Subsidizing for GPA/non-target with post-grad certifications/trading book

For a long time I've been thinking about a way to make up for the fact that I'll have an MA in Quant Econ (grad. June 2021 or a few months prior) at a full-blown non-target in a small European country. Luckily for me I did end up attending a fully English curriculum. I don't think a single person among my school's alumni is at as high of a place as I want to go, meaning there's close to 0 networking potential.

Based on my research I've kind-of came to the conclusion that instead of getting into SA positions at these globally unrecognized institutions at the local level, I might be better off paying for specific post-grad certifications like CFA L1/L2/L3 and the FINRA SIE (I've considered doing a GMAT right now just to have another number on my resume, but I'm honestly not even sure if this has any value to anyone outside of b-school) and then using these to leverage into an analyst position at mid-tier company.

I'm trying to get into AM, but it is possible that I might have to look towards S&T (could use a trading book as a supporting factor), both preferably in the US (Germany and the UK are my next options). GPA is 4.2/5 (I guess if we standardize it to a 4.0 scale, it's a 3.36). Work experience approaching 0 (two separate data analysis gigs, 4 and 12 weeks, both with public institutions).

Anyone here have experiences with something like this (i.e. trying to make up for no alumni network, non target, average GPA, lacking work experience)? Will I actually have to consider positions made for junior students (i.e. SA positions) or am I just being excessively paranoid about the value of my degree?