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The differences between loan officers and finance advisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a loan officer, becoming a finance advisor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a finance advisor has an average salary of $64,993, which is higher than the $45,817 average annual salary of a loan officer.
The top three skills for a loan officer include customer service, origination and loan origination. The most important skills for a finance advisor are team support, wealth management, and securities.
| Loan Officer | Finance Advisor | |
| Yearly salary | $45,817 | $64,993 |
| Hourly rate | $22.03 | $31.25 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 15% |
| Number of jobs | 63,663 | 106,311 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
Loan officers are responsible for assisting borrowers on the best type of loans to avail and guiding the clients throughout the application process. A loan officer must be highly knowledgeable about different lending products, payment plans, loan regulations, and essential files for fast loan approval. Loan officers also act as the first point of contact, conducting an initial screening of the customers, process loan contracts and appropriate documentation, update account records, and respond to customer's inquiries. A loan officer also has the right to reject loan applicants who do not meet loan qualifications.
A Financial Advisor specializes in sharing their expertise with an individual or company on how to handle and boost finances. The responsibilities of a Financial Advisor include creating and proposing a strategy to attain financial gains through profits and investments, educating the client about new methods and opportunities, monitor and evaluate progress, and as well as plan policies according to the clients' life changes. Furthermore, it is also the duty of the Financial Advisor to research new investments that would be of great help to the client's assets.
Loan officers and finance advisors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Loan Officer | Finance Advisor | |
| Average salary | $45,817 | $64,993 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $69,000 | Between $34,000 And $121,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Bangor Savings Bank | Enbridge |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a loan officer and a finance advisor in terms of educational background:
| Loan Officer | Finance Advisor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Minnesota - Twin Cities |
Here are the differences between loan officers' and finance advisors' demographics:
| Loan Officer | Finance Advisor | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7% | Male, 72.3% Female, 27.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 63.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 8.3% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 5% |