Agree with the comments of a few posters here (above, heyjude), and don’t really approve of the brashness of the OP (though agree with few points he mentioned)
Being a CFA L3 candidate and working into the finance profession, I would say that the CFA can be very useful for people irrespective of whether they are working in the finance or non- finance / field…
as sooraj righly mentioned, it is definitely advantageous even for people working in IT since it can open up new opportunities to explore such as algorithmic trading where the CFA knowledge is surely going to prove advantageous.
I agree that the CFA is just like a supplement and your entire profile actually matters a lot when an employer hires you… ofcourse networking and 500% portfolio performance may obviously prove to be much more advantageous in some cases, but obviously a 500% portfolio performance is not really everyone’s cup of tea. As far is networking and meeting people is concerned, it can be done alongwith with the CFA.
For people trying to break into finance, it definitely shows that you are inclined to put in the hours and shows the passion you have to get into finance and that you are willing to put in those kind of efforts… I would say that CFA gives you a lot of financial knowledge on variety of topics (which can be acquired from books w/o taking exams as some posters say)… however, I still feel that the seriousness with which you would try to absorb the concepts when taking these exams cannot be on par with reading newspapers/magazines/books (with no goal)…
As for the people on L3/Charterholders who feel that the program is a waste of time/money or that they should’nt have done it, I wonder how in the world can they help the L1 candidates take the right decisions in their careers, if they could’nt do so for their own careers…
you pass the level 1 in june after graduating in april, and it will set you a part from your university peers.
not gonna help you compete against ppl from different tier university or make up for experience, but it should be an easy exam for a fresh finance undergrad who actually studied enough to put stuff into long term memory
at least in all the tier 2 cities i know first hand, in China at least they still care a LOT about titles like CFA or MBA.
they dont effing care where its from as long as it’s accepted in the west. it makes a huge difference. it matters a lot in tier 1 too but competition there is much harder so even tho CFA will easily get you great job, you may have to wait longer cuz theres 1000 other chinese students that did honours finance bachelors in 3 years ahead of you in the line. dont worry you’ll get your turn.
im sure other emerging markets are like this. LV. BMW. KFC. MBA. CFA. Doesn’t effing matter they’re so obsessed with becoming cultured and cosmopolitan that they effing eat up any brand title logo that represents ANYTHING outside asia
hell i know a handful of guys that drop anywhere from 75k to 400k usd on internet video game characters JUST because all the other cool guys in their tier 2 cities do
its sometimes hard to even tangibly comprehend how much money so many first and second generation rich have and how the seemingly only things that matter in life have an Acronym or Level to show other people
not a complaint or rant btw i love the country just sometimes so different than the west
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not listen to this pathetic garbage. When ever someone starts out with an ad hominem statement like that they already discredit themselves. If your pursing the CFA for money they maybe he has a point, not that I am saying you can’t make money. If your studying the CFA because you enjoy investing and the markets and you want to better yourself and for career advancement then you will be rewarded. It’s not just the knowledge and the prestige. It’s about accomplishing the unthinkable. You know the pass rates, you’ve heard the horror stories. How self-satisfying is it to know you accomplished something so little people can say they did? Some people climb mountains or run a marathon as a life accomplishment. This can be your mountain, your marathon. It doesn’t just open doors for your career, it opens a portal in your mind that makes you believe you can accomplish anything else in your life.
So again, I beg you to ignore this ignorant, depressing, negative post. Please.
There are those that say they can and those that say they can’t. They are both usually right. Remember that.
I took the CFA exams because of the learning process - and it is kinda fun. Kinda weird to say this perhaps - but I enjoy the challenge of CFA program.
Just my 2 cents - if you really struggle a lot, put it sooo much time, and sacrifized/gave up a lot in life- especially you are in your early twenties, just to get a pass in L1 - then maybe finance is not for you. Actually, the world is quite big out there … there are many other industries that are as good as finance. what’s more - if you alreay suffer in learning the stuffs in L1/L2 - how do you expect to enjoy doing the same thing as a job for the rest of your career?
1)Even if somehow i couldnt make into the industry , the the letters behind my name will surely boost m credential as a faculty and i can demand much higher compensations from institutes as well as students in private coachings watsay, CFA chartholders in India in a faculty role can be counted on finger tips
2)Secondly due to this program i have again got self belief that i can do even the toughest of exams and hence nothing is impossible . I was just creating boundaries for myself.
I can make great contacts through interactions with people in this program and industry
It does give respect if u see other people eyes. The students really respect my hardwork doing this CFA program.
So i think its worth the effort if just 2 years of hard work can get be the most globally recognized finance certifications which is respected wordwide…
_ BETTER TO AIM HIGH AND MISS . THEN AIM LOW AND HIT _
Vicky you get it. That’s exactly what I was saying. These people are looking at this thing to literally. Meaning they think, getting CFA must transflate to job in XXX and making YYY by ZZZ. It’s not black and white as you point out. Achieving something so difficult makes you fearless to achieve anything else.
I do agree with one of the comments saying, “It’s hard to get a job without experience and hard to get experience without a job”. The good old chicken and the egg problem. But think about this, everyone has this problem at some point, somebody is getting hired right?
If you keep working hard, good things WILL come. There’s not to many people you can name in life that devote all their time and energy into achieving something and come up “completely” short. Even if they did, the struggle, fight, and will power account for something.
“Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly” - John F Kennedy
Everyone’s expectation is different and everyone’s excitement level is different.
It’s like when you see people celebrating highschool graduation like it’s such a huge accomplishment… you wouldn’t be as excited for them now would you?
I am not belittling the CFA designation and of course, it IS an accomplishment and people should be proud. But some people think it’s just another step in their career like completing the medical screen for being a police officer - they have the right to remain calm and you shouldn’t be bothered by their lack of enthusiasm.
So NANA, is CFA worth pursuing then? In my situation, I will have to go back to school full-time next year to take some accounting courses to fulfill the CPA pre-requirements. Meanwhile I think I can manage to take spare time to study for CFA level 2 next year and possibly level 3 in 2015 before entering into the 2 years CPA program.
I have a finance major from University and 2 years work experiences of accounting technician. I think these two designations both match my backgroud.
Why do you think you’ll have to go back full time? Whats your major in? I graduated with a finance major and am only missing Int/Adv Financial and Managerial Accounting, Audit, and Tax. You can take those through CPA Prep in a one year part time course while working and accumulating your required experience.
You wanted to be an accountant and you have no desire to work in finance (correct me if i’m wrong), then i don’t know why you would want to take the CFA exams.
Not to say that you can’t do it for fun but it seems like you have a lot going on already, no one can tell you what you can do/ should do, if you are really smart and don’t find the studying difficult and overwhelming - go ahead!
Perhaps you will pass level 2 and 3 in one go and finish your CPA program at the same time!
I contacted my University and during my Bachelor of Commerce the only accounting classes I took were Introduction and Intermediate financial accounting 1. And I live in Québec now where there is no CPA Prep program until 2014. Ppl at University told me I need to take the 30 credits Graduate Diploma in Accounting program plus 2 more classes to fulfill the CPA prerequirement, which makes a total of 12 classes. Then I need to finish all of them by the spring of 2015…Therefore at one point I will need to study full-time…
Talk to the CPA people then, because if you’re missing the same classes as I am (sounds like it) you could do them part time through distance learning at a university. I think there was one on the east coast which was affordable through DL. I’d hate to leave a decent paying job to go back to school, and the CPA society makes it look like you should be able to do it part time somewhere else. There really werent many accounting classes needed for CPA PEP.
correct me if I am wrong, I think what you have been working for prior to entering the cpa program isn’t counted as the accumulating work experience, and only what you do after you are enrolled into the program matters…is this correct?