Whether you’re already working in the mortgage industry or looking to start a career in the sector, getting your Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP) qualification is essential. As something that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) now requires for all professionals providing mortgage advice to customers, the qualification opens a number of doors.
Providing a career boost
For those working in the financial sector already, it is a sensible progression to forge a better and more fruitful career, with greater knowledge and expertise. For those looking to start a career in the financial industry, it is a great foundation and can be the key to greater success on a professional and personal level.
With the qualification now being a necessity demanded of the FSA, the effects it has on a career are obvious. Anyone that is interested in working as a mortgage advisor needs it. It is a sensible stipulation too, as it provides the very base level of understanding in order to give customers the best and most appropriate advice.
Real-world preparation
The certification goes a little further than a basic level understanding though, largely in teaching through real life situations and scenarios. This is something which is replicated through the examination process too. It is very much a test of how candidates will cope in the real world of mortgage advice provision.
Once qualified, somebody already working in the mortgage industry, perhaps as an admin team member or back office support member of staff, can expect to see their career advance in a new direction. With the right dedication and commitment, they can also fully expect that advance to be rapid and rewarding on many levels.
A monetary reward
As in any field, a rapid advance in career status in the financial sector will usually result in an equally rapid progression in earning capacity. Whilst salaries will naturally vary from company to company and contract to contract, somebody working in the industry unqualified will have far less earning power than somebody who has the right certification.
Once CeMAP qualified, the earning potential could be even greater. Many people, after having undergone training and achieving their CeMAP qualification, feel that working as a freelance mortgage advisor is preferable. Able to pick and choose which jobs to work on and having the freedom of not being tied to defined principles and products is a big deal for many after all.
New opportunities
Others, often after having worked as a freelance mortgage advisor for some time, also take the opportunities that CeMAP qualification provides to go a step further. There are many mortgage advisors who take even greater control over their lives, salary and career through setting up their own private firm, for example.
This step may be a bit beyond some people having newly qualified though; particularly if they have no prior experience of working in the financial and, more specifically, mortgage industries. For these people too, the career and salary path can be impressive, with self-qualification showing how serious an individual is to potential employers.
