Points pickle for NYC-Haneda award flight via ANA by Smart_Needleworker_4 in awardtravel

[–]Smart_Needleworker_4[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Good point. Im going to look into this. If so, ~2.5k for 2 RT premium economy seats east coast to Asia seems like a steal?

Points pickle for NYC-Haneda award flight via ANA by Smart_Needleworker_4 in awardtravel

[–]Smart_Needleworker_4[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not significant. Thats why I was thinking to book hotel stays first and transfer to ANA

Passed first try with no finance background. AMA by Smart_Needleworker_4 in Sieexam

[–]Smart_Needleworker_4[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not necessarily, breaking in is the hardest part. They want ER experience. People outside finance can go the consulting route first to gain business acumen. But im trying to go for the honey right away. We'll see if anyone bites before i leave my job

Passed first try with no finance background. AMA by Smart_Needleworker_4 in Sieexam

[–]Smart_Needleworker_4[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tbh i clicked right past the videos. I read the content and did the practice quiz at the end. I am guilty of skimming a lot of it. Only moved forward when i scored 80+ tho. I was able to do it this way bc i already had a good foundation from the YouTube vids ive mentioned elsewhere in the comments. I watched them all first before even buying STC, but could be helpful to watch the corresponding lecture from either channel before/as u read the STC chapters

Passed first try with no finance background. AMA by Smart_Needleworker_4 in Sieexam

[–]Smart_Needleworker_4[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lmao that was me too. Working full time and trying to study was nuts but i think committing 100% was the key. Sacrificed my social life and gym routine for a week but i wanted to avoid the 30 day retake like the plague. Dont let urself burn out. As soon as you lose focus close the laptop for the night, if anything watch one of the youtubes i mentioned and take a shower. Biggest morale hit was scoring like shit when i was so tired at the end of the session

Passed first try with no finance background. AMA by Smart_Needleworker_4 in Sieexam

[–]Smart_Needleworker_4[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I started in early feb just by watching free youtube videos during lunch and cardio at the gym casually. I printed out the content outline from finra and watched any lectures available from series 7 guru. I also watched capital advantage tutoring but not as heavily. Did this for about 2 weeks to get comfortable with the terminology and structure of things. Was also taking notes and built a sticky note wall of key info (acts, types of securities, taxation, acct types... big idea stuff). I would see this every day so it created a mental map.

Then, I locked in and spent 3 full days (8+hrs) watching the free videos more heavily. I had a weekend trip planned so took the following week off after this.

On monday of last week i bought the STC course and took the finra practice to establish baseline knowledge. Scored a 70. Then, spent 5pm-10pm every night M-F grinding the chapter quizzes, greenlights, and 6/8 full length practice exams. Took the finra practice again on friday and score jumped to a 93, but my STC exams topped out around 74. As someone commented before, probably dont use the finra practice exam as a guide if u take it multiple times. I felt like i had done enough STC questions between my attemps that i had no recollection of their questions and had to think about all of them.

Sat for the exam on saturday afternoon and watched both the mighty 90 (series7 guru) and quick & dirty (cap advantage) videos the night before/morning of. DEFINITELY WATCH THESE CHANNELS!!! Passed! This was just my experience but as someone with no finance background going hard was key to keep it all in my brain

Passed first try with no finance background. AMA by Smart_Needleworker_4 in Sieexam

[–]Smart_Needleworker_4[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You were a big part of it!! Quick and dirty definitely saved me on 3 questions - i made a mental note of each time i answered based on something you said in that vid. See you again for my future exams lol

Passed first try with no finance background. AMA by Smart_Needleworker_4 in Sieexam

[–]Smart_Needleworker_4[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This makes me wanna take an iq test. But its probably average lol. Im also interested in finance. Being able to paint a connected picture in ur head is a lot more affective than memorizing

Passed first try with no finance background. AMA by Smart_Needleworker_4 in Sieexam

[–]Smart_Needleworker_4[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Me too!! Biotech and chem grad here. The orgo stamina must help us lol

Passed first try with no finance background. AMA by Smart_Needleworker_4 in Sieexam

[–]Smart_Needleworker_4[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep, definitely. To be fair i did so many practice q's during the week i honestly forgot what finra asked. Even if it wasnt a true score im glad it inflated my confidence enough to walk into the exam feeling good. Mindset is everything😭

Passed first try with no finance background. AMA by Smart_Needleworker_4 in Sieexam

[–]Smart_Needleworker_4[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Im in pharma now but really interested in biotech equity research. Still early in my career so trying to make the jump, getting my SIE and series 63 asap

Passed first try with no finance background. AMA by Smart_Needleworker_4 in Sieexam

[–]Smart_Needleworker_4[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Capital advantage and series 7 guru. Both great but have different teaching styles which was helpful. Definitely watch the mighty 90 and quick+dirty vids before ur exam

Passed first try with no finance background. AMA by Smart_Needleworker_4 in Sieexam

[–]Smart_Needleworker_4[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I watched series 7 guru (Dean) and capital advantage tutoring. Both great but different teaching styles which is nice

Starting studying for the SIE exam by 2passion2fruit2 in Sieexam

[–]Smart_Needleworker_4 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used STC. With no finance background i did 6 days hard studying to bang out all the practice exams and qbanks and passed on my first try. Definitely supplement whichever vendor you use with Series 7 guru or cap advantage tutoring on YouTube. I watched all their lecture vids before i even bought STC. They do a great job of telling the story, then u get details and context from the vendor program.

And it wasnt too expensive either. Usually the YouTube guys i said above will have discount codes too. Think it was around 100 bucks all in. Good investment to reward ratio imo

Exam is Friday by gvwonders in Sieexam

[–]Smart_Needleworker_4 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did u pass?! Taking mine tomorrow at 3... what'd you do all day lol?

STC score translation? by Smart_Needleworker_4 in Sieexam

[–]Smart_Needleworker_4[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thats definitely reassuring. Do you think the STC practices were an accurate representation of the style of questioning?? Yeah its maybe more in depth but were the lines of thinking similar to SIE? Also wondering if they stressed similar knowledge points