Hey everyone,
Decided to stop being just a lurker because I feel the need for some kind of advice, just not sure what advice I need (go figure).
Background (TL;DR: Recently refound passion for investing and started process for CFA while finishing up school, school focuses on STEM and hates finance)
I always had a passion for investing and markets since I was young when I saw an article about hedge funds while waiting for a flight. Eventually, as I got older, I was pushed by guidance councilors into studying STEM. I tried this for awhile but hated it and decided I wanted to move back to where my passions were, except now because I was a bit older than my collegiate peers due to life circumstances, so I switched to accounting to be 'safe.'
This past Spring my wife convinced me that I should not play it safe since I'm relatively young and should follow my true dreams now. In doing this, even if I crash and burn I have time to recover to my fallback option. So with that I switched focuses within my major (Senior, very small STEM focused school) back to investing and registered for the CFA Level I exam this coming December.
With that out of the way, my worries are plentiful:
-My GPA is terrible due in large part to some negative life choices when I first entered school
-My school provides virtually 0 support for finance students
-My city (Baltimore) isn't exactly known for having a large HF footprint
Obviously, I've joined the CFA society so when events start coming up I intend to attend as many as I can to help network, but ultimately will this help get a job as an analyst in other states? I'm worried that with the combination of not knowing anyone in the industry coupled with my poor GPA my chances are zero for finding work anywhere. So I ask, am I totally screwed? Any advice or pick-me-ups?
Thanks friends.
ok so from my understanding you go to a small school that focuses in STEM where you had a low GPA throughout and as a Senior you decided to switch majors to accounting and then again to finance? What has your GPA been like since you switched to accounting? How many more years of schooling do you need to do now that you've switched majors?
At this point focus on passing level 1 of the CFA. Once that happens then I would start looking/applying to jobs.
Well accounting at my school gets lumped into general finance, so switching focuses from accounting to investment tracks only required me to take a couple different electives this year that I would have otherwise been using on Advanced Underwater Basket Weaving.
I actually am in my 5th year now so I'll be done this time next year (I planned my schedule around the needed 150 credit hours for the CPA exam once I switched) but my GPA been remarkably higher. This past semester I pulled 4 A's and a B, all A's in accounting courses and I think only 3 C's since I switched.
Focus on your achieving your dream. Specifically, the dream where you realise you have come to school naked and are being chased down the hall by a giant block of cheese.
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