This is my first post but I've been lurking around reading other people's stories for the last year or so. I've found myself in an interesting and unique situation and I'd really appreciate some advice or input from the community.

So my career started out A-typically. I got into financial services via mortgage banking with QL. It was a great way to learn sales, trial by fire! Great company, great compensation. I cleared 6 figures at 23. All great but I am a cerebral kind of guy and I am always reading and learning new skills and knew there was greater opportunity out there. Plus no offense to any current or former mortgage bankers but once you know how to refi and setup a purchase loan that "problem" is easy to solve and mortgage markets pretty much behave like a commodity anyway. I digress.

From QL I networked my way into a relationship with the president and CEO of a private broker/dealer in Westlake California. He agreed to take me on as a trainee. The plan was to study for the 7,66 and 24. Spend 2 years under studying traders and operations managers there to ultimate help the firm open a new headquarters in Reno NV in 5 years time (they wanted to move for tax purposes). 1 year in and with my 7,66 passed and studying for the 24 the CEO who had held the company privately for 30 years brought in outside buyers to start purchasing parts of th company from him over the course of the next 10 years.

While good news for him and the firm that spelled trouble for me. Plans changed and the position I had been under studying for and the move I was ultimately setup to assist in would never happen.

So I did what any 26 year old guy living in the most expensive area of California with no real career direction and dewindeling savings would do... I moved back home to a Cleveland.

Fortunatly I had some ties to the financial services sector in town. Unfortunately I probably took the first thing that came my way a little too fast.

Currently I am working for a private wealth management firm (which is really just a Guardian Insurance firm with some guys who hold their series licenses). I work off a draw currently and I am building my own book of business. Great in theory but I am beginning to understand having been here for 9 months now that this is really just and insurance firm in the early stages of transition to a wealth management firm.

I spent a good portion of my career training in securities and feel like now I am at the use it or lose it stage of my knowledge base from my 7 and 66. My draw here is predicated on insurance sales, no naturally I've got to eat so that's what my focus has been. Building my book here although there is the eventually up side of having a large client base and residual pay years down the road I can't help but feel there is a better way. Plus it's shit money right now. Not because I am not bringing in clients but the culture here is such that you expected to bring a senior advisor on even the simplest of term insurance sales and split the commission on. Trust me I am more than capable of selling and explaining the benefits and disadvantages as such. I also feel by holding a 66 fiduciarily I should be expanding my conversations with clients beyond insurance but the senior guys who are securities licensed are so busy or too senior to go on a small case like mine.

So that's where I am currently. However I've had some recruiters reach out recently offering me a position with PNC in their investment center. Offering a base plus commission. I am torn because here I can build a book with huge long term upside potential. But I feel like I am stunting my knowledge growth and growing at a snails pace. I am interested to hear some of your opinions. I want to be able to have a decently stable income and the best opportunity for personal career growth.

For refrence my current draw is 2500 a month. pnC is offering a 50k base. Currently I have 25 clients after 5 months and I am tracking for a 65-80k year but that's probably being a little optimistic.