Would you re-take for the 7thtime?

I am a CPA/MBA working in valuation, doing CFA for continuing education, L2-retaker, but won’t take again if fail, not worth it unless one works in ER or AM, have learned a lot though.
 
I freaking admire you! Props to you and your supernatural persistence!
You say that you know most of the curriculum by heart, but i think you should what you what you should know by heart should be the answers to mock and practice exams. One guy i know (who is pretty damn smart) also knew the CFAI theory by heart, he could state every single formula perfectly yada yada yada. But he lacked in exam practice (he only took 1 mock) and he failed in his first attempt scoring >50% on each topic. For his second one, he only bothered reading the new LOS changes material, but otherwise, he focused +90% of his time doing practice exams and memorizing the answers to every single question. He claims he took more than 12 different exams, at least twice each. When he re took the actual L2 exam again, he scored +70% on every topic. So i would argue: forget the theory, expose yourself to massive amount of questions, and memorize every single freaking answer to the point of getting +95% grades on mock/practice exams that you are retaking. And remember that starting on 2014, you will be able to take L2 both in June and in December.
“”Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!”” Rocky Balboa
 
Given that most of the replies are from current candidates, I am not surprised the responses are heavily in favor to keep going. As a candidate, people are heavily invested in the process and likely biased to the rah!rah! keep going! never-say-die! mindset (L3 has a big section on biases)
you say on your 2nd fail, you were out of FO job. That means it happened at least 4 years ago. At this point, it means you’ve been doing something else for 5+ years now.
If you are still currently in AM / ER or a job that the CFA has direct value for, I would suggest continuing.
Other than that, I would still recommend moving on.
Someone above is correct about sunk cost, the past is over and you should forget about it. but seriously consider the future value, and L3 will be even more difficult.
 
Only you can answer this question really. But if you’re studying hard there is no reason why it should take you more than 2 or 3 attempts to clear this. I’m a retaker (failed band 8 last year) and feel much much more confident about the material this year. That said there is still alot I didn’t know on certain parts of the exam, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I need one last attempt to clear it (particulary the smaller sections as these really make or break you).
 
I think it really sucks that you lost your job because of failing this exam, it’s not completely right but probably ok because you’re in Russia - but you’ve moved on and are still in the industry. Foremost your positive attitude and dedication to this is very admirable.
I did L2 with CFAI books as well - it was tedious but after doing all the EOC’s at least twice, I felt prepared for the exam. L3 is totally different - I hate to be a downer about this but if you can’t adapt your concepts to questions you’re going to have an even tough time with that level. It will tickle your brain muscles in ways that are not mechanical like L2 is. Writing it 6 times and reviewing the same material over and over again has probably made you more able to memorize the answers by rote more than help strengthen your understanding and application of the material. If you cannot adapt those answers to the exam questions, you won’t succeed at this. I would take some time to focus on your job, your wife and children and not stress about this exam. Enjoy your time before the results, and give it one more shot if you:
a)Change your nickname, 5 fails is a huge psychological burden already, you need to get past this. Dropping this psychological load and building confidence in yourself is your first requirement. Without confidence in yourself, it’s hard to succeed at anything
b) Understand WHY you are not getting the exam result you want - you mentioned you have memorized all the formulas - the issue is clearly that you cannot apply the concept. You need to explain to yourself WHY you are adjusting so and so formula and HOW it affects the end result.
c) ask yourself if there’s still a long term benefit to writing this exam. I don’t know about you but here, so many people have passed L2 that it’s no longer a real differentiator in my city. Will it improve you and your family’s life? Is this purely a personal challenge? Both are acceptable and worthy causes, but not if it affects your other priorities.
Good luck, and your writing is excellent for someone who has not written much in English.
 
Well, when I look on my situation now… really speaking, I do not see myself doing it. I know that the next year there will be another fail. And after the next year there will be one more. I know that inside myself now. And I am not depressed, really, I went through a tough depression after my 3d fee donation. I am calm, really. I understand that practically my failure means I am not for the investment profession. ok, the investment profession is not for everyone, success does not come without failure of somebody else so by my failing I gave a way to another guy who will be better then me in the field. ok.
the reason i still consider to stay is i am feeling my failure as a part of me… like a scar on my hand… like a hump. i want to get rid of a hump, but i do not know how i can do it.
and i feel, fisically, the change of reaction of everyone who knows me. it changed from support (till the third fail) to humor (up to 5th) and now to sarcastic.
i wrote it from tablet computer without spell checker, sorry for typos.
 
You absolutely don’t need a CFA to be successful in the investment profession. Just look at all the billionaires out there that don’t have it. You may need it to get a foot in the door if you have no connections though. I outperform CFA charterholders in my job (equity research) and I have failed L2 three times now. Mobility is tough without it, but if you can get your foot in the door somehow and then are smart and can do the job then it’s not a big deal whether you have it or not. Make a PM some money with some names and they generally won’t give an isht about the CFA exam.
I didn’t have any connections to get my job in the first place, more of just lucky timing (took over when my firm had turnover right before the recession) and doing well out of the gates (outperformed really well during the recession and afterwards) when I started and if I hadn’t had that happen then I may be doing some other job today.
 
My rule of thumb would be two times at any level = give up. If you didn’t even try then maybe don’t count that, but if you put in two very sincere efforts then I’d quit.
 
KSTHANE wrote:
Wait, they’re going to start offering L2 twice?
Click to expand...
No its an April fool joke. The poster who indicated that this was the truth should re-read the question before answering…
 
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