I was a financial planner before pharma. I can honestly tell you it is a MUCH more difficult job. If you work in a bank, you'll have a list of potential customers. If you work someplace else like Merrill Lynch or Edward Jones, you'll need to do some serious cold calling to build up a customer base. You're looking at at least 3-4 years before you see a good income, particularly in this market, where people have less income to actually invest. You might find your main business is 401K rollover from people who are laid off or forced into early retirement. The business itself can be feast or famine depending on the economy. If you decide to do it, you need to make sure that you have a sizable savings account that you can live off of for a while, especially if you have a family. I did well, and really enjoyed it, but I think it would be a hard transition from pharma, because, let's face it, most of the people in this industry are pretty lax as far as their work ethic and how much time they put in on the job. You'll be meeting with people in the evening and on the weekends, and you'll put in way more hours that pharma. Be sure you're willing to do this, and that your family is willing to do that, before you make the move. Good luck!
