One-year plan to pass this exam

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It’s been a couple of years since I’ve written CFA. I’m very excited about writing level 2 exam next year. I work full time for a bank in a very busy job so I can’t prepare like a student.
If you could start today for the exam how would you design your plan? Would you read curriculum book for few topics?
 
First search all the existing threads. There is plenty of useful information that you need, in existing threads.
 
I would say stick with whatever prep provider you are using (Bloomberg for you?) and keep watching those videos, read textbooks, and do the end of chapter/test bank questions.
Even if you have 1 hour a day in total, always incorporate some time doing problems - I basically studied 3 hours a day for 4 months, biggest regret is that I should have done actual problems at a much earlier time and put more weight in it.
 
I was working full time plus taking one graduate course when I was preparing for L2. I started in mid January, my routine is as follow,
Wake up at 4AM, study for 2 hours, then go to work.
After work, I try to study for at least an hour.
Take Saturdays off, and study full-time on Sundays.
I got the cheapest package from Schweser (still around $600), I think they call it Essential? I never touched the books provided by CFAI. At around late May, I was running out of questions to practice, so I got IFT mocks and Konvexity mocks. I did not know about Mark Meldrum when I was taking L2, but MM’s L3 mocks are amazing. So, maybe try it for L2?
I think the most important part is never try to cramp a bunch of difficult topics into one day of studying. Also, plan your time wisely. I ran into a problem last year which I finished studying the material early, and I began to forget stuff as I ran through mocks.
Good luck!
 
I just wrote level 2 and it was brutal. I will have to re write and will be switching to ift world. They trick is to get through all the material and do alot of problems. Bloomberg prep is crap. Used it and that is one of the reasons I probably failed. I also purchased Mark Meldrum too. I have his 2019 package. I am going to use IFT.
 
Focus on the heavier topics and get them out of the way early. For level 2 they are Equity and FRA, followed by FI and Derivatives. If you’re solid on these topics, you’re in good shape. This obviously doesn’t mean you should skip the others (specially Ethics), but you should have a very strong base in those four topics and I’d start there. Read the CFAI books, make your notes, do all the BB and EOCs, then the TTs. Update your notes every time you make a mistake. Review the notes from time to time to keep them fresh in your memory.
 
sig wrote:
I got the cheapest package from Schweser (still around $600), I think they call it Essential?
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I’m sorry but my experience with Schweser for level 2 was extremely negative. The notes aren’t much shorter than the CFAI books, and if you’re going to spend that much time reading Schwesernotes, you might as well read from the source material.
I would recommend video lectures. I used IFT for level 2 and Arif’s explanations were not only very clear and helpful, he also threw in his opinion on what’s important and critical versus what’s “only if you want to be super diligent”.
 
I’m in a similar position. This is my first post in over 5 years.
I passed Level I on my first attempt in 2013, but then failed Level II the following year due to a poor effort. At the time, I was putting in long hours at the office on a special project and proving capable of managing that project for 3 years really helped solidify my career. My job demands have since subsided greatly (but I’ve also added a kid). Realistically, I know I can only study about 1.5 hours per day by getting up early. I’ll take a few vacation days for mocks as the exam approaches. My study plan is pretty simple:
1) Start Early
2) Put in the Hours
3) Emphasize Problem Work
 
ofthedivision17 wrote:
I’m in a similar position. This is my first post in over 5 years.
I passed Level I on my first attempt in 2013, but then failed Level II the following year due to a poor effort. At the time, I was putting in long hours at the office on a special project and proving capable of managing that project for 3 years really helped solidify my career. My job demands have since subsided greatly (but I’ve also added a kid). Realistically, I know I can only study about 1.5 hours per day by getting up early. I’ll take a few vacation days for mocks as the exam approaches. My study plan is pretty simple:
1) Start Early
2) Put in the Hours
3) Emphasize Problem Work
Click to expand...
+1
 
Tactics wrote:
Focus on the heavier topics and get them out of the way early. For level 2 they are Equity and FRA, followed by FI and Derivatives. If you’re solid on these topics, you’re in good shape. This obviously doesn’t mean you should skip the others (specially Ethics), but you should have a very strong base in those four topics and I’d start there. Read the CFAI books, make your notes, do all the BB and EOCs, then the TTs. Update your notes every time you make a mistake. Review the notes from time to time to keep them fresh in your memory.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the suggestion!
 
For derivatives, go with Mark Meldrum.Forget the curriculum. The author should be burned at a stake.
 
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