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No it wont really help. In fact I would say it may even be a bit of a hinderance & quite possibly you wouldn't be used in a tech role and rather a different rol

No it wont really help. In fact I would say it may even be a bit of a hinderance & quite possibly you wouldn't be used in a tech role and rather a different role like biz-dev in a fintech which is also harder to compete in as there are more candidates. I would say that getting bad grades is possibly fine the knowledge you have with tech is what you want to nurture directly if thats what you want to be good at. If its your first job its going to be hard anyway but the grades are only judged really at that point then subsequently its on your ability. If you are having trouble getting hired go for more niche knowledge for example a specific python skill, or rust async and find an employer who wants that. Its easier to show your skills off & be hired for with specialised rather than broad knowledge all over the place. REST/CRUD, React, etc is very broad and there are tonnes of candidates everywhere, even remotely..

gunshowmo 6y ago
Thanks for the response, really appreciate the advice. I definitely feel like my skillset is a lot more broad than it is deep so that's something I'll work on addressing. I have been meaning to take a look at Rust so this seems like a good reason to start. For Python I really have trouble thinking of an interesting project rather than creating something that a library can already do much better already.
giantg2 6y ago
"No it wont really help. In fact I would say it may even be a bit of a hinderance & quite possibly you wouldn't be used in a tech role and rather a different role like biz-dev in a fintech which is also harder to compete in as there are more candidates." I disagree. I work in finance and the company does think highly of people who have a CFA in a tech role. Sure, you could be a business side developer (which actually pays more). But they still allow you to work as a regular dev. Some areas of the company very strongly suggest (unofficially require) a CFA Foundations cert. On a side note, how do you plan to get a CFA charter? I believe they require you to be working in the industry for years before you can apply.
- gunshowmo 6y ago
  That's really good to know, thank you for that info. I've accumulated roughly 4 years of experience as a full time employee/contractor at a large bank in roles falling into the program's guidelines, so I hope that will allow me to pass that requirement.
- neximo64 6y ago
  Id disagree with you, and i've worked in a fintech as a hiring manager have CFAs on the team - with or without it its not been any different. If I can ask do you have a CFA yourself/are you in the process of getting one as I feel this would significantly bias your answer. It was a hard decision but I feel it was the right one.
  - giantg2 6y ago
    This is at a large company. A coworker who worked at another large company previously said it was similar there too. There's a big push for developers to have business acumen so that they understand what they are building, asking appropriate questions while not slowing the process down with trivial questions. It also seems that many of the people in finance, even on the tech side, are concerned with reputation and prestige. Things like credentials and status symbols (like talking about thier luxury cars and expensive toys) are common in the trading and trading support areas of the company. I do not have a CFA charter, nor want one. I did take the CFA Foundations cert since management made it unofficially mandatory. I think this level of knowledge would be useful for devs working in that area, but this isn't the only measure of that knowledge. At that time, the cert cost money and was held at a test center (it's now free and online). I tried to avoid taking it since I already have that knowledge from my business admin minor, but management basically forced me to take it anyways. I passed it two days later and management was amazed - I guess they didn't believe that I my minor was worth anything but that this stupid test was. So it might be different at your company, but there are companies and managers out there who look favorably on having a CFA Foundations or CFA Charter (or even just passing level 1 or 2). It can even get you more pay. It's credentialing similar to others you would list on a resume, like the OP mentioning his major/minor in his post. The real issue for the OP, is that if he's unemployed then he can't get a CFA charter anyways since you have to have years of experience in the industry and your company to sponsor/approve you if you don't work in one of the approved/listed roles (on the business side).

gunshowmo 6y ago

Thanks for the response, really appreciate the advice. I definitely feel like my skillset is a lot more broad than it is deep so that's something I'll work on addressing. I have been meaning to take a look at Rust so this seems like a good reason to start. For Python I really have trouble thinking of an interesting project rather than creating something that a library can already do much better already.

giantg2 6y ago

"No it wont really help. In fact I would say it may even be a bit of a hinderance & quite possibly you wouldn't be used in a tech role and rather a different role like biz-dev in a fintech which is also harder to compete in as there are more candidates." I disagree. I work in finance and the company does think highly of people who have a CFA in a tech role. Sure, you could be a business side developer (which actually pays more). But they still allow you to work as a regular dev. Some areas of the company very strongly suggest (unofficially require) a CFA Foundations cert. On a side note, how do you plan to get a CFA charter? I believe they require you to be working in the industry for years before you can apply.

gunshowmo 6y ago
That's really good to know, thank you for that info. I've accumulated roughly 4 years of experience as a full time employee/contractor at a large bank in roles falling into the program's guidelines, so I hope that will allow me to pass that requirement.
neximo64 6y ago
Id disagree with you, and i've worked in a fintech as a hiring manager have CFAs on the team - with or without it its not been any different. If I can ask do you have a CFA yourself/are you in the process of getting one as I feel this would significantly bias your answer. It was a hard decision but I feel it was the right one.
- giantg2 6y ago
  This is at a large company. A coworker who worked at another large company previously said it was similar there too. There's a big push for developers to have business acumen so that they understand what they are building, asking appropriate questions while not slowing the process down with trivial questions. It also seems that many of the people in finance, even on the tech side, are concerned with reputation and prestige. Things like credentials and status symbols (like talking about thier luxury cars and expensive toys) are common in the trading and trading support areas of the company. I do not have a CFA charter, nor want one. I did take the CFA Foundations cert since management made it unofficially mandatory. I think this level of knowledge would be useful for devs working in that area, but this isn't the only measure of that knowledge. At that time, the cert cost money and was held at a test center (it's now free and online). I tried to avoid taking it since I already have that knowledge from my business admin minor, but management basically forced me to take it anyways. I passed it two days later and management was amazed - I guess they didn't believe that I my minor was worth anything but that this stupid test was. So it might be different at your company, but there are companies and managers out there who look favorably on having a CFA Foundations or CFA Charter (or even just passing level 1 or 2). It can even get you more pay. It's credentialing similar to others you would list on a resume, like the OP mentioning his major/minor in his post. The real issue for the OP, is that if he's unemployed then he can't get a CFA charter anyways since you have to have years of experience in the industry and your company to sponsor/approve you if you don't work in one of the approved/listed roles (on the business side).