Does "being a CFA" help?

Focus on the CFA exam or spend time getting a job? 

Do you need a CFA designation? 

For what? 

I spoke about this at a recent CFA Society Presentation: 

There are certain jobs that do require a CFA designation. These are jobs far down the path of the "CFA track". 

The VAST majority of jobs - even on the "CFA track"  DO NOT require you to have a CFA designation.

I joined a top wall street hedge fund without a CFA designation. And I was managing a $300 million portfolio of public equity investments. Sounds like a CFA designation type of job, right? Did I didn't have one to get the job.

So if you think.... but Stuart... I need......
• To pass my Level 1 first
• To pass my Level 2 first 
• To get more experience

You can say it....
But that DOES NOT make it true.

People like to think that study is a good substitute for looking for a job. The result is that during the best times to get a job, our old habits tell us to lock ourselves away and study....for a designation that takes SIX YEARS. 

So you want to trade off 6-figure salary potential now for something that might happen or not in six years? Why not get paid in a job and earn the CFA desigination? 

For most people, there is one thing that is missing: 

It's COURAGE.
The courage to put yourself out there.
The courage to start.
The courage to get your first coffee chat. 
The courage to ask what someone's problems are.
And that's what my clients have done.

And one of my most successful clients EVER doesn't have a CFA designation and didn't have prior US work experience. 

She's schooling CFA's left and right :-)

SO if you're ready to stop delaying, or find out how to develop that courage, let's talk.

The reality of it is that to succeed, what you need isn't a piece of paper to hang on the wall. 

One of the best ways to get into finance is on the sales or marketing side of things. Break into a $1 trillion dollar asset manager to help with marketing, get hired, get them to pay you for your time and effort AND for your efforts to earn the CFA designation.

And develop the courage to move in the direction of your goals. 

Glad to speak more to help you get moving in the right direction.

To your success. 

Stuart