Now is not the time to go into the car business to begin with. Secondly, finance people are not just hired off the street, rather most get there by first selling the cars, and being promoted to the position; simply put, you have to prove yourself first on the field before you can move on up. With the way things have been in the auto industry the past couple years, this may have changed like with what AV8R was saying, but I still wouldn't expect to just jump right into it without first selling the cars for some time.
Now as far as people liking the job, I would say it is half half. Some people love the sales field with the fast past environment, and stress to always push something out, while others can not cope with it. Right now as I mentioned though is possibly the worst time in at least the past 30 years to get involved in the auto industry though as now people shop before they come in, so right off the bat you are given a disadvantage, and then to top it off, everyone is struggling so not as many people are buying cars to start. This leaves you with some slim pickings, and as mentioned before, you shouldn't expect to get more than $30k/year right now. However, when people are out buying, regardless of them shopping around, it isn't unheard of for the F&I people (who are paid on commissions) to make well beyond $40k and even in the upwards of 100k. The way most good sized dealers are structured as far as hours go can throw some people off. Some days, you work 10-12 hour shifts, while other days you work 3-4 hour shifts, and you ALWAYS work the weekend, regardless (meaning days off are Mon-Thurs). Once every while you may get a Sunday off though depending on the management. Again, depending on the dealership, this can mean 40 hour work weeks, while others (usually smaller dealers), that means 60+ hour work weeks.
So income potential is good, however it is by far not a career for everyone, and is not a good point in history for the industry.
