u/Ayush904
What's the biggest mistakes candidates make ?
Many candidates spends too much time reading notes and not enough time practicing questions. CFA is an exam where active practice and mistakes analysis matter a lot more.
What's one thing you wish you knew earlier during CFA preparation ?
Progress is rarely linear. Some weeks feels productive, others feels terrible. What matters is staying in the game long enough for the effort to compound.
Can someone from a non-finance background clear CFA?
Absolutely. It may take extra effort initially, but many engineers, designers and science students clear CFA successfully.
Investment Banking (IB) looks glamorous but the reality is intense. Your work on big deals like mergers and IPOs and can earn ₹10-50 LPA plus huge bonuses sometimes even more than your salary. But the catch ? 70-100 hour workweeks late nights and almost no work-life balance. Breaking in requires a strong college background, internships and serious networking. While the career growth and exit opportunities are great many people burn out and quit within a few years. In simple terms IB isn't luxury it's long hours high pressure and a constant question is the Money really worth it ?