^ finally, someone more superioror enough to know how to use you’re and your rightly.
LMAO… But not sure if spelling mistake was deliberate or it’s pure irony
I’m more interested in the maximum # of attempts before receiving the charter. Any charterholders here admit to having taken the exams an obscene # of time?
So far, I’m batting .500. Failed Level 1, passed Level 1. Failed Level 2, passed Level 2. Let’s hope for a break with tradition this year.
I think I remember seeing someone on here a couple of years ago claiming to be on his 6th or 7th try at L3. No idea if he ever passed or not. Took me 3 tries to clear L3, that’s probably a couple of years short of obscene though.
^ Few go 3/3. Those who can are good. Took me a few tries at each level. However I don’t think it’s a matter of intelligence, I was busy with work, school, personal things, etc. If I was really smart, I would have done the CFA back when I was 22 and could dedicate all the time in the world while still functioning on minimal sleep.
Yes, but think of all the hearts you fulfilled by not having to be locked up with a bunch of books every friday and saturday, CvM. You are full of positive externalities, my friend.
This thread is getting me depressed… there is no way I want to spend more than 4 years on this. If I fail more than twice all together, I think I will cry.
@higgmond & CFAvsMBA… how many years did it take you total then, to get your charter?
Most important question: Looking back at all that time spent, stress bourne, and quality of life taken from you… was it worth it?
7 years. But I didn’t take a CFA exam each year.
You’re now loaded with credentials. Worth it?
It didn’t pay off as large and as quick as I imagined (the 2008 financial Armageddon and its aftermath got in the way), but I’m glad I did it.
Worth it from what angle? I doubt my compensation is incrementally higher. But I do enjoy learning which drove me to the other creds. You do need to realize that these are just additional designations/credentials to have. They are not a a ticket to the high life producing superior returns in investments.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
The head trader where I work just failed L3 for the 4th time in June. It took him 3 tries for L2. He has 4 kids and a couple of dogs. He has his FRM but got it before the kids.
It took me three tries for L2. I was in the middle of a relocation when I failed the first time. New city, paying rent, carrying a mortgage in the old city, and 3 year old kid with night terrors made it a little rough. 2nd fail – dad diagnosed with cancer in old city (flying back and forth) and daughter born in early May with serious health issues (7 weeks in NICU). Stopped studying after my daughter was born but thought I’d take it anyway. Figured I would help lower the MPS and get a practice run in. Failed band 8. I plan on writing L3 in June, but I might have to relocate again. Hopefully my L3 experience won’t turn out like L2.
The point I’m trying to make is take the exams while you’re young. Life tends to get in the way as you get older.
^ How is Kevin K doing?
My CFA path is a bit unusual. I took L1 a year out of grad school and passed with less than 8 hours of studying. I “doubled” my efforts for L2 the next year and got owned (Imagine that, 16 hours not enough for L2). It was so bad that I was already on the 2nd hole by the time the afternoon session began. I registered again the following year and didn’t even go because I didn’t make the time to study. I then took 2 or 3 years off completely. I then discovered Schweser and passed L2 on my first real attempt. I relied entirely on Schweser for L3 the following year and was a band 10 fail (there was one 9 or 12 point question that wasn’t discussed in Schweser at all. I know because I went back and checked after the exam). I relied entirely on CFAI books the following year, beginning my prep in November, was burned out by April, and was a band 10 fail again. I then discovered AF and found a lot of folks had success using a combination of Schweser, CFAI and prior exams and passed using that strategy, along with some fantastic help from AF’ers. I honestly don’t believe I had a significantly greater command of the material on my third try. I think I got lucky that they asked questions I could answer and I was also better at answering quickly and concisely.
If you had told me it would take me 3 tries to clear L3, I probably would not have started back up on L2 after a few years off. Had I failed L2 that time, I probably wouldn’t have continued either. L3 became a pride thing for me though and I would have taken it 10 times if needed. It’s hard to say if it was worth it or not. I’m not an equity analyst or fund manager. I’m a business valuation guy and was pretty far along in my career by the time I finished, so it didn’t directly affect my career. I’m proud to have earned my charter and it does afford me some instant credibility with some prospective clients, peers and referral sources, but I don’t know that my professional life today would be any different if I had given up.
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Wow. That’s quite the path. I’m glad you pushed through it though. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here giving us noobies advice! It seems like if there’s one common theme among the advice from people who have taken the exam it’s start early and don’t underestimate how much you need to study.
In your years of studying for L2 and L3, did you find it most useful to read through all the Schweser/CFA material first and then review with a lot of time left before the exam, or review as you go along and leave at least a little time for practice test taking in the few weeks before the exam?
For L2, I just went through Schweser a couple of times and was fine. I’m not sure what is in the L2 curriculum now, but when I took it for real alot of the curriculum was stuff I would do for work anyway so I just had to focus on things I didn’t do at work. Even there though, I had had a lot of it in grad school so it was more refreshing old learning than learning something new. L3 material was almost entirely foreign to me, so I found what worked was to read a Schweser section, do all their questions, do all the CFAI EOC questions, and then read CFAI texts if I did poorly on the questions. Every couple of weeks, I would go back a few sections and re-do the EOC questions to make sure the material stuck and re-read that section if it hadn’t. After I got completely through Schweser, I started with Q-Bank and prior exams to identify any problem areas and went back to them until I was comfortable that I could pick up at least 1/2 the points if there was a question on the exam. I realize you don’t get prior exams for L1, so test yourself frequently with Q-bank and do so under “real” exam conditions. I think it’s important to give yourself a breather every now and then too. I actually played more golf while studying than I did before or have since, because a few hours on the course once or twice a week cleared my head and re-energized me, making the next day’s studies far more effective.
Oh yeah, I also took notes while reading the sections. I almost never looked back at them but found writing something down helped comit it to memory far better than just reading it.
Who the f**k you think you are? I don’t care if you passed or not. You need to go back and re regester for level 1 and give it the respect it deserves.
That is the genuinely solid advice that I have been trying to get! My only problem is that I just keep reading. I do the EOQ questions, review if I get them wrong, but then I keep going. I just have no review mechanism. I’m afraid to take a day out of a week here and there to review because I’m afraid I’ll fall behind and wont make it through… or if I do that I wont leave enough time for full-throttled review/practice test taking.
And yea, I’m taking notes as well and it definitely helps with recall! Thanks again for outlining your journey, it’s nice to understand additional challenges.
@ QuantJock - LOL!!! Wow, KK is famous. I’m sure someone can easily pick me out with my story. Damn!! Anyway, he’s good other than the CFA. Managing the entire desk now, equity and fi. My heart bleeds for him. These exams are such a pain, especially when you have kids - and the exams get harder as kids get older.
@rayankh - Schweser’s question bank is awesome for L1. It helps to keep the material fresh in your head as you go along. I always did little practice tests of material that I had gone through as I studied. Plus, I remember seeing a few questions from the Q-bank on the exam.