anyone mind sharing their experience about asking for a raise after your passed level III or obtained your charter?
most people with 1-5 year experience only make like 45-55K. I was wondering those of you who starting out and finally got your charter, did you ask for a raise? and did you get it? or did you have to go elsewhere to a firm that valued you more?
I’ve heard some firms will give you a nice 30K raise which I believe the average for someone with a CFA with 5-7 years experience was like 80-100K. but then again i’ve heard many places just laugh at you and was like go away.
*updated
Just wanted to clarify I wasn’t implying just straight up asking. It would of course be in the proper way of course and basing it off of value added approach. It seems like the consensus though is the current employer even if they value it, the raise wouldn’t be as competitve as going to another firm. But seems like 30k boost is quite much for the value added for a CFA too.
What kind of work do you do? If you’re a long haul truck driver, it’s unlikely you’re going to get a raise. Those salary rates you posted are very low for this industry. I doubt if you’re doing 45k after 5 years that miracuously you’ll hit 100k upon passing.
IMO, it makes you more marketable. If you want a raise, go find a new job that pays more. If the firm wants to keep you, they’ll be proactive in addressing this new found marketability.
Though it’s probably best to explain your case at an annual review or performance discussion. I can tell you if I had a junior come up to me and tell me give me x% because I passed yesterday, I would view that as quite distasteful.
I mean, you can point out in your performance review that you got the CFA. However, outright asking for money because you passed the test is a bit much.
The correct way to ask a raise is to go to your manager and ask him what you can do to help him and take more responsabilities at the same time, and then work harder. This is independently of passing any exam but in this case, you could try to argue that since you have the CFA you could help in new ways ?
Going to see him and say “since I got a new certification I am entitled to more money” will not give the best impression in the longer term.
It depends entirely on your situation, your managers, and your company.
I was in a position where I thought passing the 3rd test raised my value a lot. I also knew the company I was working for sucked, and that me having the CFA wouldn’t increase their revenue. So I started interviewing and got an offer for about 30k more in a city where 30k goes pretty far. There are a few analysts at my old company pursuing CFA, and still nobody in management there cares even slightly.
Is there work at your current firm that requires the type of skills that the CFA teaches? If so, I don’t think its unreasonable to ask for a raise. Otherwise, if you feel you are worth more, you probably have to look elsewhere.
Yeah, not to rehash, but I think it all depends on your current position. If you’re already in an analysis role where the CFA would help increase the perceived weight of your analysis then asking for a raise probably wouldn’t be unexpected by management, assuming you’re not just one of 200 people with the CFA where you work.
I still have a long way to go with the CFA, but my intention is to use it (even after passing Level I) to improve my marketability and hopefully turn it into a new position completely different from what I’m doing now (Equity Research Compliance Officer). For someone not currently in an analysis position, my goal with the CFA is to be taken more seriously as a jpb candidate.
im kind of in a similiar situation where the CFA charter isn’t valued at all at my work space so it has always been kind of a void of what to do next etc etc
I find it super hard to believe an employer will boost your salary by 30k just because you got the CFA charter. If you’re saying someone quit at a small regional location, and with the CFA then landed a job at a big city, then I can believe it.
From my experience, this would be a bit laughable to ask for a raise based on passing the CFA. Most competitive companies compensate based on performance. Additionally, they may already be footing the bill for the test and test prep classes.
Passing level 3 is one of your (hopefully) several major accomplishments for the year. That is a decent way to position it with your bosses. But as others have said, it is probably worth considering exploring your options at other firms if you are hoping for a big raise. If your current company really thinks you are great, they should understand you might be more marketable now. But if they don’t really understand/value the CFA, then you could end up with jack squat.
My employer paid for the program as well, and a few months after I passed Level 3 I sat down with my boss to explain my situation. I mentioned that the charter makes me more marketable and that I wanted to stay with the company, but I would start to look elsewhere if it meant I could do better for myself and better support my family.
I was rewarded with an immediate 10% pay bump. I know it isn’t huge, but it was a nice way of them showing me that they value both me and the charter; also, it may make any future job transition easier (should I happen to come across a better opportunity, it won’t be unexpected to them).
He must be a good performer. You can pull it off if you’re good at what you do. In that case, the employer is really giving you a raise based on performance rather than obtaining the charter.