Ep #29: Pursuing a Career in Media with Erica Crane and Matt Nelson

Erica Crane is a Senior Technical Editor and Matt Nelson is the Director of Education at Kitces.com, a leading financial planning education and media company. Both have had very unique journeys to their current roles, with Erica starting out as a Ph.D. student in Molecular Biology, and Matt as an English major before being recruited to a sales position in financial planning and eventually making his way to his current position.

In this episode, both Erica and Matt share why they both pivoted from their initial career goals and found their way to Kitces.com, as well as why some working knowledge in financial planning is beneficial to working in the financial planning field—regardless of whether you’re working directly with clients. Listen in to learn what new planners need to do to be successful and what it's like working for Michael Kitces and his team.

What You'll Learn In Today's Episode:

How Erica got started in the financial planning industry. (1:15)
Why Erica advises getting some working experience in the industry before diving into media in the industry. (4:30)
Matt’s accidental journey to where he is today. (19:20)
What their individual roles entail at Kitces.com. (36:30)
What it’s like working with Michael Kitces and his team. (41:25)

Ideas Worth Sharing:

“I like building things, working with people, and being in the trenches behind the scenes.” - Matt Nelson Share on X “The two core values that are near to my heart are: 'there are no a--holes' and 'get your nerd on.'” - Erica Crane Share on X “You don’t hire people because they’re perfect—you hire them because they’re good and they’re always trying to do the right thing.” - Matt Nelson Share on X

Resources In Today's Episode:

Erica Crane: LinkedIn
Matt Nelson: LinkedIn
Kitces.com
New Planner Recruiting
Morton Capital
The Accidental Instructional Designer: Learning Design for the Digital Age by Cammy Bean

Download your free copy of the New Planner Career Roadmap!

In this roadmap, you'll be guided through the details of various stages of your financial planner career, including position descriptions, licensing, skill and experience level requirements, and compensation ranges.