u/gendel11

I’m looking for some career advice.

I graduated in December 2025 with a Finance degree. I started college later than most, so I’m 27 now. I graduated with a 3.6 GPA from a smaller state school, had no internships, and started working as a bank teller at a regional bank last August.

Since graduating, I’ve passed the SIE and the Series 66, and I just started studying for the Series 7. Before passing the exams, I landed a few interviews for Client Service Associate roles but wasn’t selected. I haven’t applied anywhere since earning the SIE and Series 66.

One thing that has made me a little cautious is that I have an old dropped & expunged felony charge from years ago (wasn’t guilty). Based on what I’ve been told and the research I’ve done, I don’t believe it should prevent me from getting licensed, but it’s still something that’s in the back of my mind as I think about FINRA-registered roles.

Recently, my current bank offered to send me out of state for a week to train with the credit analysts. The bank is new to my state—we currently have only one branch here, although another is being built nearby. Our branch is very slow, but the Loan Production Office has been established much longer and stays busy. They’ve also started having me train at the LPO one day a week.

My concern is that if I stay, I don’t know how long it will take before a credit analyst position actually opens up, or whether I’d have to wait until they hire my replacement before I could move internally.
My original plan was to stay at the bank for about a year while earning my licenses, then start applying to wealth management firms for a Client Service Associate role.

Given where I am now, would you continue pursuing wealth management, or would you lean into the credit analyst opportunity? Which path do you think offers better long-term career?

The outlook for securing a CSA role at a bigger firm still looks far from a lock.

Is the next step the series 65 or 66?