What would you guys say is the actual time commitment for these things for someone that has a strong technical background? I graduated summa cum laude w/ degrees in math and finance, and passed levels I & II. Now the next few months are going to be brutal, cause I’m starting a new job on the 20th, registered to sit for Level III, and need to pass 7/63 prior to Level III.
What would you guys say is a realistic amount of time for these things? Most stuff I find online are complaining about the difficulty of the 7, but they clearly didn’t start w/ a strong finance background.
I have a friend who sat for and passed his series 7 and 66 on his first attempt. He prepped with me for L1 in December and failed (albeit band 10). Admittedly, he didn’t apply himself enough or cover the material in its entirety. But in discussing his experience with L1 versus the finra licenses, he said they didn’t even compare. Put simply, he got away with cramming in the matter of a couple of weeks to get through his licenses, and couldn’t clear L1. You’re through L1, L2, and accomplished in the academic arena. I haven’t taken it or looked at the material myself, but I’m confident enough to say I think you’ll find it a relative breeze.
You’re be fine. I studied a couple hrs a day after work for 2, maybe 3 weeks and passed the 7 with over 90%. 63 was harder for me because it was so boring. Studied 2 weeks and got in the 80s.
I’d say 2 weeks max of a couple of hours a day for either. Finance background helps, but as I recall, Series 7 was significantly about some muni bond shit that didn’t apply to my job or any kind of academic topic, so it is not like you can just go in assuming you know everything. Series 63 has a much smaller volume of content, but I remember getting quite frustrated at the random ass stuff that I didn’t care about and that I forgot immediately after the test.
Are you going to have access to test banks? I studied (aka just taking practice tests) probably an hour each workday over a month and finished the 7 in like 2.5 hours. The 63 I studied a couple hours over two days before it. Just remember sales people can pass this test (no offense STL). You’ll just have to memorize a few regulations and you’ll be fine. It isn’t going to be much, but may feel like more of a commitment with the CFA looming