<b>If anyone is <i>truly</i> interested in mastering finance, then <i>the only way is through the CFA Curriculum.</i></b> No you don't need to be sponsored. You can take the tests no matter where you are in life, but to actually obtain the charter requires 4 years of actual work experience as a financial professional described in the curriculum as able to affect trading and value adding decision making. I would say that the CFA curriculum is as complete as it gets. Only 1 in five entering will be able to complete it. It'll change your life if you do, though. Hell, just by me passing Level I I've gotten an interview on every financial services position I've applied to. Haven't ever found one that would allow me to continue my independent investment advising business, but I think that's beside the point. We could have worked something out.
I can appreciate a course more structured to risk management, but that's also a curriculum variant already available from the CFA Institute.
In my experience, all that's required to succeed is pursuing a legimate financial education. This does not include community colleges with plug and chug. This would include an actual degree in finance, financial economics as I have, or economics. No other degree will help you understand modern global financial markets more than these degrees. Couple that with a couple years of screen time and the ability to write computer programs, and it's just a matter of time before you find what works. The Financial Engineering degree programs are challenging to say the least, but I've not seen an undergrad program for it.
I think the only issue I have with a "Trading Curriculum" centers more around calculating leverage than anything. Knowing leverage means you know your risk, and is absolutely how you can distinguish a charlatan from an actual trader that cares about their money.