Before joining the program, I was stuck doing basic Excel work that anyone could handle. My models were slow, error-prone, and frankly embarrassing when senior management asked questions I couldn't answer.

The breakthrough came during month five when we built sensitivity models for semiconductor valuations. Suddenly, I understood how small changes in assumptions could completely alter investment decisions. My manager started asking me to review models from external advisors.

I thought I knew financial modeling from university, but I was building models that looked impressive but broke under scrutiny. The program's focus on bulletproofing models changed everything.

Learning Python integration was a game-changer. Instead of manually updating dozens of Excel cells every month, I built automated pipelines that pull data directly from financial databases. What used to take me two days now happens overnight.