Background

• Recent college grad, STEM major, extremely limited finance experience
• Looking to upskill in finance generally to increase my eligibility for finance jobs
  • Also interested in personal investing (beyond my index funds), so would be for that too
• Aiming for IB/ER/Consulting long term, with aspirations in PE/VC/PM

Questions

1. What practical utility does the CFA knowledge have?
   1. Would it give me enough finance knowledge to be considered a good candidate for the finance-related jobs mentioned above (both on the job and in interviews)?
   2. Is L1 enough to get a finance baseline, or is there a strong benefit to passing all 3 levels?
   3. Is there something I could do instead that would be better suited for my goals?
2. What jobs is the CFA actually good for?
   1. Why is it not good for IB? Is it that the CFA alone doesn't put you in a position to get an IB job or that the CFA topics are not at all useful for IB?
   2. I've seen multiple people say the CFA is good for PM/HF jobs but not IB. How does that work? I thought the standard PM/HF pipeline was IB->PE->PM/HF.

Tried to keep this short and organized. Thank you for any advice you're willing to give. I apologize for the naivety oozing out of this post, but I am really here to learn and eager to get into the world of finance!

nURM, KJD, 17High, 3.9High, no great softs (STEM major though)

I have HYS aspirations but would also take larger scholarships in the T14 or a full ride at a T25. If I don't get one of these outcomes, my plan is to get a job and work a couple of years before applying again. Is this a stupid plan? I have heard some people say you may get penalized for taking an approach like this, specifically because schools may penalize you for reapplying just because you didn't like the scholarships.

TL;DR: Is it ok to apply as a KJD, be picky with outcomes, and turn down offers to work for a couple of years before applying?