I’d be interested in knowing if there are any other jobless CFA charterholders in London and what your general experiences have been if you’ve been out for over a year…
I think this one dude Igor gets like 2 job offers a week - I’d be surprised to hear a CFA charterholder is having a difficult time in London. Unless you’re a white male that is (your tours over unfortunately).
2 jobs a week, that’s nice! I am having a lot of difficulty, mid 40s and not a white male.
Race and name are big issues in London I would say. I know one guy who has changed his name legally from one extreme to the other because he was getting nowhere.
In the contract market you will also find that those who take more time to secure their next project tend to be those that are non white.
Also, lot of the motivational posts on Linkedin by Oleg for example - just look at the names commenting on these posts and you’ll see what I mean.
Anyway, hope things improve. If I were to go back 10 years I should have perhaps done chartered accountancy as CFA largely been ineffective in securing jobs. In my mid-40s I’m running out of time to get where I want to be!
Praying for a miracle 
Seriously? CA instead of CFA?
I would rather concentrate on learning python than accounting certificate…
Please correct me if I wrong but BREXIT has impact on current job market situation
An accounting certificate ? You need to learn what it takes to become a CA. CA over CFA anyday of the week. CFA people don’t really know simple financial statemrtns or tax. No offence…
Prospects for CA are better than CFA, you never see jobless CA’s or accountants in general while the same is not true for CFA.
Brexit is having some impact on back/middle office operations, but don’t think it is a major hit outside of this area.
Learning Python too, but finding it hard as I am a programming type of guy!
Prospects in accounting ? Really? I know many accountants who work for peanuts …
I totally agree that it is better to devote your time to learn python instead of 1000hours for CFA nevertheless I would never say that CA ist better than CFA…
Please note that I m working in Poland so I have different point of view - here programming skills + CFA is really strong mix
Interesting food for thought. When I say I regret not doing ACA instead of CFA I mean that at least with ACA you can set up your own practice. Apart from investment consulting, CFA doesn’t lend itself to independent ventures as much as accounting if you find yourself unable to find a job.
Python…time to get back to the course which I am 40% through on Coursera
I think white non-British males are struggling most. I was CFA (not paying for the membership anymore) and I have been struggling like mad for the last 5 years, working as a receptionist at an estate agent on Saturdays to pay for the rent, working for start-ups for free, shadow writing, but definitely not managing to make a living, I got only one interview in 2019. I then became a chartered accountant (in 9 months, 11 exams, 3 sessions). I am restarting from scratch, with a very low salary (still having to live on my savings) but I hope I can go back to Europe and use that experience. Don’t hesitate to do the ACA or another exam. If I knew I had to struggle so much, I would have become a vet (already 5 years…) or do something completely different, I wasted precious years. A friend of mine, qualified accountant, has become electrician. We wasted so much money in education, markets being so distorted, it does not make any sense anymore.
I am learning Python and…Polish (B1, I have a Polish wife), we think about moving to Warsaw in fact. But my polish is too weak (beyond topics such as weather, food cars and clothes)
im surprised. people arent coming here making wc references about top MBA > plumbing > CFA
That’s because I don’t think England has any plumbing.
CPA here… The fact is, when I search for Indeed.com for CPA jobs, the number of jobs looking for CPA is about 10x times more than CFA. It’s sad but it’s true that CPA is the stepping stone, and CFA is an accessory. At least in Canada lol
Learning artificial intelligence and machine learning is a next big thing