OP has single digit AF points. Greenie, I don’t think your point here is valid whatsoever.
Itera’s that guy at work that you never want to walk into his office just to chat. That’s fine, somebody else gets along with him just fine.
Um, itera decidedly does not have good intentions. He is out to beat down and demoralize people who he thinks are not up to a certain standard and elevate his self worth in the process.
However, this does not mean that those comments are not sometimes a useful dose of reality. Some people do come here with unrealistic expectations and someone needs to talk them down after a life of US style positive reinforcement. At best, these guys will make life choices that are more appropriate for their circumstances. At worst, they learn a lesson that assholes exist in finance. OP, given your background, you should have learned to turn away from assholes.
To me, whether someone has a point is more important than how they express that point. Also, the great thing about the internet is that you can walk away and forget things you don’t agree with. Wahmbulance is when someone complains without any intended result. You can suggest something new, like ban itera, change forum policy or something. Otherwise, complaint threads are ultimately unproductive and only feed people who try to cultivate negative sentiment.
The great thing about this forum is it’s a nice place to gather intel about the industry and people’s perspectives. Itera is one of them, like CFAvMBA on the other side of that spectrum, and bs, bchad, numi, higgs, greenie et al in between. I’d say S2000 is in the centrepoint of that spectrum with his horses. Then you throw in a bunch of indian CAs, an oddball mix of passive agressive Canadians and you round out the pack. You dont’ have to agree with everyone, but we should have a place for discourse, trashtalk, and everyone can disseminate what they want from the discussion.
Does he have a point? Usually yes, but I sense you have more a problem with his delivery. He’s like a mean Rocky 6 speech where life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Just ignore it, life is too short to get worked up about others over the internet. Follow what buddha said about the hot coals and be on your merry way, or stick around and debate a while, you may find it worth visiting even after you pass.
ps. for a non-troll legit poster, that was a bold 5th post.
This is a great thread with good points from everyone involved.
Itera is a board member here, so he has a duty to monitor the threads.
Itera seems like one of those guys that is smart, but just lacks a few social skills. I work with plenty of them. I like Itera’s honesty on this forum and you always know where you stand with him. He just wouldn’t be the guy I would grab drinks with.
I can understand why some people would prefer a “softer touch.” At the same time, in looking at the factual content of the things itera says (rather than the more subjective editorials), I think most of the time he makes good points and provides some much needed reality checks on the forum. For example, I have no problems with someone saying that the CFA, MBA, being a high school or college athlete, or some other random accomplishment isn’t the silver bullet to getting into the industry. In fact, when someone says that, he or she is absolutely right. As for the manner in which he or she says it…well…I guess it just depends. I’m not troubled because over time I’ve developed pretty thick skin, and some of the stuff being referenced seems part and parcel for the industry.
“Hello. My name is ‘Bill’. I’m a fulcrum.”
“Hi, Bill!”
While I don’t care for the way he delivers his message, I appreciate his message. I don’t bother reading the “Hello sir I have IT degree can I git hedge foond job with CFA?” threads anymore.
Perhaps he could inform people that there are a lot of hacksaw school people making a decent living working in sales or financial advisory, and while they’re not making 8 figure paychecks, some might consider them a success. And since there seem to be so many of these people in the world, getting the CFA charter might make them have a shot of advancing beyond their peers.
If you take AF away from Itera, you’ll take away the biggest part of him. OOOH ooh Ooh ooh ooh no baby please don’t go
I think it’s Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh… You don’t have to go oh oh oh oh oh.
This. One doesn’t necessarily need to go to Harvard or UTSA to have a successful career. There are lots of Texas A&M MBA grads who are doing just fine.
Holding a grudge is like drinking poisen in hopes the other person will get sick.
Yeaaaaahhhhhh, I knew there was more to you than the dour intellectual you portrayed yourself as 
Itera is awesome and his social skills are far far far far far greater than the fake negro from Zimbabwe
Damnit, i’ve got that song in my head now
Itera’s posts are generally just very blunt and to the point ( I prefer it this way too). Unfortunately, his pessimism is usually factually grounded and correct. For example, people might say you can get into Morgan Stanley with a good story and some finance skills but he’ll just tell you that your chances are likely less than 1% unless you have a good school, good gpa, interesting activities, and prior finance experience.
I don’t see his attitude as high and might at all. He’s just telling you the cold hard truth and if you can’t deal or aren’t willing to fight a truly uphill battle you don’t make the cut. I mean, there is a reason all the people on here working in decision making roles in finance are agreeing with him (myself included).
But whose version?
I don’t know…I think Itera is correct with regards to things like SS ER or the buyside, but there are a number of finance jobs outside of those selective fields that his comments may not apply to.
…the right stuff…
If I may paraphrase, “I’m just like Itera, and I agree with him.”
Well, no shit. I usually have similar opinions to other small, green Jedi masters who live on Dagobah, too.
That’s close but not as good as Buddhas. The problem is the coal can hurt others besides just you, but you’ll get hurt in the process. You intuitvely start to understand this when you meditate and become more mindful (Turd may get it now), because you realize how much harm you take to cause the harm. And you realize the collateral damage just isn’t worth it when your time left isn’t getting longer. And the less you hurt your psyche, the more incentive you have to stop picking up the coal in future events. It feeds on itself