This is so misguided. You may as well wear shoes on your head. It’s like hearing a farmer talking about digging apples from the ground and harvesting potatoes from trees.
No I am not comparing a Harvard MBA to a CFA L1 candidate. I’m just saying that if your background is unconventional then pursuing the CFA qualification could be a good idea for your resume. Treating CFA like any normal postgraduate course and being able to complete is a good enough acheivement (if i ever complete lah)! (dont plan to study anything else!) For the record I did not go through the normal university route that most people went through.
Haha :)) By the word ‘outcomes’, i do not mean ‘pass’ or ‘fail’, but rather whether if we can get a finance job while pursuing/or have completed the whole CFA program.
You can always choose to quit early halfway if the going gets too tough for you, like what the OP and several L3 candidates and Charterholders like to prescribe in this L1 thread. Cut your losses and run, early.
If you look at the stats on how many pass level 3 in relation to the number of individuals who start the CFA exam process (only 9 percent), the exam process will naturally filter out the candidates who shouldn’t be persuing the charter. There is really no need to push the issue with a thread like this.
Funny how some CFA Charterholders and L3 Candidates like to come to this thread to ‘educate’ L1 and L2 candidates to ‘quit now while you still can’. Come on, get off your high horse. You think you have wasted your time, then it is just too bad. None of any of our business.
(more like starting a pointless discussion thread to spread negativity, just because you think you have ‘arrived’.)
It appears that they want to water down the competition and don’t want more Charterholders in the market. On the other hand, it smacks of hypocrisy and arrogant self-righteousness. If the process is so costly to you, why pursue it to the end?
Disparaging and discouraging comments from some CFA Charterholders and L3 Candidates in this thread should not be taken seriously at all.
While trying to ‘help’ the topic-starter completely disregarded himself. Hypocrisy is the worst policy when you are among people with above-average education.
For those who hesitate, please, ignore the “helpers” and remember that irrespective of whether the exams will help you in your career or not, there is one thing nobody will take away - the bulk of knowledge you get from hundreds of hours of intense studying.
I’m 23 with 1 year left to complete my CMA designation(soon to be CPA as CA’s and CMA’s in Ontario are merging)
Been working as Financial Analyst in a Controllership Unit since I graduated from one of the top tier Canadian business schools (which really means nothing outside of Canada …).
I feel like by studying for the CFA, I really have nothing to lose. I will have a designation under my belt in a year with a secure job and decent pay (for my age)… and to stop studying at 24, that seems too young.
I know I want a career in Accounting/Finance, and I really don’t see how MBA can add that much value if I already have an accounting designation… Unless I want to move into consulting.
I think the knowledge that you can get from the intense studying for the CFA is something can’t be discredited for…
Even if employers don’t care for it - you’re only making yourself more knowledgable by studying for it.
Of course, there’s always the prestige factor of accomplishing all 3 levels.
Having said that, this probably isn’t something I’d study for if I had family and kids. But if you’re still young, I wouldn’t see why you shouldn’t give it a try. But then again, what do I know.
I think this is the point some people are debating though. There are other ways to obtain this knowledge. By reading newspapers, articles, textbooks (without the need for tests).
I’m in the same boat as you. I’m 22, graduated from Laurier. Older people here seem to imply that they wasted 4 years studying for this. So maybe time is better spent on something else than this program. A long time from now will be now really soon.
I guess you should really ask yourself if you would regret NOT studying for it 5 years from now.
I’d like to believe your flexibility with time decreases as time goes on… Maybe the opportunity cost? What would your time be spent doing otherwise? Studying something else? Picking up a hobby? =S
I think it’s important to get a balance - not to be too reliant on education. I think most students nowadays have the false impression that if you study A and B, you are qualified for C. The truth is, in the real world there are no guarentee, and it’s not like going to school you can always get what you want as long as you make the grades.
As long as you have a realistic approach in life and only doing it to “suppliment” your work experience or simply use it as an educational experience, I’d say there is no harm!
But if I were you, i would get more work experience from volunteering and working as much as possible because knowing the right people will put you ahead a lot faster than any additional designation.
