u/ShortAd6128

I’ve been refining my valuation process lately, but I’m curious to see how the rest of the community approaches "Intrinsic Value."

Currently, my workflow relies on three main pillars:

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF): I use a 5-10 year projection window. However, I struggle with picking a realistic terminal growth rate—do you guys stick to the risk-free rate or something more conservative?

Free Cash Flow (FCF) Yield: I find this more reliable than looking at net income, especially for CAPEX-heavy industries.

P/E Ratios: Mostly for a "sanity check" against industry peers to see if my DCF output is in another galaxy.

I’m currently in my 4th semester of Accounting & Finance, and honestly, I feel extremely disconnected from what university is teaching versus what the real world actually values.

Most of my classes are pure theory. For example, this semester we’re studying auditing, but it’s mostly memorizing definitions and classifications for exams. After months of lectures, I genuinely feel like I haven’t built a single practical skill from it.

At the same time, outside university, I’ve been teaching myself:

Financial Modeling

DCF Valuation

Regression Analysis

Power BI & Tableau

Advanced Excel

QuickBooks

Python for financial/data analysis

Recently, I even built a small software project using Python and anomaly detection techniques like Isolation Forest to identify unusual financial patterns in datasets.

That project alone taught me more about analytical thinking and problem-solving than months of theoretical lectures.

I’m not saying theory is useless, but I feel like I’m wasting huge amounts of time just preparing for exams instead of learning how finance and analytics actually work in real companies.

I’ve tried applying for internships, but most never reply, probably because I don’t have experience yet.

What I’m really looking for is guidance from someone experienced in:

Financial Analysis

FP&A

Data Analytics

Corporate Finance

Financial Modeling

Audit/Data Automation

I don’t want shortcuts. I genuinely want someone who can:

review my work

point out mistakes

guide me toward industry-level thinking

help me bridge the gap between university and real-world finance

If anyone here has advice, mentorship suggestions, communities, remote opportunities, or even criticism, I’d seriously appreciate it.

I’m willing to put in the work. I just don’t want my growth to stagnate in endless theory. 📈

I’m currently in my 4th semester of Accounting & Finance, and honestly, I feel extremely disconnected from what university is teaching versus what the real world actually values.

Most of my classes are pure theory. For example, this semester we’re studying auditing, but it’s mostly memorizing definitions and classifications for exams. After months of lectures, I genuinely feel like I haven’t built a single practical skill from it.

At the same time, outside university, I’ve been teaching myself:

- Financial Modeling

- DCF Valuation

- Regression Analysis

- Power BI & Tableau

- Advanced Excel

- QuickBooks

- Python for financial/data analysis

Recently, I even built a small software project using Python and anomaly detection techniques like Isolation Forest to identify unusual financial patterns in datasets.

That project alone taught me more about analytical thinking and problem-solving than months of theoretical lectures.

I’m not saying theory is useless, but I feel like I’m wasting huge amounts of time just preparing for exams instead of learning how finance and analytics actually work in real companies.

I’ve tried applying for internships, but most never reply, probably because I don’t have experience yet.

What I’m really looking for is guidance from someone experienced in:

- Financial Analysis

- FP&A

- Data Analytics

- Corporate Finance

- Financial Modeling

- Audit/Data Automation

I don’t want shortcuts. I genuinely want someone who can:

- review my work

- point out mistakes

- guide me toward industry-level thinking

- help me bridge the gap between university and real-world finance

If anyone here has advice, mentorship suggestions, communities, remote opportunities, or even criticism, I’d seriously appreciate it.

I’m willing to put in the work. I just don’t want my growth to stagnate in endless theory. 📈