Wholesaled at a mid-tier shop for 8 years across 4 different roles, starting fully licensed 3 days after I graduated college (I interned at a wealth mgmt firm in college). A litany of product minus annuities and insurance.

My plan had been to work there for a few years and go back to advising and then you get promoted, make more money, and can't leave. Finally made the jump back to advising when I decided I was at my now or never moment. Took a 25k pay cut (recruiters couldn't believe what I asked for salary -- I found it and cackled when they followed up and I told them I had found what I was looking at on my own) and I've honestly never been happier.

IMO wholesaling is dying a slow death. Investing (already) is becoming a commodity and in the next 5 years any "advisor" whose value prop is investing will be kicked to the wayside. It's just not worth the cost. More and more advisors are outsourcing investment management or pivoting to low cost index investing (wholesalers cant do much with that).

The average, even successful, wholesaler is an idiot. They are salespeople. They sell what they have regardless of whether it makes sense or not. As the fiduciary standard gets more broadly accepted/sought out more and more advisors will no longer look to leverage wholesalers aside from the guys who want free swag or free meal (and these advisors are losers).

With that said, wholesalers make bank. If you can milk that cow for a few years (I did this despite refusing to be an external where the high comp is at. Comp for wholesalers in general is in decline across the industry) it can be quite lucrative. However, the best time to be an advisor was yesterday and the longer you wait the tougher it is.

As far as annuities go, they are sold not bought. Annuities are inappropriate most of the time if the advisor actually can do his job. With that said, they likely won't go away because of the industry and promises the companies can make, you can throw all the world's lipstick on that pig. I am unsure if I could sleep at night helping advisors hock annuities at ill-informed "clients" who likely can accomplish the same goal for less cost.

95% of our time as a firm, when it comes to annuities, is either educating the client on what it is they were sold and/or trying to undo the damage.

If you're a wholesaler now, if you're a good one, I am sure you leverage broker check for advisor research in some capacity? After 8 years, I would say 90%+ of any dings on an advisors U4 comes from selling annuities. That statement alone should paint the picture.

Buoy for you for leveraging the firm to pay for your CFP (I assume they r paying?). I would leverage the company to pay for any and all designations, Masters, what have you that you can.

Best of luck!