The financial planning Association has a summer externship program that is designed to provide you with a wide array of real hands-on experience in a way that is very hard (dare I say impossible) to get in the classroom.
Whether you are a college student looking for the perfect career or a financial planner looking to level up your career, the FPA Virtual Externship is your chance to dig in deep and see financial planning in action — in a whole new way. The 100% online program takes the best parts of an internship, like learning from experts and “getting your hands dirty,” and multiplies the effect. Instead of working with just one firm, you get to peek behind the curtain and see over 25 firms and experts at work, and do the work yourself. You’ll also get access to over 20 deliverables and processes from these experts, so you can learn a new way to work that works for you.
With the FPA Virtual Externship, anyone can learn more about the profession and its practice from their own home. No scanning paperwork or learning how to use a fax machine required.
OVER THE COURSE OF 8 WEEKS, EXTERNS WILL RECEIVE IN-DEPTH AND EXPERT TRAINING ON:
- Investment Planning
- Insurance and Risk Management Planning
- Cash Flow Planning
- Student Loan Planning and College Planning
- Retirement Planning
- Tax Planning
- Estate Planning
- Navigating Your Career
- Real-world Applications for Planning Software
Externs get access to a library of recorded lessons that dive deep into unique approaches to financial planning, plus get real-world assignments, in-depth tutorials and walkthroughs.
You can also get eMoney-certified and unlock access to Morningstar Advisor Workspace, which is valued at over $1,100 alone! (One extern said “The externship is worth joining simply for the eMoney and MorningStar access!”). To add to all of that, the externship also offers live office-hour access to top financial planners — PLUS a unique look inside client meetings and a real-life planner/client relationship. Plus, for those working toward their CFP® designation, the FPA Virtual Externship now offers 180 CFP Board Standard Pathway experience hours upon proof of completion. (That’s 20 more hours than last year, and is now enough to fulfill most schools’ internship requirements!)
So the real question is: “how do I join the externship?”
- You must already be an FPA member or become an FPA member (“aspiring” financial planner membership if you are a student, $50 for a full 12 months of FPA membership with all of the professional membership benefits), and
- you must register for the FPA Externship program. This program costs $199
And the sweetener we are offering: as the attached application indicates, we are awarding one full ($199) scholarship and up to 9 $100 scholarships towards the FPA Externship registration cost. Deadline to apply for these scholarships is Friday, May 27. Complete the application at the link below and make sure to email your resume to admin@fpaoc.org. If you a have already registered for the Externship, you can still apply for this scholarship and if awarded to you we will reimburse you.
Finally, the program itself begins on June 6 and runs through July 29.
Fill out our scholarship application here.