a clients will for them last week and went back to oversee the signing and witnessing, dragged the next door neighbours in as witnesses, did my pitch to the neighbours about their wills and went to see them the next day. By the time I left I had 2 wiils, a remortgage and all of their insurances in the bag... all told worth around £3k... what a buzz... but then, I'm a salesman who happens to sell financial services products, and as a salesman, I get a buzz out of selling... Absolutely hate mortgages and insurance with a passion, it just happens to be what I know and know very well indeed!
Just an addition about industry qualifications.... When you are doing the job day in and day out and pretty much living and breathing the course material every day, the learning and exams aren't too bad... my attitude is, if you are doing the job already and cant pass the exams... you shouldn't be doing the job!!!!
Trying to get through CeMap and/or FPC with no industry experience and from a cold start will not be easy. The concepts and theories may seem simple and straightforward but scratch the surface and a great deal of it will be alien to someone outside the industry ... most of it will never cross your path during your career but you still need to know it and be able to apply it to get through the exams
