Am I Delusional for Targeting IB as an International Community College Student?

Hi everyone,

I am an international student planning to transfer this year into a T15 economics program in the U.S. I am Korean, so I will have to complete mandatory military service, which means I will likely spend about two years in Korea before returning to school.

I am trying to use that time as efficiently as possible, but I am honestly not sure what role I should be targeting long term.

My current background / plan:

• Passed CFA Level I
• Passed FRM Part I
• By the time 2029 summer internship recruiting begins, I expect to have finished CFA Level III and FRM Part II
• I am also considering doing FMVA or similar technical certifications during that period

The issue is that I am most interested in asset management. I enjoy portfolio construction and the investing side much more than pure deal work. However, the more I read, the more it seems that AM is extremely difficult to break into, especially for internships and full-time roles, since hiring is much smaller than IB and there are fewer seats overall. If that perception is wrong, please correct me.

At the same time, I also understand that if I pivot toward IB, the CFA path may not really help me that much compared with traditional IB candidates who are more directly focused on modeling, deals, and internships.

So I feel a bit stuck.

My constraints are:

• I will have roughly 2 years away from the U.S. while in military service
• I will be overseas, not in the U.S.
• I likely will not be able to do normal internships during that time
• I want to make that period count as much as possible for recruiting later

My current thought has been to focus heavily on credentials, because that feels like the most concrete and controllable thing I can do. But I am not sure whether that is actually the highest-return strategy.

My questions are:

1. If you were in my position, which roles would you target? AM, IB, ER, S&T, risk, or something else?
2. Is continuing down the CFA/FRM path the right move, or am I over-investing in certifications?
3. Given that I cannot intern normally during those 2 years, what would be the best use of my time to stay competitive for 2029 summer recruiting?
4. For someone who genuinely prefers investing / portfolio construction, is AM still worth pursuing, or is it too narrow to be a realistic primary target?
5. What would you add, and what would you cut, if you were trying to maximize odds from my position?

I would really appreciate any honest advice. Right now I feel like I have direction in a broad sense, but not a clear strategy.

Thanks.