From A-grades to advice: Embarking on a career change

A former teacher and international development worker shares his journey into the financial advice world.

The topic of welcoming career changers into the advice profession has been widely discussed among industry experts.

Relevant professionals, such as accountants and teachers, were recognised earlier this month as a valuable demographic for potential advisers with current supply failing to meet consumer demand.

To hear more from the perspective of a career changer entering the advice landscape, Money Management spoke with Andrew Clucas, financial adviser at Sunshine Coast-based practice McGregor Wealth Management.

Clucas holds a tertiary education in economics and was a former high school teacher for 16 years across various schools and teaching positions in economics, computing and mathematics.

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Moreover, the adviser is a former international development worker, having worked at World Vision International in its global education team for over seven years training teachers overseas to provide literacy skills to students.

“I was working remotely from home for about seven-and-a-half years, while working in different time zones including some travel which became a challenge. The extrovert in me realised I needed to get offline and stop working remotely,” he described.

For Clucas, it was looking at his own superannuation account that prompted him to consider advice as a new career path.

“I actually started looking at my own super and thought this is actually quite complicated and difficult to understand. Despite having an economics degree, I didn’t understand all the different aspects of super. [I realised] perhaps this is something I can do to help people understand their own financial situation.”

After speaking with a friend who works in the industry, Clucas began to recognise the opportunity that advice presented him to help people in a new way.

“My primary motivation – whether it’s been teaching or international development or financial planning – hasn’t really been about the dollar. I’m not driven by money; it’s a genuine and authentic desire to help people. I see [advice] as a different career path where I’m able to do that,” Clucas explained.

The decision to transition into the world of financial planning was not one he took lightly. After much discussion and consideration, Clucas decided to study at Deakin University in 2021 and completed his graduate diploma of financial planning a year later.

In June 2022, he landed a paraplanning position at his current firm and undertook his professional year (PY). Clucas then worked up to becoming a fully licensed adviser by January 2024, where he now manages some 25 of his own clients.

The transferable skills involved

The adviser recognised the importance of former teachers moving into the advice profession due to the array of transferable soft skills found in both industries.

“Teachers tend to have good communication skills, both oral and written, and presentations skills too. A lot of people think financial advice is just about crunching the numbers and that’s a part of it, but those people and relational skills are really important,” Clucas said.

“Teaching puts people in good stead for a career transition into financial planning. I think it’s a logical progression in many ways.”

Moreover, his degree in economics and experience teaching economic theory to high school students was “incredibly helpful” in his understanding of financial concepts.

“It’s also nice working in the adult world and not having to deal with some of those behavioural management issues in the classroom as a teacher,” Clucas remarked.

“I’ve still got the utmost respect for teachers and the job that they do, but there are some things I don’t miss and there are definitely some things I do miss.”

Joel Perryman, a former gym owner, also recently shared his top recommendations for career changers looking to transition into advice.