CFA work experience requirement

[CFA168HL]

I have a general question, and I hope some one can clarify it for me. I read that one of the requirement for CFA Charter is to have at least 4 years of working experience (related to investment). My quesion is, does CFAI start to count your working experience after you register level I or join the society?
For instance, if I took level I last week, but I been working in the field for more than 6 years. Assuming that I pass level II in June 2013, and level III in Jun 2014, am I eligible to apply for charter immediately after I pass level III (since, by then, I would have worked more almost 8 years) or I have to wait until, say Dec 2016, 4 years after Level I is passed, to apply?
Thanks in advance!
Hung

 

[bchadwick]

You can have the experience at any time. So if you had 4 years of relevant experience, lost your job, did all three levels while unemployed or working at McDonalds, you could still become a charterholder right after passing Level III (plus a month or two while CFAI goes through the paperwork and adminstrative stuff).

 

[shaharyar]

Yes. I experience can be before or after. But the experience must fit into the criteria that is demanded by the CFAI.