Many individuals are not aware of the opportunities that are available in the UK financial sector. Demand for experts fuelled by the Financial Services Authority taking over regulation of the financial services sector has increased the need for compliance officers nationally. This wave of new rules and regulations has fuelled pay rises for regulatory experts both in London and other areas of the UK by as much as 25% due to a skills shortage.

Recent surveys have highlighted that the biggest pay rises have been enjoyed by compliance officers - the internal watchdogs employed by firms to ensure that advisers are abiding by the myriad rules covering financial services.

Although regarded by many as the least sexy in the financial services industry, a compliance officer with five years experience earned close to £100,000 in 2006 in the City of London, this is up from an average of £87,000 in 2005. All this is good for the experienced individual but what about the junior or the non-experienced you might say. Well, the most acute skills shortages are at the junior end of the market, where there are not enough newly qualified finance and legal professional coming through to fill demand.

We all strive for success by studying for university degrees, attend courses and continuously look for a spark for direction in life and it's not until we see a professional person in front of us that we realise that it's a job that we would like to do. It seems easy watching that individual working at the height of their career without realising what price they have had to pay to achieve success.

A good place to start looking into how to get into these positions is to find out what minimum qualifications are required when applying for these positions.

UK Financial Services

Independent Financial Advisers

The qualification required to become an Independent Financial Adviser is either the Certificate in Financial Planning (Cert PFS) or the Certificate for Financial Advisers (CeFA) and in my opinion the easiest route would be the CeFA route.

UK Mortgage Adviser or Mortgage Broker

The qualification required to become a Mortgage Adviser is either the Mortgage Advice Qualification (MAQ) or the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP) and in my opinion the easiest route would be the CeMAP route

Do you need to have a degree to pass the exams? No, you will not need academic qualifications to be able to pass the Cemap exams but one thing you will need is a strong desire to succeed in a highly competitive industry.

If you are looking to start a career in Financial Services but are finding it hard to get your foot in the door, let a dedicated team of industry-experienced professionals lead the way to success. They successfully help individuals to pass their qualifications in literally days of intensive, fast track training. These training schools exist in all areas of the UK but the best ones are five-days long, actually teach the course content and are constructed for individuals who are new to the financial services sector. You should be aware that these courses are extremely focused, intensive but prepare delegates for the relevant exams.

UK Mortgage Industry

With the regulations of the mortgage industry now well on the way, the exodus of the older and under qualified advisers has left a void and there is now a massive shortage of qualified mortgage advisers and compliance officers on a national basis. This is all well and good you may say but if you are not qualified or you are a newly qualified adviser or considering entering the mortgage industry.

Newly Qualified Mortgage Advisers

The key to finding work as a mortgage adviser is to quickly identify the market that you would prefer to work in, e.g. employed or on a self employed contract.

Banks, Building Societies, Estate Agents

As an employee, the starting salary of a trainee mortgage adviser is around £18,000 - £25,000 plus bonuses and in some instances a company car may be supplied.

These positions are ideal for individuals that require an immediate income, security, and have a preference for being looked after and guided on a daily basis as an employee, realising that although their income is assured, their earnings maybe capped .

Mortgage Brokerages

There are however individuals who prefer a more flexible working arrangement of not having to turn up for work on a 9-5 situation and prefer to have the flexibility of working evenings and having their destiny in their own hands and not having their earnings caped. Some of these brokerages offer different financial packages and the may range from fully commission only to part salary and part commission and in some instances a car may also be provided. The drawback to this of course is that mortgage brokerages are looking for experienced individuals, not newly qualified

New Entrants and CeMAP Training Courses

Being in the Financial Services Industry for over 20 years, many people have asked me what it takes to become a qualified mortgage broker. As the Marketing Director of Money Marketing Limited, a company that trains hundreds of budding UK mortgage advisers per month, I feel that I am well qualified to answer that question.

So what criteria should you use when deciding on your future career direction? Well, try asking yourself a few of the following questions:

· Do you think that you would enjoy helping people with their finances?

· Would you prefer to be an employee?

· Would you like to be self-employed?

· Are you determined to become a high earner?

· Are you intent on being successful?

· Would you like to be in charge of your own destiny?

A 'yes' answer to most of these could mean that you could consider investigating how to become a mortgage broker but before you do, let us look a little further. The start to becoming a UK mortgage broker is passing a mortgage advice qualification and in my opinion the most recognised one in the UK is the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP)