How Damini Heera advanced her career with Achievable SIE

As a part of our series highlighting Achievable users and their backgrounds, I had the pleasure of interviewing Damini Heera.

What was your background prior to taking the SIE?

Prior to taking the SIE, I was on track to attend dental school. I took all the necessary prerequisite courses to apply for dental school, took the Dental Admissions Test, got my Masters of Science, and also was offered an interview at a dental school. But life has a funny way of working out. During my master’s program, I decided to get an emphasis in entrepreneurship and I quickly realized, I am a much better entrepreneur than I am a scientist.

In my personal statement, I wrote “happiness is contagious, and it makes the world shine a little bit more. Not only that, but a smile is a part of the human identity and I want to apply my passion for helping spirits and bettering the community one smile at a time.” My purpose is still the same. I want to help make the sun shine a little bit brighter, and entrepreneurship allows me to do this, but on a bigger playing field.

Getting to terms with that realization was quite honestly, the most difficult decision I made. But I am fortunate and so lucky to have the support of the most brilliant and encouraging professors, colleagues and family.

What's your current role/focus now that you've passed the exam?

Now that I’ve passed my SIE, I’m currently studying for the Series 7 exam. I did not go with the Achievable Series 7 top off program, only because the program wasn’t created yet. Because of that, I chose to go with another company, and personally Achievable by far was a better investment for me and my study needs.

Once I pass my Series 7, I’ll be studying for the Series 66 exam and hopefully, Achievable is working on building a study program for the 66.

Achievable really did make studying fun. The words were understandable and I didn’t need to grab YouTube or Investopedia to decipher finance terminology. And, most importantly with Achievable, I was able to paint a picture and curate a story. It just made sense.

The other company that I’m using to study Series 7, I am really struggling with. The words are there, but I’m just not able to completely understand the picture which is stressing me out.

What are your career or life goals?

My career goal is to disrupt healthcare, particularly the dental insurance industry. I have spent the last eight years of my life fully immersing myself in dentistry and learning about the science and the artistry of practicing dentistry. But what I realized is that there is a discrepancy between care, cost, and quality. I’m hoping to create an affordable solution that will hopefully change the standard of care.

My ultimate life goal is to make an impact on millions of lives. I don’t know if I want to help with the brain drought in developing countries or help women in those same nations get out of poverty, or help with regulating and eventually dismantling the human trafficking industry. At the end of the day, I want to make someone’s life that much more beautiful. I want to give light and love to people.

The best is yet to come and I am so excited for the future ahead of me.

What do you consider to be your greatest personal or professional achievement?

Not being an expert in anything might be my greatest strength. Even though I spent a good majority of my college life studying the sciences, I am by no means an expert in science. I also got my bachelor’s in economics, but honestly, I just don’t know enough. And because I’m so new to finance and insurance, I’m a blank canvas. I have so much potential to learn and because I’m entering the field without previous knowledge and biases, and that should be intimidating.

Not knowing enough will always be my greatest achievement because it simply means, I have more to learn and more room to grow. Once, I start getting comfortable, that’s when I’ll start worrying.

Any tips for future SIE takers?

Yes! Do not overcomplicate options. They are incredibly intimidating and ever so confusing upon first glance but take it one sentence at a time and don’t forget to watch supplementary videos to help and it will just make sense.

I also am a firm believer that most things in life shouldn’t be so complicated and human nature likes to make things easy to understand. It might be difficult in the moment, but just take a step back to look at the bigger picture and understand that. Once you understand the bigger picture, then the little details will just make sense and you’ll realize how that one complicated topic, actually isn’t that complex.

Also, don’t neglect taking practice exams. Practice, practice, practice. Practice enough so that the nerves go away. Practice enough so that you build confidence with yourself. And you will get there. Trust me, if I can pass the securities exam without much finance background, so can you.

Thank you for taking the time to share your story!