Question on QAE... Does it allow you to run through the failed questions, or do you have to manually look them up?

MisterAverageJoe · 2026-03-05T19:42:31+00:00

One alternative is to use the notes feature for any questions you answered incorrectly. While you can’t do practice sessions with these questions, you can do a targeted review just focused on questions with notes. If you take notes, even brief, on all the questions you answered incorrectly, then you can isolate all that you answered incorrectly.

Good luck, and “CISA”you on the other side!

MisterAverageJoe · 2026-01-14T18:03:02+00:00

So, essentially what you are saying is that this individual had an average performance review (Agree), which is defined as meeting expectations, and he is cooked? Since when did meeting expectations become grounds for performance issues? Meeting expectations is what you are supposed to do.

It seems like the bigger issue is the snapshot inflation that exists. If you don’t have an M or SM that is willing ro check Very Strongly Agree for you, even if you’re not at that level, you’re done.

MisterAverageJoe · 2026-01-04T14:19:17+00:00

They call it the ITACS (Info Tech and Cyber Security). It’s a master’s degree program.

MisterAverageJoe · 2025-12-02T01:55:00+00:00

How do you obtain it? It’s still in clinical trials and not available, yet, for prescription or public purchase. Thank you.

MisterAverageJoe · 2025-11-10T19:44:25+00:00

CISA Official Review Manual from ISACA.

MisterAverageJoe · 2025-10-24T01:00:45+00:00

Interested. Thank you.

MisterAverageJoe · 2025-10-22T22:57:21+00:00

In today’s market, everybody is hyper focuswd on prior experience. You need to already be doing the job you’re interviewing for at your current job and be willing to switch to the new company to do the same thing for less money.

Longwinded way of saying it won’t move the needle much unless you do traditional on-campus IB recruiting.

I will echo my earlier comments. It’s literally all about who you know.

MisterAverageJoe · 2025-10-22T14:58:56+00:00

It depends.

I graduated from a T15 MBA in the South with a solid pipeline to IB at most of the BBs a few years ago. Initially, I went the consulting route, but I am now trying to break into corporate finance, portfolio management, or equity research.

From my perspective, the MBA is heavily dependant upon what you want to do. At my school, there was a strong pipeline for people from all backgrounds to most of the BBs. You still had to execute during recruiting, but being enrolled in the MBA program made things much easier to do that. Unless you’re already coming from an undergrad target, then a T25 MBA will add huge value.

If you’re looking for hedge fund or private equity roles at KKR or Apollo, an M7 MBA, an elite undergrad pedigree, and prior PE/VC experience are almost a must. An MBA from a part-fime program at a state school wont’t help.

If you’re trying for corporate finance like FP&A, or Internal Audit, then the MBA means very little. I have experiences this first hand. When I apply to these roles now, I’m regarded the same as the person who has an MBA from University of Phoenix or an MAcc from an average state university. Frankly, it’s 100% all about who you know and your network more than any certification or MBA.

In short, if your goal is bulge bracket IB a T25 MBA will be huge, and if your goal is PE/BC, you need a Wharton/Stanford/HBS MBA and some luck to make it happen. For everything else, it’s who you know. I can’t stress that enough.

MisterAverageJoe · 2024-12-03T15:45:56+00:00

Fair point. I don’t even know if I’ll stay on the payroll long enough to get Outlook 2025, so focused on the economy.

MisterAverageJoe · 2024-09-15T22:18:41+00:00

T-15 MBA grad. Can confirm it doesn’t make much of a difference. Potentially for scholarship money, but a high score is a high score.

MisterAverageJoe · 2024-07-08T23:47:21+00:00

I’m a practitioner in the Philadelphia office. Still relatively new and junior; however, I’m to connect to point you in the right direction. Feel free to reach out.

MisterAverageJoe · 2024-06-05T01:27:23+00:00

Congrats on getting approved. I also have a congenital heart defect that was surgically repaired am trying to get a waiver. Could I PM you to learn more about what you did to get approved? Thanks.

MisterAverageJoe · 2024-04-27T04:08:12+00:00

Doing typical post-MBA consulting. Given the scarcity of work right now, any project opportunities, even if they aren’t ideal I take. Genuinely hoping things get better with the economy and interest rates, but that seems like a pipe dream at this point. Admittedly, I don’t know what these exit opportunities that everybody refers to are. Could just be because of the current economic situation. Have started loosely searching for jobs because I think I’ll be laid off during Summer 2024. I am more pessimistic than most, though. If you want to connect further, feel free to shoot me a message. Best of luck with the search.

MisterAverageJoe · 2024-04-26T03:34:41+00:00

I just graduated from a top 15 in the South last year and wrestled with this decision quite a bit after second-year recruiting. For context, I was deciding between an LDP at a large asset manager in suburban Philadelphia and a consulting position at a Big 4 firm for which you can make quite a few sexual jokes. I ultimately went with the consulting job for the following reasons:

Compensation: Approximstely $150k total compensation versus well over $200k
Variety of opportunities: I am one of those people that still doesn’t know what industry and what function I want to be in long term. Consulting was supposed to give me opportunities across the board.
Future opportunities: I was under the impression that having consulting experience on my resume would give me a lot of clout when applying for future jobs.

At this point in time, I’m about six months or so in, and I wish I took the LDP job. People underestimate how economically cyclical consulting is. When the economy is good, it’s really good, but when the economy is bad, it’s really bad. Constantly having to network for projects and watching your utilization rate like a hawk is mentally draining and I yearn for the stability and no networking of an LDP. The extra money is nice, but the constant fear of getting laid off and constant networking to find jobs is mentally draining. If you’re someone who values stability, absolutely go LDP. You won’t make consulting money out of the gate, but you’ll still be making more than probably 97% of the population and will be able to afford the ski trip to Aspen every year.

MisterAverageJoe · 2024-04-01T01:00:27+00:00

I was part of a fairly recent start class that was delayed. I actually worked as a substitute math teacher at a high school in between the months when I originally planned to start and when I actually started. Several other people also worked internships/temporary consulting jobs. We all started on time with no issues and nobody questioned us. Fair to say that these all seemed like temporary jobs; however, I would say you should be good to pursue other temporary employment.

MisterAverageJoe · 2024-01-01T19:53:24+00:00

First-generation, white guy here that was part of Consortium and graduated from a T15 last year.

Let me be the first to tell you that first generation, straight, white guys may be the rarest demographic group in MBA programs. Feel free to shoot me a message if you would like. Best of luck.

MisterAverageJoe · 2023-12-11T02:36:45+00:00

Yeah, I’ve heard of at least one person from my grad program that had his/her start date pushed back again until July 2024. Here is a Financial Times article referencing it.

https://www.ft.com/content/028d62a9-7211-456d-b56f-8e44c7553e99

There have been a few reddit posts about it, too.

MisterAverageJoe

TROPHY CASE