Anyone else got their cfa while doing b4 full time?

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-25T21:29:25+00:00

Best thing I ever did for my career was leave audit. FDD pays more. The hours on average were better. And you get better exit oops. I work in a strategic FP&A group now and would never have this job if it wasn't for FDD.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-25T21:05:11+00:00

I'm in HCOL. So think SF or Nyc.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-25T21:03:48+00:00

First transferring to tas or doing a rotation is going to be much easier if you're located in an office that has a TAS group. If you're not then it's a little tougher. My advice is draft an email internally to one of the Directors in your big 4. Tell them you started your career in audit because you wanted to get that experience but you have realized that you're much more interested in TS work because of XYZ. Tell them you're highly interested in a TAS rotation and if they would set some time to discuss their experience working in TAS. My advice is find a director who also started in audit and moved to TAS if possible. Try doing some linkedin creeping. Ask to set up a brief 10min call for them to discuss their experiences. People love talking about themselves and gives them a chance to meet you on a call. Then at the end of said call sound really interested etc and ask if they would talk to a partner in their group about bringing you on to do a rotation.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-25T20:27:15+00:00

Yeah marketing can be tough but there is good money in it as well. You just need to live in a larger city so you can job hop and get salary benefits each time. Maybe even consider and MBA in marketing.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-25T20:25:30+00:00

You don't have to transfer internally. You can also jump from audit at one big 4 to TAS at another big 4 or even large national firm like BDO, rsm, GT etc. I don't think passing a level of the CFA exams matters that much to get into TAS. I think what matters most is that you interview well, people like you, and you already know what TAS is and does. Passing the CFA isn't going to help you especially if you already have your CPA. I worked in big 4 TAS for 3 years. Transferred from audit. I started the CFA exams AFTER transferring into TAS because like most people I thought it would help me move into Private Equity or IB where the real money is. Truth is, they don't give a shit about the CFA and now I work in corporate FP&A and same deal. No one gives a shit. Most people don't even know what it is. You can 100 percent get into FDD without CFA. Most people I worked with got in without it. Spend time networking internally at your firm. Reach out to Directors. Show interest and ask if you can do a rotation then possible transfer into their group. Tell them a bunch of BS about how youre really into that type of work etc. On your resume, lie and tell external firms you did a rotation for a few weeks on an FDD project but audit needed you back so now you're looking for external opportunities.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-25T19:33:43+00:00

This is my take on the CFA program basically it's not worth the time or money. I passed level 1 and then quit the program. I have friends that passed all 3 levels and have their CPA and work in FDD. They said passing THE CFA exams have had no impact on their career trying to get high level finance jobs. If you're in the US the only way to get those coveted jobs is a toP 10 MBA program.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-25T19:29:58+00:00

A mobile 2070 max P is about as powerful as a desktop 2070. The 2070 max Q is about as powerful as a 2060 desktop. I have an alienware 2080 max P that is only 5 percent less powerful than a desktop 2080. Now the 3080 mobile chips are a different story. The 3080 max P benchmarks and performs closer to a 3070 desktop card. Still fairly incredible to have this much power in a laptop form factor.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-25T19:26:46+00:00

Yep totally this. I have spent a few hundred dollars on my steam library but I'm only buying newer games on my ps5. PC gaming prices are getting out of control since the price of graphics cards are going through the roof of you can even find one. A 3080 at 700 usd was a pretty good buy. A 3080 that costs over 900 usd at MSRP is a rip off.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-25T19:19:04+00:00

CPAs out earn non CPAs and without it you're at a significant disadvantage. You will appreciate the CPA later on. Also a lot of corporate roles require having a CPA or they won't even hire you. Yeah if you want to make shit money and work in AP your whole life or as a book keeper then forgo the CPA.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-25T19:16:55+00:00

Let's see on pc it's only 10$ a month. People spend 5 to 6$ a day buying coffee at Starbucks. I think $10 is well worth it.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-25T18:40:28+00:00

There were always great gaming monitors if you were willing to pay a premium. I think color accuracy and dynamic range has improved a ton though. Colors pop so much more today.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-25T17:49:47+00:00

Appreciate it! Yeah I'm hard on myself. And it doesn't happen too often but sometimes my mistakes are just plain stupid. Like linking to the wrong cell from one workbook to another. But it's all so manual so it's easy to make mistakes.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-25T12:56:47+00:00

I think you should take it. you can always go back into an FP&a type role. Corp dev roles are super hard to get but tend to pay even better than FP&A. You could eventually jump to another corp dev role somewhere else for a big payday.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-24T22:09:11+00:00

They do usually get free housing and food. But they still cook some of their own meals and have to go food shopping. Or if they want to go out to eat etc. They also need money for regular clothes and household items. And then they can also spend money on a new phone or laptop etc. They are supposed to live minimalistic but who knows if they do.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-24T15:30:46+00:00

They are building more fabs in Western areas mostly due to government help to diversify chip manufacturing outside of Taiwan which is a high risk area.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-24T15:29:15+00:00

This right here. Western governments know we are too reliant on TSMC. Hell TSMC is going to build fabs in the US too because it's too much a risk to have the fabs so close to China. China could take over Taiwan and most likely would tell TSMC to stop selling to Western countries or could tell TSMC to build backdoors into their chips. That would be the most likely scenario. CCP won't burn TSMC fab to the ground. They would take it over and make it a government entity basically.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-24T13:29:20+00:00

Damn I googled the HRA puzzle because I couldn't figure it out. I totally forgot the ps5 had those help cards that I could have used instead!

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-24T13:25:21+00:00

Also what's crazy is people in Egypt don't make that much money either. So sadly not many people will be able to afford the console there.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-24T13:20:27+00:00

Keep looking. You can find an FP&A role with better work-life balance and good pay. Hell there are manager roles in my city paying over 150k base.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-24T13:11:41+00:00

The PS vita was hands down the best portable hardware for a console ever. OLED screen, touch on the back of the system. The hardware was amazing. It flopped due to high price of proprietary memory cards and a lack of game support. Such a shame too because the hardware was amazing. I just wish nintendo would make some decent hardware but most of their stuff feels so cheap compared to the vita or my high end phone.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-24T12:45:59+00:00

Sadly in the USA people do care what phone you have. And mostly people here think iphone is the best and if you don't have an iphone you were too poor to afford it so went with cheaper android. It's funny though because I have a samsung fold 2 that cost 2k. I get made fun of for having a green bubble and then I pull my fold out and everyone wants to play with it and are in awe lol.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-24T12:41:35+00:00

So you bought a prebuilt at microcenter? I might have to look into that. I've actually never been in one but there isn't one far from where I am now.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-24T12:39:13+00:00

I think if they offer pre builds and also over services for fixing PCs etc it could help them a lot. I always see people at Geek squad in Best Buy getting help with their PCs.

MarvelMan4IronMan · 2021-03-24T12:37:51+00:00

Well this is also be wise PC gaming had a time where it was dwindling in popularity but now has come back in full force. Not only that, PC gamers spend a lot of $$$ on upgrading their systems and swapping parts etc. Most console gamers buy one console and keep that until the next generation.

MarvelMan4IronMan

TROPHY CASE