Hi Jason,
Nice article. I must admit the bitter truth of what you mentioned in your article as I learnt it in the hard way. I'm a book lover, but all these years I read only the fictions and novels which gave me the insight into understanding human nature but nothing relating to the economy or the industry.

I used to believe I would be able to excel in financial/ research analysis by just passing the exams. I was graduated with a Finance major and passed Level II of CFA (flunked Level III this time). My theoretical knowledge improved, i was able to apply most of what I learnt in my job as a corporate financial analyst, but, my market knowledge was very poor. I realized this only when I was rejected from many job interviews. I realized I need to improve my market and industry knowledge, which led me to read daily business news papers and give more attention to the world outside the text books (it is on one of those efforts I stumbled on your article too, as if it's a sign ;) ).

Your article was really helpful to realizes that it's still not too late to amend my mistakes and achieve my long term goals.

Thank You very much.