Fellow CFA Holders, was it worth it for you? My parents both died and the CFA saved my life.

Howdy, 

I wanted to reach out to get feedback from other people who've gotten their CFA (or are actively on the track) with how it's affected not only their career trajectory, but their life. 

In my own personal case, I've had an insane family life situation since I was about 19, but having the CFA to take away any free time to dwell on the issues actually helped me out a ton. It also opened a ton of doors for me professionally. My current boss just told me the main reason she hired me / trusted me was because I had my CFA. She said I was a bit 'all over the place' in my interview (likely true) and I also had no securitization experience. Despite this, she still hired me though because she said the CFA proved that I could handle a long-term commitment. I hadn't really gotten direct feedback like that yet in my career, but I'm also only 28. I went to a non-target in the South (woof) and I like to think I wouldn't be on the current path I am without it. I did pretty well in school and was super involved on campus, but I still graduated without a job and didn't work for like 4 months after graduating with Honors. My mom dying right before I graduated (April 18th, graduation May 10th) didn't help my interviewing skills, but it wasn't like I had bulge bracket ones anyway. My telephone screen for the GS SLC office doesn't really count does it? I'm applying to dozens of Hedge Fund, Equity Research, and Bulge Bracket jobs, but I can't even get an interview. One of the low points in my jobless existence was when I got some professional advice from my ex-gilfriend's mom's friend (partner at a WM firm) and she said to take "anything that comes my way".  I finally got a pity job at a wealth management firm as an 'analyst' making 50k after 4 months of sackin' around at my dad's with Robinhood and Fallout New Vegas. They didn't know what to do with me. I was destined for client services (my god) or the dreaded black hole known as operations. That is where the sharp young minds of Wealth Management go to die. Or so I thought. The girl I started with around the same time (she's still at the firm) is now on the partner track. It's really just that I had a lot of pride on the line. I had always been considered 'smart', but I had a lot of personal baggage and other things like geography holding me back. I love Atlanta, but it's hard to reach the upper leagues of 'high finance' here. Eventually I was able to find a great Partner to learn from at the firm, the same partner who hilariously had about 10-15% of the WM firm's AUM as captive customers within a dividend growth strategy. I HAVE to give this man some credit however. He didn't try to re-invent the wheel with the 30-35 stocks in the portfolio and has had some nutty winners like LLY (US Fund) and NVO (Global Div growth fund). We were able to take the fund from a 2 star on Morningstar when I got there to a 4 star by the time I left. 2020 and 2021 were banger years for the fund. Great guy to learn from but I also realized stonks weren't for me. Crazy to think that it came to that, but I need to be at a hedge fund if I'm going to do it. Going only long and sweating about the world collapsing was too hard. Being an analyst and a firm's trader (handed to me in a panic in March 2020) during COVID then Russia's invasion of Ukraine hurt my interest in the stock game as a career. I think 2008 did the same to some people. May come back to it eventually, but I'm done for now at the very least. The whole time at the firm tho, I grinded out all three levels of the CFA on my first try from late 2020 on. Thank god Georgia stayed open, they didn't cancel my level 1 exam like they did for a lot of other people. Level 2 almost killed me (daily nightmares of failure), but then between level 2 and 3 my dad died. It was a long process with cancer, but so much shit fell on me because I only have a younger brother and no real aunts or uncles (alive but not helpful sadly). I almost gave up on taking level 3, but my friends pushed me to do it. In an even more depressing twist, my standing at the WM took a dive in 2022 due me being out a ton for the family stuff + me being an ass about still only making 60K. I may or may not have looked the head of HR dead in the eyes and said "the pay here is disgusting". I was pushing my way out without having the wisdom or foresight to realize it. Working remote in Arizona from April (my dad's hospice + passing) for a couple of months, followed up by a Europe trip had my boss on edge. In hindsight I get it, a lot fell on him during the day to day. He also just needed to pony up another 20K in salary and I would have STFU. I'm under pressure to come back to Georgia, but I decide to just study out in Arizona like a mad man before I take level 3. During what should have been one of the most painful periods of my life, I studied every day for 5-6 hours, spent time with my girlfriend, and went on a hike. I didn't work much to be candid. I fly back for one day, take the exam and then go back to Arizona for another month to wrap up the estate and drive back to Georgia with my brother. I finally find out that I passed the exam a couple weeks later, but then a promised mid-year raise doesn't come through due to market turbulence. I find out I pass the exam  a couple of days later and so I TELL (don't ask) my boss to go to Aruba. Everything seems ok, but I get an invite for a performance review on October 18th. I genuinely thought I was going to get a raise. Instead he tells me, "we know you don't want to be here anymore and we can't have you leaving us in a lurch, so we're going to post your job. You can now come in part-time and stay that way until you find a new job. You won't get profit sharing or a bonus this year either". Mind you it was two months away from getting that so I was aghast. I actually was at probably the lowest point in my life and I was told to take off two weeks of unpaid leave and then come back part time. I didn't have anything lined up and I genuinely thought about suicide or where I was going to turn next. I know that sounds like a bit of an overreaction but the family stuff had beaten me down over the years and I was walking around every day almost paralyzed with anxiety before any job stuff. It wasn't even that I was explicitly sad about my mom and dad, it was that everything else upset me and sometimes I would really struggle with OCD / irrational thoughts. I used the time off to start going to the gym again and found a therapist, things got a good bit better after that. It is actually funny to think that in some ways I finally cracked once I didn't have the CFA / studying / worrying about it to occupy my mind. The main thing now was surviving long enough at the job to hit my 3 year work requirement. I sent my boss a 3 page text pouring my heart out / apologizing for being an ass during a tough year and he responded with "I'm making grilled cheeses for my kids, now isn't the time. talk in office". That one hurt. But then I realized that I lived in Atlanta and nobody here has their CFA (my boss and one of other partner of 13 did). After the two weeks I showed up early AF and stayed late and they didn't follow through on the 'part time' threat. My boss wasn't a monster by any means and he somewhat looked out for me, even if I wasn't the right fit for the seat. I applied on linkedin and random websites like crazy, but this time I was actually able to get a boutique investment banking job within a month. I know for a fact it wouldn't have happened if I didn't get my CFA too. I had very little time before my final performance review in December where I knew I'd get a peanuts bonus + probably the actual boot this time, so I'm forever grateful for being able to find one fast. It's me, my boss, and my HR opp, who most definitely didn't forget our heated conversations a year ago or 6 months ago. Mind you this guy is 5'3 and the first thing out of his mouth is that he played college basketball. Hell ya it was D3 but he can still shoot you out the gym. He hates me. He is relishing this moment, it's been years in the making. He finally gets to fire me. The original 'part-time' conversation was just me and my boss in a side office, nothing official. For HR opp, this is the actual execution of the prisoner. I will never forget the look on his face when he realized I've been acquitted at 11:59pm. So the review starts and they say they've "noticed a positive difference the last couple months or so" (ya asshole, my dad died and I'm done grieving), but they're "thinking long-term" and need to actually post my job this time in case I leave them. They're still giving me a bonus (think cashews, but not peanuts, still no steak) however. They're sorry to tell me the news. They're expecting me to explode. Instead I smile at them. My boss is actually confused and HR Opp is getting heated. "Why are you smiling" he asks with a fowl scowl. "Because my ducks are in a row, sir", I respond. His eyes turn to saucers. Mind you, I was responsible for 25-60% of trade volume and 60-100% of equity trading volume for the firm on a good day. And SO many other minor tasks like GIPs and composite management and all the other weird WM tasks that drive people crazy in that industry. So I'm a key man, in that little guy way. They probably should have canned me the first time. I ask if I still get my bonus and they say yes (already ACH'd with the others) and that it's "okay to tell us what's actually going on". I tell them I have an IB offer and I've accepted it. I say thanks for everything and get out of there before either of them can even breathe the word clawback. I go around the firm and especially the bull pen to spread the news. Yep, I was finally out, climbing from the WM dessert into the bog of IB. Still not yet at the PE oasis, but maybe one day. Despite the HR Opp and a couple other people having it out for me, there was a lot of people rooting for me at the firm. They had my back on the family shit and thought it was insane that I was being pushed out for complaining about being underpaid despite the workhorse shit I was doing. Many senior client services ladies were clearing 200K mind you, it was just the mentality of not paying junior employees well AT ALL because we're in the South and not NYC. After many good high-fives and a few hugs, my boss drags me into his office to berate me. He's sitting at his desk and says "you can't be the one to tell people". The firm was weird about people leaving and wouldn't usually let folks say goodbye unless it was a special situation. I looked him dead in the eye and said "I'm not fucking working for you anymore" and walked out. Clipped a WFH check for two weeks and traded for the firm and then dipped out before Christmas. I did ESOP Sell-side IB work for about 13 months and recently got a 1st year associate Capital Markets job at a buy now pay later company and I should clear 150K easily with the potential to break 200k with a good bonus. All because of the good ole CFA. Hell ya it still has value, despite almost breaking me in the process, it saved my damn life.