My opinion doesn’t really matter because I’ve only taken level 1, but similar to some posters above, the biggest lesson I learned from the experience is how awesome it is to have no social life and focus only on work, studying, and maintaining superior health (to maximize the effectiveness of your work and study).
For two months all I did was work and study for the exam, and my “breaks” were going to the gym. Also lots of yoga and a daily morning meditation. Ate insanely healthy, got lots of sleep, nearly cut out drinking except an occasional glass of wine at night. Cut off social life and dating which I mostly hate anyway. I really became my best self.
That’s all good stuff but having a social life is just as important for your health. You shouldn’t cut it out completely. Give yourself a day (or two) off each week. CFA shouldn’t consume everything.
That friends and family (wife) come before any BS exam. No matter what they say about your partner supporting you, there’s only so much someone can take with you being non-existent for six whole months, for at least three years.
Just like OP, I have started to value short term gains less compared to longer term benefits.
The knowledge I got from level 1 (No prior finance knowledge) coupled with some Ben Graham literature really helped me realize that a big part of the financial markets and its movements is run more by emotions and less by rational thinking.
Also, I tend to just listen when people BS about their opinions about financial markets.
Overall. the program has made me a boring person and I am secretly proud of it.
Well, I do find that people who have more intellectual tools in finance are more deliberate in their opinions, since different indicators tend to say different things and must be weighed against each other. People who know nothing tend to be very simplistic and sometimes more convicted, since they trick themselves mentally to believe in a thesis without quantified basis.