Career Change

I recently made a career change back into a field that utilizes my education.  Local firm in Grande Prairie, Beairsto Lehners & Ketchum Engineering & Survey Ltd., has taken  me on as engineer (in training).  It's been over 15 years since I've been involved in any type of engineering work, however, I do have project experience since much of my career has been spent on technical projects in the technology field.

I've just finished my first month at the company and have learned an immense amount of material.  They have been extremely patient with me in making sure that my schedule is flexible enough to deal with my position on City Council.  In the next few months we'll see how well these 2 careers mesh.

Retirement Planning

It’s can be difficult to see into the future to determine your retirement needs, however, it’s a great exercise to undertake in order to develop a retirement plan and provide some peace of mind. Simply putting money away every month may not be the solution because you need to have some idea of how much income that money will generate in the future and what the other income sources will provide. That’s where a professional can help.

The cost of living in the future could be very different when you retire simply due to inflation. Couple that with your desire to live a certain lifestyle and the needs become more difficult to calculate. On top of those uncertainties, the ever changing Canada Pension and Old Age Security amounts need to be factored in.

The way to build a plan is to work backwards by using the best estimates you have. Plans should be reviewed every few years and adjustments made, but it’s important to get a starting point drawn up. By enlisting the help of a professional, you’re likely to get a more accurate picture of what your future will look like. The best part is that professional services are typically offered at no cost.

Once you’ve determined your required future income needs, you’ll have a clearer picture of how much you’ll need to put away. Most people don’t realize that the amount is a lot more than they think it is. In addition, calculations may need to be run using an iterative method (continuous re-calculation) since future income levels may affect the amount of Old Age Security that you’re entitled to and taxation needs to be factored in.

All these factors will let you know how much to save, how much risk you should take in your investments and when you can realistically expect to retire comfortably. With so much uncertainty in the world, I feel really good about a career in which I help people properly plan for their futures.

Career Change to Financial Advisor

I made the decision this year to make a career change into the profession of Financial Advisor. My friends Jason Lainchbury and Doug Morris have convinced me that this would be a good long-term career decision for someone like me who has a good sense of financial numbers and has a good network of contacts throughout the city. Previously, I handled all their I.T. work, so I was familiar with their industry. I had also been a client for many years, having purchased many different products from them, and have a great deal of respect for the service they offer.

I enrolled in a course offered by the Business Career College and started getting into the text book early in 2012. My goal was to get through the provincial exam and licensed by the spring. I can attest to the difficulties in taking a correspondence course while trying to keep an existing career running. City Council duties along with my computer technology business kept me distracted enough that I seriously questioned whether or not I’d get through the material in time. In the end, it came down to biting the bullet and booking the exam time. You can’t back out once you have everything booked.

So today, I’m proud to say that the exam went well and I’m currently in the process of filing my licensing papers. I’ll be able to start selling insurance and segregated fund investments right away and get the career started. I’ve already set up my office and have a bit of a strategy for the types of products I’d like to start with first. This is a competitive industry and I’m hoping to prove myself early as a strong member of this profession.