Id like to thank you all in advance for your time and advice.
Like many of you, just found out I was fortunate enough to pass December’s level 1 exam and am weighing whether to shoot for June’s level 2. On the plus side, I’ve still got the motivation and felt very comfortable with level 1, passing all sections with >70% exept PM. The curveball is that I have 2 business trips abroad coming up: 1) first two weeks in March & 2) last two weeks in May, right before the test. Beyond the stress of traveling, I expect to be swamped and exhausted with minimal chance to review or study while traveling. Should arive back in the states ~ 6/1 and would plan to take that week off of work to get caught up on sleep and then do final prep.
Minimal finance background, studied just over 200 hrs for L1. Would buying Elan & studying ~250 hrs be foolhardy?
First of all, congrats. Secondly, for what it’s worth… there’s no way I could go through that and feel prepared for this exam. Then again, I’m not the quickest reader as I take notes/make note cards throughout reading. It’s just how I learn. You’re probably a quicker reader/learner than I. I just know I wouldn’t be able to start studying now, go on two international business trips, one of which is right before the exam.
My opinion would be to enjoy your spring and allow you to recharge from your exam experience. Congratulations by the way! Back to my point, level 2’s curriculum is a lot more granular than the first level and the material is a lot more difficult. If I were you, I’d create a study plan in the summer, and begin to hit the books in Fall 2014. That way, you have more than sufficient time to learn and understand each LOS with 1-2 months for practice exams, EOC and blue box review.
I may get some criticism for those who state that it is better to continue while you have momentum. My rebuttal is that I believe it is less foolhardy to approach this exam with as large a time horizon as possible (no more than 8 months). I may be more conservative than most people, but tackling this examination in a calculated, responsible manner is my advice.
Well your situation definitely increases your chance of failure, on an exam with already ~60% failure rate. So it depends on how well you deal with failure and the opportunity cost of studying for the exam at this point in your life. If you can take a failure in stride and not let it get to you, and your job/family life/whatever won’t be too affected by studying for the exam, then take your chances and go for it. If you are hard on yourself when you fail and will get discouraged, or you have bigger better things to focus on, then wait. Good luck either way.
Ultimately there’s no right or wrong, it all comes down to what’s right for you and the trade-offs you’re comfortable with in your professional and personal lives.
For what it’s worth, I would do it (as a matter of fact, I have done the Dec-Jun turnaround with a bunch of business trips along the way) for 3 main reasons:
a. If you pass you’ll feel incredibly glad you did it
b. If you don’t pass you’ll still be much better prepared for L2 2015 than if you’d done nothing
c. I personally find business trips to be more conducive to studies than the daily grind: you can get some reading done on planes, and there are fewer distractions when you’re in a town where you don’t know anyone than when you’re surrounded by friends and family. I just packed my books and studied in airports, in planes, in hotels and in Starbucks between meetings and in the evenings. Taking the last week off would also be a big help.
That being said Level II is as tough as everybody says, so if you decide it’s worth a shot buckle up and go all in! Otherwise - enjoy the spring…
To provide a little more context, I have been accepted to and will likely be starting at Columbia Business School in the fall. My background is in consulting and strategic operations, but very interested in finance and may end up pursuing banking or asset management. My motivation for going for level 2 is twofold: 1) I genuinely find the curriculum interesting and regardless of what I end up pursuing it should prove helpful with class work & 2) depending on what I end up pursuing it could bolster my credibility.