Transitioning from Law to Credit

Long-time lurker here (at least 5 years at this point) and whether or not this ends up being true, I wager there might be a good chance that interest rates rise over the next few years to a point where insolvencies become more substantial. 1) Wide variety of debt-financed technology stocks all competing for the "attention" of consumers which in my opinion has reached it's limit 2) There are plenty of companies that shouldn't exist but do exist that have taken advantage of the liquidity in the capital markets. I'm so confident in this, I would be more than willing to take career risk. I think there is an opportunity there and I want to learn how to get involved. 

in a nutshell:

25 y old Canadian Law Student currently working
Real estate internship + lots of volunteering 
Don't know how to do a clean excel valuation but pretty confident in economics and I get the general gist of it
No CFA yet but happy to take it if need be but it seems more for portfolio management and regulatory requirements 
Debated about a Masters's or an MBA but I think it's a bit expensive given that it is all online, perhaps in the future
Currently reading: "vulture investor" which can be found on archive.org to be read for free  - very big fan

Gameplan:

1) Read a few second-hand books on distressed debt valuations

2) Purchase a course on excel modeling - but it seems like the most important thing is to network: make a list of warm contacts and reach out

3) Land an offer at a mid-sized firm that has a reputation for credit and move laterally across over a 5-year timeframe 

My Questions:

1) What are my odds in landing a position in a 1 - 2 year timeframe? What is the standard for a move like this

2) I'm Canadian and I expect I would need sponsorship or some sort of work visa. Does anyone have experience with this recently? 

Also if anyone has any questions about working in Law on Bay Street, more than happy to talk. Great experience and would recommend it to anyone who is a "people problem solver"