365 Days: Embrace the Chaos, Says Khayr Barry of Bloomberg LP

Originally posted on Bloomberg.com

When we last caught up with Barry, we could barely keep up. Since his start at Bloomberg’s ADSK mid-January, he’s found his strength as an equities specialist, a specialization which he’ll start training for in the next few months.

“My favorite part,” Barry says about his job, “is when I speak to clients over the phone and I assist them with a certain function, or walk them through a problem they can’t figure out. When I provide a solution and then hear their voice light up–that’s the most rewarding part.”

Barry’s got the job, found his niche, and puts a twinkle in his client’s eye. Time to relax, right? Not so fast.

Making the Sacrifice

Barry thinks bigger. Barry thinks riskier. And Barry thinks becoming a CFA is the next big risk to take. He’ll be taking the test this December.

“I feel like I’m at a stage in life where I need to sacrifice to really get to where I want to be,” says Barry.

The test requires a commitment of at least 300 hours of studying, but Barry knows how to limit his distractions. He’s meeting his quota by minimizing socialization during the week, and by studying in the morning before and in the evening after work.

“It’s just about being good about utilizing every minute of my day, not letting any of my time go to anything that is not fruitful for my studies,” Barry says.

“Last time we spoke we talked about running the Paris marathon,” Barry says, “and I told you that when I got into the whole marathon thing I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but eventually it taught me a lot. I feel like the same concept applies with taking the CFA. Just do it.”

But Just Doing it is Hard!

“It’s definitely harder,” admits Barry about his workflow, now that he’s getting the more difficult questions that come along with his emerging subject matter expertise. And with coworkers also in training, at times Barry is left to fill the same gaps that he’ll leave when he trains to be an equity specialist. He also says that the more responsibility he has taken on, the higher his confidence rises in his role.

Are you struggling to juggle it all? Using all your genie wishes to add more hours to the day? Barry might recommend that you embrace the chaos instead.

“The only way to really grow is to come face-to-face with difficulties,” he says. “If you’re getting hammered with questions from left to right, it makes you confront those difficulties. It’s the only way to learn.”

His advice is as salient as it is simple: “Be ready. Commit from day one.”

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We’ll check in with Barry in a few more months – stay tuned!

By Brittany Baker who works in Employee Communications