thinking of taking CFA exam

W

Wanna be a CFA

New member
Joined
Sep 7, 2006
Messages
0
Reaction score
0
hello everyone,

I'm thinking of taking a CFA exam next year. I am very new to this field. What got me interested in CFA is that I always found finance area to be challenging and fascinating.

But it seems that the exam (all three parts) is very very difficult to pass. And the ones that pass all three parts must be genius and usually take 7-8 years to pass em all.

Just how difficult is it and what were the obstacles you had to overcome?
I got my B.S. in Accounting a little more than 10 years ago. And although I took some basic economics and finance courses, I find it quite intimidating about CFA exam.

I wasn't too strong in statistics and economics in school (although I passed them all).
I want hear from people that actually took or taking the exam. Your honest feedback would be greatly appreciated.

One more question, I know that most of CFA candidates are in their 20s. How do you think of passing all CFA exam at middle age? Do you think it can be a great career move? Or do you think it's too late?

Thanks again.
 
"And the ones that pass all three parts must be genius and usually take 7-8 years to pass em all."

If someone takes 7-8 years to finish, I think it is safe to say you can rule out the genius part.
 
i was told that that is the average time it takes for most candidates.

well, how long did it take for you to pass all three parts? and how difficult was it?
 
There are oodles of people on this forum that took 3 exams and passed 3 exams (and studied drunk for 20 minutes while watching football and were pregnant each year).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Thursday, September 7, 2006 at 03:03PM by JoeyDVivre.
 
You certainly don't need to be a genius. Its all about how much time you put into it. The people who don't put the time in and take it too lightly are usually the ones who don't pass.
 
Don't sell it short either though guys. There haev been some smart folks to tap out after failing a few exams. It's not a walk in the park by any means. It's not splitting the atom either though. I think the CFAI says 4+ years is the average.
 
hey JoeyDVivre,

did you study drunk too? and just for 20 minuntes? and passed all three in three years?

thanks for your honest answer. it surely helps.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Thursday, September 7, 2006 at 03:36PM by Wanna be a CFA.
 
did you study drunk too?

- yes

3x3

- yes


but I�ve never been pregnant
 
I recommend german wheat beer when studying accounting !
 
Wanna be a CFA Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> hey JoeyDVivre,
>
> did you study drunk too?

for short periods of time

>and just for 20 minuntes?

no

> and passed all three in three years?

Yes

>
> thanks for your honest answer. it surely helps.

always try to help

Oh - and I was 39 minus a few days when I finished.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Thursday, September 7, 2006 at 06:17PM by JoeyDVivre.
 
7~8 years, refer to ppl got their charter awarded?

coz if you take work exp into account....maybe.

else. 3 test = 3 years, the normal 1.5 buffer time. would be 4.5~5 years?

if you are experienced accountant, it will help you to nail big part of the exam = FSA.

I agree, it's more a how much time you put in how much you are awarded kind of program. there are some odd case, but in general, this should always be the case.
 
Wanna be a CFA Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> But it seems that the exam (all three parts) is
> very very difficult to pass. And the ones that
> pass all three parts must be genius and usually
> take 7-8 years to pass em all.

You don't need to be a genius, you just need a lot of time! I went 3 for 3. Dec for L1, Jun next year for L2 and then next year for L3. L2 was pretty brutal.

> Just how difficult is it and what were the
> obstacles you had to overcome?
> I got my B.S. in Accounting a little more than 10
> years ago. And although I took some basic
> economics and finance courses, I find it quite
> intimidating about CFA exam.

I have an engineering background. I studied a little bit of economics at high school. You are miles ahead of me. If I managed it, so can you.

> I wasn't too strong in statistics and economics in
> school (although I passed them all).
> I want hear from people that actually took or
> taking the exam. Your honest feedback would be
> greatly appreciated.

You only need to be able to add, subtract, multiply, divide, log, exp()... high school stuff. And you have a calculator to help you.

> One more question, I know that most of CFA
> candidates are in their 20s. How do you think of
> passing all CFA exam at middle age? Do you think
> it can be a great career move? Or do you think
> it's too late?

There are plenty of people I saw in the exam that are mid-30s or 40s. If you have a terminal illness with a life expectancy of < 3 years - then you are too late.

> Thanks again.

Good luck!
 
Well good luck to you.
I am 42 and have engineering plus mba, mba about 14 years old by now.
So I did L1 and L2 (2/2 so far so good) and had a lot of fun doing it.
The big "worry" was FSA as I bombed it in L1. Put in some decent effort in L2 and FSA was tops. With your Acc background I think you have an advantage in L1 and L2.

My biggest problem as a geriatric student is the physical side of the process. At home I need my Airon chair to keep my back intact, yet at the test center the facilities were diabolical. The 200+ hours needed for each of L1 and L2 are in my opinion very neccessary for us geriatrics, there is no point in taking shortcuts anyway, as I assume you are doing this at least partly for the rejuvenation of knowledge and frameworks, rather than for another badge on your hat?

Go for it !
 
the cfa takes around 4 -4.5 years on average and is a big time committment. also, it is not something most kids out of college do....my experience has been that most of the people are closer to 30 than to 20
 
the cfa takes around 4 -4.5 years on average and is a big time committment. also, it is not something most kids out of college do....my experience has been that most of the people are closer to 30 than to 20
 
very true byebye, when the exams are taken closer to 30 it is more likely to have the experience accrued to get charter.

If the test is taken right after college, even if one passes, still need to wait a few years to gain related work experience and charter. Work experience req is 4 years now.
 
I've just passed lvl 3 and got three from three but it wasn't easy. Studied harder for lvl 2 (which I only just scrapped through) then for any other exam in my life. However, I'm certainly no genuis. I have been working in IB for about 4 yrs though so maybe that made it easier but I don't think it made it significantly so.

The difficulty in the course stems from the volume, not the content. Good luck, but I'd be surprised if you got through studying drunk and watching football though. I wish I could've done that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top