Career Changer at 31: From Teaching to Finance

I taught secondary school maths for six years. I loved the subject but was burning out from the workload. When I decided to move into finance, people told me I was mad.

I completed a CFA Level 1 and a data analytics bootcamp, but recruiters still saw "teacher" on my CV and moved on. Four months, zero interviews in finance.

SUAR's CV Scanner showed me exactly why: my CV was structured like an education CV, not a finance one. The Job Matcher flagged an HSBC risk analyst role at 87% compatibility — I hadn't even considered banking.

The Interview Simulator drilled me on quantitative reasoning and behavioural questions specific to banking. I practised reframing my teaching experience: "I explained complex mathematical models to non-experts daily — that's exactly what a risk analyst does."

HSBC offered me the role after two rounds. My manager later told me my ability to communicate complex risk in plain English was why they chose me over candidates with finance degrees.