How to Become a Certified Stockbroker
You can become a stockbroker and start trading stocks on the major stock exchanges on behalf of clients. This is a high-profile position that pressures you to make profitiable decisions on a daily basis. To make those decisions informed ones, you need training, and to do this professionally, you need licensing. The steps to becoming a stockbroker will take you from novice to working stockbroker in a relatively short time, but becoming good at it will take years of experience.
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Instructions
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Get an education. There is no degree requirement for stockbrokers, but in today's competitive market, you will need a solid background in math, finance, investing and money management. Get a degree in one of these areas, so that you can more easily attract new clients, and so that you will have a basic understanding of concepts you will encounter during training and on examinations.
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Work for a brokerage firm. You cannot take the test to become a licensed stockbroker without the sponsorship of a brokerage firm. You must work at a firm at least four months, learning the practical steps to trading stocks and making decisions for clients. After that, you can ask the firm to sponsor you to take your test.
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Take your examination for a Series 7 license. This examination is adminstered by the National Association of Securities Dealers. You will have to score at least 70 percent to pass this six-hour exam. Allow six to eight weeks of studying for one to two hours a day. The exam covers equity securities, debt securities and tax issues.
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Pass your Series 63 exam. This 75-minute exam covers issues in the state where you will be working. You must get a grade of 73 percent to pass. It covers state registration laws and lawful practices for stockbrokers. Allow one to two weeks to study for this examination.
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