What I didn't expect about being an adviser

“I'm calling today to introduce myself.” That is how I begin 90% of my conversations. The other 10% are opened with, “Did I catch you at a bad time?” As a 20-something, first-year, inexperienced financial adviser going up against an industry with an average age of 55 and an average of 20-plus years of experience, life can sometimes make you feel small. Lucky for me I come well prepared. I was interning with Pathways Financial Partners two years before I was hired on full-time. I know our investment philosophy, fee schedule and financial planning software like the back of my hand. I've also started to become almost too familiar with ERISA law, fiduciary liability and 401(k) best practices over the last several months. I'm expected not only to service our current private and defined-contribution clients, but also bring new money into both categories. On top of these expectations, Pathways Financial Partners has started to create a new investment solution for Generation X & Y investors. #Busy! (Know someone looking to enter the advice business? Send them to the InvestmentNews NextGen Virtual Career Fair on Nov. 7) However, this is what I expected from work. What I didn't expect was what is happening to my life outside of work. I find that when I'm not working, I am somehow working. Friends are now prospects, clubs and nonprofits are now networking groups and hobbies are now another reason to meet new people. In college, tailgates and football games were purely fun. Now I find myself talking interest rates, how commodities can benefit your portfolio and the small-cap value premium with complete strangers over a badly burnt burger. The worst part of it all … I love it. The last few months have been a whirlwind of new ideas, studies, research, planning, cold-calling, e-mailing and networking. I'm still running on adrenaline and can't wait for the next day. Helping people protect their money from themselves is a rewarding career, no doubt — hard but rewarding. Of course, all the veterans say the first few years are the hardest -- as they tee off on the back nine. Layton Cox is director of retirement plan consulting for Pathways Financial Partners in Tucson, Arizona.