When his dreams of being a pilot were dashed, Grant Buchanan thought long and hard about which career to follow.

“My uncle was in the RAF and I wanted to be a pilot too, but my eyesight was bad so that was the end of that,” says Grant, 35.

“So I decided I needed qualifications. After all, if you have knowledge in something you will always find a job.”

So Grant joined a graduate training scheme with a large company in financial services, selling products to clients.

“It was a good way to get experience and qualifications,” says Grant.

“But I wanted to deal with people on a personal level and help them with their personal finances on a one to one basis. So I moved to a small company of financial advisers,” he explains.

Now working at Scrutton Bland on Colchester Business Park, Grant is a financial adviser, offering people from all financial spectrums advice and guidance on what to do with their cash.

He says: “Money is a stress to most people.

“They can have too much and not know what to do with it, too little and they worry about the future. Even if you are in the middle you worry about money.

“I deal with pensions, investments, trusts, tax planning and all sorts for clients. I take the complicated information and show them how it relates to them and what their options are.”

Grant enjoys the fact that his job helps people have peace of mind when it comes to finances and he sees the same clients year on year.

“Clients place a lot of trust in me and I want to repay that by looking after them,” he explains.

Becoming an independent financial adviser was not an easy task.

“There are lots of exams,” says Grant.

“And when you qualify you have to keep up the continued professional development because there are so many areas to cover.

“A lot is down to experience as well, as it’s no use having the book work unless you know how to apply it.”

Grant says he finds his job incredibly satisfying and says anyone wishing to follow the same career needs to be honest and approachable.

“You have to be able to empathise with people and be good at questioning and understanding what people want. You have to have attention to detail and an enquiring mind too. “ He explains the best way for someone to enter the profession is to join a large organisation that may be able to help financially and professionally through the exams.

He adds: “Studying on the job is the best way, I believe.

“If you want to be an adviser there’s no point in being booksmart. You have to apply it to clients.

“Some people are good technically but can’t go in front of people – that’s no good.

“You have to be confident speaking to people.”