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bachelor’s degrees are worth nothing and designations/grad school is imperative; also a BBA getting an MBA is stupid w/o work experience or a specialization/designation
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i love finance and had a serious girlfriend, meaning i had to work and study at the same time (married guys know what i’m talking about; i.e. needed money and freedom of time which means MBAs aren’t really feasible)
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costs nothing vs. an MBA; actual cost of $2,300 vs. $25,000 minimum for an MBA; time cost of ~350 hrs vs. 18 months minimum for an MBA
Agree a lot with a prev poster:
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Interested in topics/asset management/investments
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Relatively low cost (company pays if I pass)
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The designation has credibility/shows you are somewhat smart if you did not go to an IVY etc. (we all know how far a state BS degree goes)
Nice.
Got my job in finance and now my company is forcing me to get it.
I never pursued it because I got streamed away from finance after undergrad. I also was told it was super hard, and the myth grew larger over time.
I wrote level 1 in Dec to be mentally ready when I started in January, and to prove that I could do it. I loved it thought every moment except learning about the marginal propensity to consume.
I don’t expect it to get me any jobs, but I have found that people really respect the charter program and respect people who can put in the time to pass the tests. All of my GF’s accountant friends ask me about it at dinner parties because they totally have overblown the myths about how difficult it is.
I think in terms of time and money it is incredibly low cost compared to a term of UG at university and the time is all time i would have spent watching tv. I chose to write level 2 while working and doing my MBA Pt because I enjoy it so much. This has become my hobby and I am going to be sad when it is over.
You’ll be sad when it’s over? You can’t be serious haha. I love the material more than anything I’ve learned in school, but I can’t wait until this whole process/stress is over.
He doesn’t know what’s saying, he hasn’t even yet taken L2 or L3 yet. Many L1 people talk a lot these days (this guy is ok), but there’s this other french guy on L2 forums: he passes L1, hasn’t even taken L2, and starts a thread criticizing why so many L2 people fail, and how the pass rate is so low. 2 words: total dbag.
Hungry to win, wiling to learn, keeping your mouth shut. That’s what I look for when hiring.
I’m with Alladin on this one. I put about 200 hours into Level 2, failed, put another 450 hours into Level 2, passed, and I’ve already put probably 300 into Level 3. I plan on putting another 200 in before June 1.
Before he began his third expedition to try to scale Mt. Everest, a reporter asked George Mallory, “Why do you want to climb Mt. Everest?”
He responded, “Because it’s there.”
Why did I start the CFA? I’m gonna get on my soapbox–so if you don’t want to hear, don’t read.
From birth to HS graduation, I was socioeconomically disadvantaged. While I’m confident I have the brains, even if I did have the money to go to school with Iteracom, I wouldn’t have survived culturally and socially. So I did what was best for me at the time–I joined the Marines.
When I got out, I was 25 and had a Spanish degree from a diploma mill. Again, I knew I wasn’t going to get accepted to Stanford or MIT, so I did the best I could, which was a part-time MBA from Local State University. Unfortuneately, I knew this was still not enough to get noticed, so I got my CPA license and plan to finish my CFA Charter as well.
Now that I’m close to the end, I’m still not sure that I will ever get noticed (for whatever reason). But I know this–there’s a guy in town who is a close friend of mine. He got his undergrad from Arizona (a really good school) and got his MBA from Wharton (the best school). He failed Level 3 twice before giving up.
So now, it’s all about personal pride. If I finish Level 3, I’ll know that I’m just as good, just as smart, and just as capable as all the blue-blooded, white-collared yuppies that went to Stanton Prep, then went on to Harvard and HBS. I’m 99% sure that the market will never reward me for it, but I will know it to be true in my heart. (cue the tear-jerking music)
(Cue the Paul Harvey voice)
George Mallory’s third voyage to the top of Mt. Everest was his last. Nobody knows whether he reached the summit or not. His body was found 75 years later. They think he fell about 300 meters (about 80 stories) to his death. There is evidence to suggest that he reached the top of the world, and was on his way down when he died.
Sweet jeebus Greenman, your post was epic.
rayankh - I respect your enthusiasm but please don’t waste your time and youth with CFA if you have no intention to get into Investment & asset management. Go through Greenman’s long threads on general forum, you might realise why I am saying so.
Why am I doing CFA?
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I am a BBA finance graduate, worked in Finance Advisory. Wanted to move to full fledged Investment Banking.
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MBA was too costly with not much of a worth and use.
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I was considering MSF but at the end CFA is more valuable.
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I wanted to be a second female CFA charterholder in the country I live in.
But I will always regret CFA killed my prime youth! Just want to get it done and over with!
lol pride comes before the fall.
To be fair though, myself and some of the other guys who went through the program with me have met up a couple times since and we’ve all said we missed it. I still do miss the CFA program, but I do realize I’m probably in a pretty small minority here.
Yea I dont miss it at all. The sheer thought of giving up sleep, dating, weekends to study and stress for a big test. . Not appealing : /
In August, I’ll tell you how I feel. But I kinda think I’m with Iteracom on this one.
Out of curiousity, Swannie, how old were you when you took the test? Did you have a family, or do you have one now? I think if you had to sacrifice time with your kids, and you put a lot of undue stress on your wife because you were gone studying all the time, you would probably think differently.
this statement has depth. Basically, no innate thought has ever come out of a L1 candidate or even. L2 candidate. It’s true. Even as I write this I realize that a charter holder has already had this thought that I now write.
No, I had no family or anything (was ages 24-26) and still don’t. So I can’t relate.
Originally, I wanted to work in the trust department of a private bank. (When I say private bank, I mean HNW–not a company that is not publicly traded.)
Then, I changed my mind, and wanted to work in Corporate Development or M&A.
Now, I’m not really sure. I guess I just want to finish and let the road take me where it may.
No joke, it so far has been one of the best things I have ever done with my life. Its reignited my passion for finance and really given me some self confidence that I lost in my 6 years of general management stuff since UG. I have taken all my money out of management and have been investing again, modelling companies.
I enjoy the material.
@iteracom I totally agree RE: Level 3 as I am not quite as interested in that material as L1/L2. and thanks for the other advice.
@greenman I agree completely with your reasoning, I think we are all quietly competing against someone or something and a program like CFA is a great way to “keep score”