Your thoughts please.
look out
I haven’t taken it but from research I think it is more of a graduate type program. I would probably say it is promoted as graduate level closer to an MBA or MSc Finance.
I would say that the material covered in Level 1 is comparable to undergrad but overall the program is more comparable to graduate level.
the downgrade on the CFA program… sighhh instead of being compared to the MBA programs, we’re going towards an undergrad program… what’s next? diploma at a community college? High School Diploma… 
I compare it to the “Phat Math” program at a Dallas community college. http://www.brookhavencollege.edu/chatter/08/0917/phat-math-success.aspx
you are all wrong once again. the material covered is prolly more graduate level but you dont have to learn anything. you just need to know how to pass a test under strenuous conditions. the purpose of any undergrad or grad program is to learn material.
brianr Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I would say that the material covered in Level 1 > is comparable to undergrad but overall the program > is more comparable to graduate level. +1 (just like adding another dude to your mom’s queue)
needhelp Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > the purpose of any undergrad or grad program is to > learn material. really
needhelp Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > you are all wrong once again. > > the material covered is prolly more graduate level > but you dont have to learn anything. you just need > to know how to pass a test under strenuous > conditions. > > the purpose of any undergrad or grad program is to > learn material. disagree entirely. Thousands of people cruise thru school without learning material, even grad school. The CFA can’t be compared to other levels of education as it is completely different. Its like comparing a brain surgeon to a general doctor because they both went to med school. The education levels the same, but totally different in levels and specialization.
My understand/experience is this: CFA level 1 (only test that i took and passed) was equivalent to UG econ+finance degrees. After i passed CFA level 1, i understood more about finance and econ than did my friends who got their BA in econ or finance. This is sad. My 4 months of work == their 4 years of work. SOmething tells me that if one doesn’t get into Ivys or get technical degree, then they’re just throwing their life away in obtaining a degree. UG is just a place to party, hookup, have sex, and slack off for the majority of the ppl. Most of these BA in Econ are working at retail stores folding clothes or at offices stashing pens in drawers.
Most people I know with UG finance degrees know NOTHING about finance. This is contrary to their general perception that they know everything about finance.
They’re both pretty much useless, so it’s not really relevant to say which one is less useless. The CFA’s uselessness speaks for itself, and as far as BBAs go, you only have to actually take a few finance classes to earn the degree at most schools (look it up). Basically, it’s accounting 1 & 2, basic finance, management theory, marketing, stats, a couple of econ courses, and a few finance electives and you are done. If you manage your schedule well as a UG, you could take more finance classes of course, but you wouldn’t need to in order to graduate. Personally, I say get a real degree – something that teaches you to think for yourself instead of just memorize some formulas (which is mostly what UG business education is about).
They are not useless, education is not useless. There are different aspects here. Learning material to pass a test is different than understanding, examining, comprehending and applying. It is not necessarily the fault of the program if they present the material but you just choose to cram it in and spit it out for a grade/cert and never use it again. Just becasue you have a BBA, MBA, CFA or BA (econ) doesn’t necessariy mean you know your stuff only that you could regurgitate it on a few exams. I wouldnt’ want the doctor or lawyer that just barely passed working on or for me. The individual’s attitude is more imortant than the specific course choosen. I didn’t truly think I understood econometrics until I was paid to do research and apply what I had learned to a real world situation. But apparently i had learned the tools and was able to apply them. I understand certain aspects of finance because I have learned the basics and then I have been applying them in the real world to various senarios for 15 plus years. Some may say that university gives your more time or incentive to get more out of the material. But like I said this is the personnal choice of the student. The information is there you learn it, understand it and then apply it. Then you keep learning and reveiwing through courses seminars upgrading etc. I learned a section of the tax code 18 years ago for work but if i don’t reveiw the changes every year its like knowing some out dated programming language that knowbody uses… nobody cares.
my undergrad in Finance was a great way to spend 4 years getting drunk and getting laid, in between those two fun activities I apparently managed to get a degree, most of which I forgot about pretty much instantaneously (much like the CFA it seems…) I think education, like youth, is wasted on the young
Hence why CFAI requires 4 years of relevant work experience
CFA may be more broad and yet specialized but you have to admit that multiple choice questions cannot test whether you really understand a model and whether you can apply it. Many people just memorize certain rules and answer the questions without even knowing why. This is something CFA does not teach you.
from my experience I found level 1 to be equivalent in many areas to my undergrad - statistics was very comparable - econ was very comparable - finance was very comparable - accounting was slightly more advanced in CFA - portfolio management was moderately advanced in CFA - ethics is clearly not covered in undergrad - derivatives was more advanced in CFA level 2 and 3 are above and beyond what was taught in undergrad finance for me