Started level 1 back in 2008 right after completed my Master’s degree. Full of energy. Passed beautifully.
Thought to myself, this program should be relatively manageable given my work/life balance condition.
In Jun’ 09, along came the level 2 beast and knocked me out in one punch. Failed terribly. The materials were just too much, not to mention the depth of knowledge in each topic. A year ago I had full of strengths and energy. Lost all the confidence after this one left hook.
External factors like changing job, got married and the arrival of my first baby girl had completely taken over my life. Decided to take a break from the CFA program from 2010 - 2014. Told myself to hang in there, don’t give up and keep waiting for my time.
During 2014, my wife got pregnant (this time a boy). Later in the year, the Germans lifted the World Cup trophy by crushing the Brazilian in front of their home fans in Rio. Thought to myself, this is it. This is going to be my show time. I immediately registered for Jun’ 15 exam.
The year 2015 started, the familiar level 2 beast was approaching fast. This time I changed the tactics by joining a group of friends to fight against it. Felt more confident, covered most of the material in much greater detail. Did all EOC questions 2 times. It somehow worked. To my surprise, I passed.
In 2016, with maturity, seeing 50% pass rate for level 3, I told myself, you have 2 years to beat it. No rush. No need to pressure yourself. Tried to balance work, family and CFA. Not to my surprise, failed band 6 on the first try.
Came back again in 2017, stronger than ever, got some pressure from my own self as I set the target of 2 tries for level 3. Sometimes you just need this extra push. Also the little guy turned 2 this year. Time flies, no chance to look back. I had to beat it. Pushed myself to the limit. Started the study early, tried sticking to the study plan, did as many mocks as I could and wrapped up with 14 - 16 hours a day of study during the last weeks before the exam.
Leaving the exam room 2 months ago, felt 50/50. AM was pretty reasonable but PM got me worried especially seeing that one special topic showing up from nowhere. Came to this forum expecting to see comments on how difficult the exam was, didn’t feel better as many people here seems to do well. Left the forum quietly.
It has been the 2 most uncomfortable months in my life. Don’t want to fail. Couldn’t afford another fail. Wife and kids would be even more sad than I do. Finally the email came yesterday. Got it 16 minutes after the due. My hands were shaking, felt like I’m going to faint. Slowly tab on the notification and unlocked my phone. Searching for letter “C” as in Congratulations. Found it seconds later. Super excited. Felt relief. Jumping up and down like crazy. Screaming to my wife and kids, they ran to me, we all had the warmest hug ever.
Guys, just don’t give up. Keep going. Worth every second of it. Good luck 2018 candidates.
