.:i think i thought a thought:.

For those of you who know me, I am an engineer by qualification. I used to write code for a living, now I do more of systems and business analysis - which means I get to be involved at the early stages of the software development process and take higher level decisions on the system design and architecture. As much as coding is a delight, it can start to feel limiting if all you have to do is follow someone else’s high level design and write it in a language the computer can understand. So I’m happy I crossed the fence and got to the other side.

So you know I’m a techie with a natural analytical bent.

I live in London. Every since the beginning of the British empire, London has taken good advantage of its location (GMT) and its language. Thus, its become one of the main financial hubs in the world. I’ve been living in this city for more than 3 years now, and I obviously work here. I work in technology, however this is not the silicon valley - so it’s not really the heart of innovation and research. Technology exists in London for one simple purpose - to support the business achieve its goals.

If you thought the first paragraph was a bit out of context, and I haven’t really got to the point yet, then may be you are right. But may be by sheer coincidence, I am getting to a point now. ‘Technology exists to support business’ - I just said. But how many technologists understand business and what it takes? Well I’m sure there are a few, but I still have to see any who are really good on both sides.

Now there’s a challenge!

So my brave heart decides to delve into the world of business and understand what is it that goes on in the heads of the likes of my Charles Dunstone (my CEO) and all the people on the other side of the business/tech fence. I want to do this as an hobby - but still pursue it seriously.

The way I tell you this - is quite similar to what I was telling my friend in New York. And then he said the magic 3 letters. (No it’s not MBA - and it’s 1/20th the price). He suggested I register for this CFA exam. Level 1 to start off with. So I go to http://www.cfainstitute.org and find out what this is all about?

Their syllabus is so extensive. It covers economics, corporate finance, asset valuation (debt, equity, options, futures and derivatives), financial statement analysis. I heard all these terms and got hooked. At the end of it, atleast I will know what all these words mean! So I registered for some evening classes. Registered for the exam in early december.

It’s November first week now, one month for the exam. And since I decided to rejuvenate my blog today - there’s just one this to write about. Which is what was top of my mind. This is some kind of revelation into what a man will do in his quest for knowing a bit more. I took this on as a hobby and thought it will be fun. It was for the first few months (since August) - but now with the exam hanging over my head I keep telling myself to not let it take over all my mind space. I have work to do (which is hectic enough with a project go live in December), friends to see, beer to drink and a man-u v/s chelsea game to watch!

My advice to you - next time you think of taking up something exciting as a hobby - pick something like Salse classes. CFA is not for hobbyists - its a serious qualification. I must pass.

P.S. On the brighter side - I might share some of my interesting findings up here. I’ve so far covered Quant and FSA quite well. Delving into Economics and Portfolio Management next. In case anyone’s interested in understand GDP, supply/demand, monetary and fiscal policies etc - i might just post something here when i feel like. Which reminds me of one thing is learnt yday - A recession is a period when REAL GDP falls for more that 2 successive quarters. Call that a thought for the day!