Andreas42

i’d say the 60-100k range is pretty average and is attainable by almost anybody with the CFA charter over their lifetime. BUT, in addition to that 60-100k, you get to manage your portfolio at a professional level versus having to pay for it had you chosen another field. take 1-1.5% mgmt fee over 60 years and you’ve got plenty in additional unrealized income. plus, you have the opportunity of discovering investments that would otherwise go undiscovered and the opportunity to make crazy alpha that you would otherwise be unable to make.
personally, i enjoy finance content over sciences content. i’ve been doing TVofM calcs in my head since i was 12 just for the fun of it. i can be a blabbermouth so i need to be in either finance or law versus the sciences or tech, and finance involves much less study than law. i chose the CFA route because i enjoy it. CFAs may aim to make more than 100k, but very few do or will make much more than 100k. this is especially true in the “new normal”.
CFA makes you much more employable than some biology MS. going the CFA route is incredibly cost effective for the job opportunities it creates. at least i’m not an accountant.