Huh. Too bad it's finance. Is there anyone in a non-parasitic industry still paying that kind of money for assembly coding? Maybe I should get back into it. I always loved the low-level world, anyway.
General advice for deeply technical consulting: you need to have a lot of deep practical experience in a few specific areas and you'll generally need to hit the ground running no matter what project you're dropped into and rapidly start generating corresponding value for the client. And expect to be continuously fighting off offers of permanent employment once you start picking up work.
That's why I tell people who want to be rich or powerful to master people skills, maintain right image, go to right schools, get the right connections, and deal/negotiate their way to top manager by manger, boardroom by boardroom.
(I'm not criticizing your conclusion, just your argument)
Oh grow up