Please do not say this has been discussed. Give your 2 cents or ignore it. Market conditions change and the answer also changes. *************************************************************** There is a lot of talk out there about the CFA having lost its value. Do you think the CFA is worth the thousands of hours we put into it? Please say your current status (L3 candidate, charter holder, etc) Please say what country you are in Did it give you job opportunities? Better pay? Would you do it again? Your welcome to add anything else.
everything depretiates in value look at the importance of a university degree 10 years ago vs now; MBA degree 10 years ago vs now; CFA is depretiating as the number of candidates obtain charter holder, for now, i think it is worth it
i have to disagree and say in my opinion the increasing number of candidates does not make the CFA worth less for sure… it is obviously a question i am trying to get answered… but you must admit it is not a pure supply demand realationship if these CFA’s go out there and prove themselves to be truly good, the world may become better familier with the CFA and you can get more demand that outweights the supply… on the other hand if every guy who can select A B or C has the CFA, then we gona look bad in the work force…
please direct me to this “talk” of the CFA “having lost its value”
gtg414g, it is all over the web…not here cause we are people who are working hard for the CFA so it would be kind of hard to find someone who would say the CFA lost its value… if you google the issue you will have a lot of such “talk” i am thinking it is jelous people who cant make it in the CFA, or people with top notch MBA who really are doing great without it… what do you say ?
US Equity Research Analyst L3 Candidate I got my job because the bulge bracket I work for filtered for people who passed L2 or L3, then interview and modeling skills landed me the job. you decide.
My thoughts? this exam gets progressively difficult every year and as long as they still offer it only once a year (for L2 and L3) and keep the curriculum as thick as an encyclopedia series, the value of earning the CFA is protected. From my few buddies in equity research, it trumps an MSF and an MBA so if equity research is where you want to go, i think the CFA is a necessity. Like greengrape said, they definitely filter for it in equity research. Also makes you an automatic all-star in private wealth (whether that’s merited or not is beyond the scope of this discussion) as the industry is chock full of Type A’s and not enough analysts and even LPs understand the value of someone who holds a CFA. If you want to do banking, just get an MBA and a nice network.
big thanks for those who share Othes please pitch in so we can get a final analysis I can only hope we are not biased by the fact that we are chasing the cfa and would not admit it is not worth it I know i have that bias. Thats why i want other opinions
My “pitch in” is: this belongs in general discussion.
your right andrew, i am new here and did not notice the general section so i posted it on II and III… anyway i dont think your OCD contributes much…so while your here…might as well contribute… if the admin can move the topic, that would be great 
Allegory doesn’t reflect a trend. Taking that into consideration, my experience has been positive. I noted a significant spike of interest from employers after passing my first level. It was a driving cause of me entering into a paid internship at a derivatives firm. Beyond that, I still consider myself rather junior within the profession and the macroeconomic perspective has dampened overall prospects.
ahmadmadoff Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Please do not say this has been discussed. Give > your 2 cents or ignore it. You simply asked for our collective 2 cents. Above you will find mine. I feel hurt and threatened by your negating my feelings and opinion on the topic you have introduced. I think you are a very bad person.
cant give my 2 cents, cant even ignore!! passed L1, but havent gone out searching for job, so cant comment how much i am in demand! :d will let u know within 5-6 months. BTW, nice topic to be discussed. M really curious to know the outcome. m a “potential” L2 2012 candidate, so would like to know whether to pursue it or not.!
to me it’s pure economics. as an experienced hire, it was either this or the mba. given market conditions, and companies’ reluctance to sponsor or fully cover a mba, the cfa was far cheaper and took the same amount of time. granted i miss out on the other aspects of the mba, but for someone like myself who is currently employed and KNOWS they intend on staying in finance, it seemed fitting to my situation. if you were contemplating a career change (in or out of finance), then obviously the cfa might not be your best primary option (the value of the mba comes more from networking and summer associate positions if f/t). in regards to the comment about now that more and more people have it, does it lessen its value? i don’t think so… the same could be said for a mba, and if anything given its become so common, if anything there’s more expectation on the employee to obtain one as well. end of day, mba, cfa - it’s better than nothing and it definitely builds credibility and increases your potential future comp.
WTF is all this talk about if the CFA is worth it? If you need to ask, then you already know. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m ready to slay this b1tch once and for all. L1 was hard, yes. But L2 separates the boys from the men. Giddy up, we have 4 months. Plenty of time to crush the nattie. Don’t bother replying if you are going to counter my enthusiasm for successfully becoming a L3 candidate.
QuantJock_MBA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > WTF is all this talk about if the CFA is worth it? > If you need to ask, then you already know. > > I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m ready > to slay this b1tch once and for all. L1 was hard, > yes. But L2 separates the boys from the men. > > Giddy up, we have 4 months. Plenty of time to > crush the nattie. Don’t bother replying if you > are going to counter my enthusiasm for > successfully becoming a L3 candidate. i like this guy
QuantJock_MBA go or it, noone is here to hold anyone back, we are here to help each other… I am glad you are going to rape the Level II, and I think with that attitude you will…We are just trying to answer whether your hard work will pay back like you expect it to… Like you know I can ace it, but being a fresh graduate I don’t have a sense of the market or how well the CFA is valued, and I dont wana take CFAI word for it, or from those people they post on the home page…
ahmadmadoff Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > QuantJock_MBA go or it, noone is here to hold > anyone back, we are here to help each other… > > I am glad you are going to rape the Level II, and > I think with that attitude you will…We are just > trying to answer whether your hard work will pay > back like you expect it to… > > Like you know I can ace it, but being a fresh > graduate I don’t have a sense of the market or how > well the CFA is valued, and I dont wana take CFAI > word for it, or from those people they post on the > home page… I’ll phrase it this way. If you want to work in financial services or capital markets, the CFA is an essential. If you want to work in corporate finance, the CFA is nice to have. If you want to do something else, the CFA probably won’t help. If you wish to see for yourself, type ‘CFA’ in the search box at indeed.com.
QuantJock_MBA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ahmadmadoff Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > QuantJock_MBA go or it, noone is here to hold > > anyone back, we are here to help each other… > > > > I am glad you are going to rape the Level II, > and > > I think with that attitude you will…We are > just > > trying to answer whether your hard work will > pay > > back like you expect it to… > > > > Like you know I can ace it, but being a fresh > > graduate I don’t have a sense of the market or > how > > well the CFA is valued, and I dont wana take > CFAI > > word for it, or from those people they post on > the > > home page… > > > I’ll phrase it this way. If you want to work in > financial services or capital markets, the CFA is > an essential. If you want to work in corporate > finance, the CFA is nice to have. If you want to > do something else, the CFA probably won’t help. > > If you wish to see for yourself, type ‘CFA’ in the > search box at indeed.com. Now why did I not think of that! That is great motivation for me, simply seeing that there are jobs out there that require it or preffer it so i know my work is not in vain… 10x buddy
I am in the real estate lending department of a major west coast bank and have never met a CFA in my life in the course of my work duties (not even in our wealth management or private banking groups - which are extensive). Before that, I worked at Deloitte and never met a CFA there either (I was in their tax department). Personally, as a Level II candidate, I am in this program because I like the theory of finance and the related subjects. But, I do not plan to use this designation to further my career. The folks at my bank who are two levels up from me know about what I am doing, but have told me it will not be a factor in my raises or promotions.