If you're exploring a career in financial planning and wondering what outsourced paraplanning is all about, you're in the right place.
Most people have never heard of outsourced paraplanning. I hadn't either until I changed my career. Here's what the role actually looks like, how it differs from working in-house, and why tax knowledge matters more than you'd think.
I didn't take a traditional path into financial planning. I came from tax, started with zero planning experience, and built my practice from scratch. In this post, I'll share what I've learned about who thrives in this career and what I wish someone had told me before I started.
Written by CFP Board Emeritus, Nancy Langdon Jones, So You Want to Be a Financial Planner is a no-nonsense guide that walks aspiring planners through everything from getting the right credentials to finding their first clients. Now in its tenth edition, it leans on real stories from practicing financial planners, including mine, to help newcomers figure out where they fit in the profession. I don't get paid to promote this book.
New Planner Collective is an educational platform founded by CFP® professionals Jared Machen and Matt Fizell to help new and aspiring financial planners jumpstart their careers. Their course, "Compound Your Career," covers how to research firms, network, and land that first job. It draws on the founders' own diverse experiences across RIA firms, broker-dealers, and independent practices. I don't get paid to promote this course.
Published by the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning, this workforce development guide helps firms recruit, train, and retain the next generation of financial planners while also serving as a personal roadmap for professionals navigating their own career growth. It maps out five rungs of the career ladder from Analyst to Principal/Partner, detailing the skills, responsibilities, and compensation expectations at each stage.
Attending the Amplified Planning Externship 2026? I'm hosting free monthly 60-minute AMA sessions exclusively for aspiring planners and career changers who want an honest look at the outsourced paraplanner path.