I, Puneet Singal, from India have cleared my CFA Level 2 Exam (held in June, 2012) after clearing CFA Level 1 Exam (held in December, 2011). I am also currently registered for the CFA Level 3 Exam (to be held in June, 2013). I gave both Level 1 and Level 2 Exam in India and will give Level 3 Exam also in India.
I got a job in a KPO in Bangalore as a Equity Research Analyst. I would like to know whether Level 3 Exam could be managed alongside doing a job??
How much time would I have to devote to studies every day (like 3-4 hours a day or 2-3 hours a day)?? What is the good time to start studying (like December or January or February)??
From which books to study, CFA Institute Books or Schweser Books???
Do I need to take a leave for 1-2 months before the exam so that I could study full time for it??
Need suggestions
This all feels very familiar…
Well it depends Puneet, as in nobody can tell you how many hours would be enough to tame the beast! I cleared my level 3 exam last year and I hardly put 250 hours, and that too concentrated around April/May (studying full time). You have sufficient time at your disposal, just develop a schedule and make sure you are done with first reading by April otherwise panic may set in (as you are working full time and it may not be possible to take study leave on new job). It is manageable, most of my friends who cleared level 3 with me were working full time and many didn’t even take last week off!
For level 3 you’ll be needing to mix it up a little bit! I used curriculum for asset manager code (Ethics), Individual IPS, Fixed Income and one other section (can’t recall which one), for other sections (particularly Equity, Cap. Mkts Expectations, BRICs & Performance Evaluation) Scheweser did a pretty good job. I’ll check if I still have my study plan with me and will let you know!