Our February 2026 CFA Level 1 batch included a college dropout, someone who quit his job and students who came from other institutes. Every one of them cleared, and they celebrated with a movie booked before the results came out. All of them moved on to our CFA Level 2 classes, and some have started careers in core finance.
For the past three years I have been training students at Skilledgrad. Some students leave marks. Some leave memories. This story is about the second kind.
The funny thing is, none of them were the “perfect candidate”.
- One was a college dropout.
- One quit his job and decided to bet on himself.
- A couple of them came to us after trying other institutes.
- Others landed here simply because someone they trusted told them, “Go talk to these people.”
No secret formula
No extraordinary backstory. No movie script. Just normal people dealing with normal problems. We did not do anything magical either. No secret formula. No motivational speeches at sunrise. No “success mindset” workshops.
We simply spent extra time together: studying, discussing, arguing over questions, worrying about results, and repeating the cycle.
Somewhere along the way, something unexpected happened. They cleared CFA Level 1, which explains why everyone is showing all 32 teeth in this picture.
From students to friends
The bigger surprise is that they stopped being students. They became friends. Now when I find time outside work, I catch up with them for a coffee, a meal, or a random conversation that has nothing to do with finance. I never imagined my job would involve hanging out with students like a college kid and genuinely enjoying it.
Today they are moving into the next phase of life. All of them made us start CFA Level 2 classes for them, and some have started their careers in core finance, like Bhavithran Babu, now a Junior Credit Research Analyst at Sundaram Alternates.
Students like these are rare. Not because they clear exams; plenty of people clear exams. They are rare because they remind you that education is not really about lectures, notes or question banks. It is about the people you meet while trying to survive them.
The movie night
This photo was taken outside AGS Cinemas on the night the CFA Level 1 results were announced. The movie plan was made well before the results. Not because they were confident. Exactly the opposite.
I booked the tickets knowing the probability. There was a genuine concern that if the results did not go well, a few people might suddenly develop a strong interest in staying at home, avoiding phone calls and disappearing from society for 48 hours.
The plan was simple: pass or fail, everyone is coming to the movie. If someone failed, I was mentally prepared to drag them out of their house, because I had already spent the ticket money. At the very least, I wanted them to experience disappointment in Dolby Atmos.
Fortunately, nobody had to be rescued. Everyone cleared. The theatre, however, was not as successful. It was a night show and the place was almost empty. Just us: a bunch of finance students screaming at every goosebumps scene as if the hero had personally helped us clear CFA Level 1.
One movie, one dinner, countless celebrations since. Passing CFA Level 1 turned out to be expensive, but worth every rupee.
This story was first shared by Sridharan M, Head of Academics & Placement at Skilledgrad, on LinkedIn. Read the original post.
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