This is a short and sweet topic. Anyone over the age of 18 is eligible to take the SIE exam. Other than this requirement, it's open to anyone that wants to take it. You don't need to be associated with a member firm (more on this later); you can be a student, career changer, or current finance professional.

Without being employed by a member firm, the results of your exam are valid for four years. While you're employed by a member firm (like Vanguard, JP Morgan, Chase, etc.), you do not need to retake the exam at any point. Instead, they'd likely require to to pass additional licensing requirements, such as the Series 7. Once your employment terminates at a member firm, your SIE is still valid for four years. The clock starts ticking the day you're no longer working with the firm.

One thing that's important to note, passing the SIE does not automatically register you with FINRA. You are not yet licensed to sell securities. As such, you will not appear in BrokerCheck, a free online tool from FINRA that allows users to search and find securities professionals -- but we'll cover more on that later.