I agree with you, financial advisor seems like a very interesting job.
I'm puzzeled though - Software Engineering? How could they rank it so highly? After the industry has been through such horrible layoffs and instability? The constant pressure of offshoring pushing down real wages? What's theyr're logic?
regards,
makingourway

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/

From the article:

1. Software Engineer
Why it's great Software engineers are needed in virtually every part of the economy, making this one of the fastest-growing job titles in the U.S. Even so, it's not for everybody.

Designing, developing and testing computer programs requires some pretty advanced math skills and creative problem-solving ability. If you've got them, though, you can work and live where you want: Telecommuting is quickly becoming widespread.

The profession skews young -- the up-all-night-coding thing gets tired -- but consulting and management positions aren't hard to come by once you're experienced.

I started out in Software and after 20 years I am switching to Financial Planning (and there is a big difference in so-called "advisers" and planners).

I am about 2/3 through the certifications/training that I deemed necessary, and I have the sales skills , which is probably the hardest thing to come by.

Money magazine names the best top 10 jobs in America, while it should name one, so I can choose.

I think the best job is being retired and doing what you want to.
Everybody's trying to get me to read that zero-to-success guy's book.
Anybody heard of him?

Having gone thru the entire hiring & training process with one of biggest financial services firms in the industry, I can say that if you have integrity and objectiveness, the only way to be a financial advisor is to work for yourself. However, if you are new to the industry, you cannot obtain your NASD Series licenses without sponsorship from a firm.

I found that what appeared on the outside to be a fulfilling and educational position, turned out to be a entry-level sales position, with emphasis on selling the proprietary products instead of organizing a stellar plan.

As much as I enjoy sales, sacrificing a customers personal financial future to make a few bucks is not up my alley.