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WorldSeriesX

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I am leaning towards taking the dec. 2006 L1 while taking 3 fnce/actg courses in university from sept-dec. I am concerned this will be an overload of financial info in such a short period. I am taking port. mgmt, derivatives,tax strategies (fnce major). At the same time, I am thinking this may be helpful as a lot of the material is relevant to CFA. With about 4 months of study time available and courses,mid terms, and exams to study for, (I will be working very minimal, about 9hrs per week) would you recommend this? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
 
Sure, go for it.

Some of us here work about 40-60 hours a week and took the exam. Since your work is minimal, you can spend more time with classes and CFAI. However, I do hope you like studying.
 
Even though you can handle it, if you're in school, my advice would to go out, get hammered, have the time of your life on a daily basis and forget about the CFA until after you graduate. There'll be plenty of time to take the exam once you enter "the real world."

Make the most of life while you can still afford to wake up at noon everyday.
 
Thanx Houston

I think the problem lies more in the amount of material as a whole. The time contraints are not much of an issue but there comes a point when you just cannot fill that brain with any more knowledge...and this is my concern. I am concerned about the quality of my study and less so about the quantity. When working full time, you are not usually learning vast amounts of knowledge on a daily basis (unless a new hire) so picking up a text book at the end of the day seems easier to me; although this could depend highly on the position. On the other hand, during school you have to learn lots of info and picking up CFA material after may be a difficult task.
 
I agree, but the classes you are taking (derivatives & port) are helpful in studying for the CFA.

I do agree with rockny. There's no need to rush. If your still taking undergrad classes, focus on graduating with a good GPA and try to get into this market, then worry about CFA. However, if you really are set on taking it in Dec, then it is doable. Very hard, but doable. Of course, it really boils down to how well you study and your strategies.
 
After 4 years of of university, 1 year of work, a fortune in student debt...getting drunk and waking up at noon isn't exactly a priority to me. been there, done that.
 
Acounting courses-financial and mgmt. FSA is second semester jan-may along with port mgmt 2. If I choose this route, hopefully I will be taking lvl 2 in june.
 
@WorldSeriesX I wanted to take the same approach like you, but I realized that if I did,I will loss 50 pounds out of my already existing 120 pounds :-) � The gist is that taking those major courses is enough work load to deal with. Taking into consideration the various group works, the various papers you have to hand in, and not to talk about the various midterms, exams, and annoying electives.

I am not saying it not doable, but its hard enough to focus on ones major courses not to talk of adding the CFA syllabus to your schedule again.

Remember, the CFA does not only encompass finance courses but also some economics and ethics�
 
Sugar,

I would only be taking three courses all together for the first semester and I believe these courses do not involve group work/papers, only 3 tests per course. I figure 9 hours class per week, avg 10 hours class study per week, and 20 hours CFA per week. Throw in the odd day of work and I am only looking at about 50 hours per week. Plenty of time to enjoy life in the mean time.
 
Mate, you have definitely done your calculations in relation to your time.. Give the exam a shot. You have less workload in your last year of university; you have a great chance of doing good.. Good luck mate�
 
WorldSeriesX,

You seem to have answered your own question anyway but, don't forget that no matter how much you load on your plate to cram through the exams now, you still need your years of exp to get the letters anyway. It will be nice to have the exams out of the way but even if you polish the three off in the next 22 months, you'll still be waiting another couple of years for the experience to catch up.

If you don't know some programming or modeling, that might be something you'd want to put some time into if you are set on going above and beyond your program at this point. 1 exam and VBA might do more for you short term than 2 exams.

Not trying to lead you one way or another. Just some thoughts from someone that was in your shoes. Either way, you will be way ahead of your fellow grads come next June.

I've been there done that on the drinking and sleeping till noon also. But, what would I give to have a month or so of it now.
 
Thanx Ez.

I have been looking into doing some modeling and VBA. I do some in my current job but it is not very in depth. I will be required to learn some of this is my classes. Eazy, did you take the test while in school? If you don't mind me asking, how did it go? BTW, I have decided to go for it! I am a little nervous but excited at the same time. I think I perform better under pressure. So wish me luck! To anyone who really cares, I will let you know how the process goes.
 
I didn't do it while in school. I took a year after uni and went backpacking and dove in afterwards. Honestly it was probably harder to find a job after a year off than it would have been had I looked straight out of school. I'll know in five or ten years if delaying the process and going on an adventure hurt my career. In my last three jobs, I have been a year or two older than most of the people I started with but, I have moved along faster than them so it probably all balances out. I'm probably about the same spot I would have been, just with more blips on the c.v. For now, I'm happy with the way things worked out. What I lost by starting late, I probably picked up in other skills by delaying.

I'm glad to hear that your program has modeling and VBA. Too many programs aren't applicable to what you do early in your career.

Best of luck on the exam and in school. Let us know how you make out.
 
come on now, aren't we all passed that "I've been there done that on the drinking and sleeping till noon" phase?
 
Hey WorldSeriesX,

I am doing the exact Same thing!

CFA and 3 Courses, 9 Hours of Class per week

But my strategy is a little different, I plan to put in around 150-200 in just the month of sept. and I plan to put another 100 in Oct, and in Novemeber I will try to put 100. atleast 350-400 hours of Prepartion.

I am entering in my third year in University, my undergrad is Honours Economics, with Double Concentration in Accounting & Financial Management, I have also completed a a derivative course, fundamental/technical analysis, and I have my Mutual Fund's Licsense.

I am currently working at an Investment Management/Mutual Fund Company, as a Internal Auditor (its an Internship). I like it alot because it incorporates both accounting and finance fundamentals,

I have bought the schweser books... I have somewhat- completed the Corporate Finance Book. like I wanna finish atleast a quarter of the material by the begining of sept.

the main reason why i decided to pursue this path, is becasue my degree (I live in Canada) is set -up in a way in which i have Coop terms or Internships.I am in my first work term right now! and next term when i go back and apply to more jobs, I will be a CFA Level 1 Candidate, and if i hopefully pass! it will give me the comparative/comptitive advantage againest people my age to score a sick job (internship) their's alot of good job postings even I-Banking jobs, this is my main incentive, but also taking in consideration it is a very difficult exam! and I will never have this much time to study for level 1 ever! if you get an I-Banking Job after you graduate, your gonna work soo many hours you wont be able to spend time! time which I think is the most important factor!

Right now I work 40-45 hours a week, and I am currently taking 3 University Level courses, Philoshopy, Finance 1 and Finance 2. I study about 30 hours a week. I have good time management and organizational skills but I am not a smart guy I am willing to put as much effort and time required but I dont neccessaryliy get A's this is my biggest disadvantage for the CFA-1, I am already 3 courses ahead of my program so if i take a lighter course load next term it doesnt even put me behind my program, which is good.


Basically I think It is very POSSIBLE! and for sure theirs much more BENEFITS > then COSTS in doing the CFA-1 in your undergrad it symbolizes ambition & willingness to work hard also it gives you an up-hand...

take care & good-luck
Eiraj
 
CFA 1 and college seem quite doable. For myself, I'm trying to get as much studying done during the summer break as possible. During the school year, the majority of my studying will be practice exams and maybe some last minute Secret Sauce to refresh my memory on important concepts.

However, please don't neglect life outside of work. While only a college student with an internship, I find myself much more motivated to study/work after enjoying myself for a day or two.


Best of Luck
 
CFA teach you how to deal with people? Lots of people out there in the world ya know =)
 
WorldSeriesX,

I have taken level I while studying at university and you�ll find pros and cons:

+ Lot of synergies regarding the stuff, recruiters will deem you serious about pursing a career in Finance, something that I have found essential due to the current competitiveness.

- You can get burned out and / or find out that you are not going to take advantage of the "CFA edge" should you end up working on sth different from ER, IM and the like.

Bottom line: what the hell, go for it!

"Luck does not exist, but merely likelihoods"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Sunday, July 16, 2006 at 03:58PM by AAA.
 
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