How do i go about it

Hey everyone,

I hope all of you visiting my post are doing great.

I just wanted to introduce myself and hopefully get some insights and advice from you all, who are highly experienced individuals.

I'm a 26-year-old who graduated in 2022 with a Bachelor's in Hospitality and Hotel Administration, and now I'm trying to change my career path back to the financial world, starting with CFA Level 1. I have joined a respected prep provider and will be attempting my first exam in November 2025.

A little about my background: I’ve never been a particularly bright or gifted student, but I was always deeply interested in science and the financial world. In fact, I started working on my technical analysis skills right from 9th grade (or high school for most of you). Unfortunately, I couldn’t dedicate much time to it because I was barely managing my grades. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I failed 9th grade because I was too focused on finance. That failure changed everything for me. I’ll never forget how it made me feel and, more importantly, how it affected my parents. It broke me, and I gave up everything. I tried to focus only on my studies and even gave up cricket, something I was good at. Somehow, I managed to pass 12th grade and finally got another chance to pursue my dream of working in finance. I joined a local broker and coaching center to learn more about stocks, but... it didn’t go well. Some things happened that I can’t share, but I lost myself.

My world went blank, and it stayed that way until a year ago. I didn’t know what to do or how to proceed, and I didn’t have a mentor or guide to help me. I didn’t even have a phone or laptop to find help online.

Fast forward, I was in college pursuing a Bachelor's in Hospitality and Hotel Administration. I had given up on the idea of working in finance, even though it was something I wanted so badly. But I had to move on. Just like I had to finish my bachelor’s degree, no matter what. During my internship at a very well-reputed hotel (one of the best in the world), I realized it wasn’t for me. Yes, I worked 18-hour shifts, stood for 90% of the time, and wasn’t paid at all, but none of that bothered me. All I wanted was to make my dad happy and proud of me, and I did whatever he asked.

Then COVID happened in 2021. Everything turned into chaos. My six-month internship was cut short to two months, but amidst the chaos, I found peace. I finally had the freedom to do what I wanted. Yet, for some reason, I didn’t. I blamed my past and was too afraid to take any steps forward. I had internet, a laptop, a phone, and some money, but I spent my time learning about space, technology, and politics instead. It gave me temporary peace and curiosity.

I completed my graduation in 2022 but didn’t apply for any jobs. I know that was a stupid decision, but I spent that time rethinking everything. Why was I even there when it wasn’t what I wanted to do? To avoid making my dad feel like I had lost my way, I joined Amazon and worked there for a while. The pay was good, and I escaped judgment from my relatives and dad. But working night shifts for international clients took a toll on my health. Eventually, I quit. Months later, I regretted it but also saw it as a good decision. If I hadn’t quit, I wouldn’t have realized my potential.

I haven’t worked for a firm since then. Yes, I hated living off my dad’s wealth, but I couldn’t keep living that work-eat-sleep cycle anymore. I isolated myself for an entire year, constantly thinking about doing something better but never acting on it. Every month, I made a new resolution, only to fail. I went from saving money for better opportunities to spending it on useless things like clothes, shoes, perfumes, and more. Eventually, I realized I was running out of money. That was my wake-up call. I needed to work, but I didn’t want to go back to Amazon or the hotel industry.

I started looking for any job or course I could pursue. But I was procrastinating. I told myself, “I’ll do it tomorrow,” every single day. That cycle lasted half a year. I managed to earn a little as a personal financial advisor and asset manager for a few acquaintances. My highest achievement was delivering a 35% return within six months, with an annualized return of 12.6%. But it wasn’t enough to gain valid work experience.

One day, I woke up and realized how much I had been fooling myself. It was me vs. me, and I wanted to win this time. I began researching finance again, learning about CFA as the gold standard, and discovering the vast opportunities in the financial world, like investment banking, private equity, and hedge funds. This reignited my passion. I created a plan for myself and set goals for the year. I joined a gym and completed a short personal trainer course to improve my health and help others. I enrolled in MMA classes to learn self-defense and protect my loved ones. I started to work at NGO when i get time or write a novel/book which i always wanted to. I started learning guitar and began walking/running 10,000 steps (or 10 km) daily. I also applied for financial jobs (none of which I got). To build my skills, I studied financial modeling and leadership on platforms like Coursera, Simplilearn, and edX, hoping it would help me secure an internship. Unfortunately, it didn’t. Most employers rejected me because I didn’t have a financial background.

I decided to pursue an MBA instead and took a national entrance exam in November 2024. I barely managed to score enough for calls from decent colleges, but they were far beyond my budget. I couldn’t burden my dad with the expense, and once again, I was heartbroken.

That’s when I made the final decision to pursue CFA. It’s comparatively more affordable than an MBA, and I’ve been considering it for a while now. Although I didn’t secure the CFA scholarship this time, I’m hoping to get it next month with my prep provider’s help. My mentor also advised me to focus on CFA now, join a firm that supports CFA certification, and later pursue an MBA with a full scholarship and reimbursement for CFA Level 2 and 3 costs.

I know my academics aren’t strong enough for a prestigious MBA program, so I’m working on that too. My targets include scoring 700+ in GMAT, 100+ in TOEFL (or 7+ in IELTS), and started learning my fifth language, Spanish, followed by French or sign language (so i can help out in NGO's) soon. I’m also training for national-level boxing and MMA championships and aiming to join a prestigious firm to gain recommendation letters from alumni to strengthen my application.

That’s how I found this website, WSO. I’m here to learn, get advice, and connect professionally.

If you’ve read this far, thank you so much! I would love your feedback, recommendations, and insights on how I can improve my profile. I’ve reached out to firms like WSO for guidance in the past, but I rarely get replies. I hope this forum can help instead.

Looking forward to hearing from you all!