CFA® sucks
CFA® sucks. I started preparing the CFA® Level 1 exam a week ago. I borrowed my friend's SchweserNotes. Reading through this material is painful. I can't imagine using a tenth of this as an investment banking analyst or in most other finance jobs.
The exam fee is ridiculous too. $1,000+ to take part 1 of a 3 part test? I fail to understand how the CFA® Institute is non-profit. GMAT is around $300, CPA around $300, SAT around $40, Real Estate License around $30. I don't understand how this $3,000 is justified.
Still, I dropped $1000+. Even though I believe it teaches me nothing relevant to my career and that it is a huge money suck, I am still a college student. I am not sure what I will do in 10 years. Hopefully passing this will help set me apart a little from other full-time banking applicants, and maybe 4-5 years down the road, when I dont' have time to study for this, I will thank myself for putting in $3,000+ (3 months of rent+food) and a few weeks of studying.
Until then, it feels pretty shitty to study CFA® materials on a sunny weekend. Sorry for the rant.
Anyone out there have any comments?
im taking the exam in less than a week. preparing for it on top of my ibd life as an analyst sucks... dont even think that this is going to help my career anyways. the only reason im taking it is the $1000 i have already put in.
LOL, you do realize they recommend at least 200hrs of studying to prepare yourself for the test.
you are aware that nobody in ibd/pe is going to care for your CFA credential at all. As for getting your first analyst gig in IBD, it might be a little impressive to do level 1 while still a student but there are more effective things you could do. If studying for the CFA brings down your GPA below 3.5 than you may not have made the best choice.
over the years, i've noticed a growing hate on the forum for the cfa. i think i'll put in a good word for it. a lot of this cfa bashing comes from questions such as "will cfa help me get into IBD???" and m&i's claim that it is useless and your time is better used emailing 200 alumni.
i admit its not a perfect fit for banking (better for er and am), but interviewers do take note of it. while it is not as good as having a BB internship, passing cfa level 1 is something. also, not all of us care to email 200 alumni and make 200 contacts at this stage. the cfa is something tangible, and emailing 200 alumni, making 200 contacts, and getting a 4.0 aren't mutually exclusive with getting the cfa. i'm only spending 4-5 hours a day for 2 weeks. yeah, it feels like a shitload of time, but not that bad in the grand scheme of things. a lot of it is just time i would have spent surfing the internet (on wso), drinking, or just dicking around.
a very senior executive recently told me that a cfa is like a secret handshake in the finance community, esp in anything to do with investing (even m&a guys have to help companies raise acquisition financing etc). if you think you can take the time out, go for it, despite whatever anyone says, no one is ever going to look down upon you if you've done it. its a massive tickbox ticked in the mind of whoever you are interacting with...
Agreed
Good luck, I'm talking L2 this week...
Have to agree with the above posters...When I went through the FT IB interviews, passing the level 1 exam was definitely acknowledged especially by those who had done it as well. So I would always encourage anyone to do it if they are willing to put in the time, because level 2 and 3 require a significant portion of your free time!
That said, Good luck this saturday OP
CFA is fine, but I think your picture of it is a little clouded since you are only spending a total of what, 30 hours studying for the thing. Best of luck passing it. If you do consider yourself to be far smarter than the majority of people since it is recommended that you spending close to 7x the amount of studying that you are putting in.
Problem with the CFA is everyone and their brother is either studying for or has passed level one. If you are a liberal arts major then I suppose having it on your resume adds to the story "why finance", but if you are already in IBD or a finance major I think it adds little value as compared to networking, studying for class or interning. For most people putting in the required time need and recommended to study for the CFA while networking/interning/studying is something very few can do. Not to mention the significant financial cost.
Being able to pass all 3 exams and get relevant work experience is where it becomes a problem. After level one you only have 1 time per year to take the test and if you fail it can set you back significantly. I totally agree that having CFA after your name is very impressive, but only necessary in specific fields. You must be totally committed to passing all 3 exams to really make it worth it.
if you dont plan on passing all 3 and getting the works exp to put CFA after your name... dont waste your time
What is with all the complaints about the cost? Don't your firms cover the registration fees and books etc? I'm taking Level III here in a few days... I think I did actually have to pay for Level I out of pocket, since I was just starting in consulting when I took it. But since then companies have been more than happy to pay. I mean they get to jack up your bill rate every time you pass a level, so they're always happy to pay. The fees are completely immaterial relative to the amount of knowledge you'll gain from the program. Trust me, I'm about to start an MBA and staring at these obscene amounts of debt I'm about to take on, the CFA is looking like the best deal on the planet.
I can't speak for anything but consulting, but it is very well respected there. You will advance faster, get more interesting projects, and be given more client interaction at an earlier stage if you're in pursuit of the charter. I'll let you know whether it helps on the career switch side as I start hunting for IM/HF jobs next year. That's my hope, but I may just be delusional after sinking so much effort into the program. Best of luck!
Started studying for Level 1 and never ended up doing it. Haven't felt the need to since I broke into IBD anyway, especially with PE as my eventual aim. I guess it's nice to have; all other things remaining equal, I would of course pick a CFA guy over another guy, but it really isn't that important if you're looking at IBD or PE. Heck, I've seen more CAs and CPAs at PE shops than CFAs.
One edge is that anyone who is a CFA will really appreciate other CFAs. At the very least the exam is a huuuugggee pain in the ass. The process is more intensive than the CPA or the Bar. Most people end up studying for 900+ hours by the end of the program.
It's not mandatory. MBA's seem to be mandatory. I have had this reoccurring situation. I went to school got a work study job, thought I was going to run the accounting department at school; I was the bitch.
Became an SA at BB, thought I was going to ball out and make loot; I was the bitch.
Finally got out of school. Did well. Work at BB. Thought I'd be an irreplaceable asset to the bank and save the world; I'm the bitch.
I'm told if I get my MBA and then I can really take on some responsibility. lol when do I stop being the bitch?
i was told and i do agree both CFA and MBA are good credentials, but neither of them is a must.
to some extent, CFA/MBA experience is a good thing you can talk about during the interviews, and helps you get into the job, but once you're in the industry, only how much money you make for the company matters. many analysts are promoted directly to associates with no CFA/MBA.
if there's really one thing mandatory in the CV, i would say a good bechelor degree. it's just...not everyone goes to a target school, has a decent GPA, and lucky enough to join a BB FT program after graduation, so we see a huge number of people taking CFA exams or applying for MBA every year, hoping these credentials will enable them to find a better job.
can you take the CFA as a junior in college? if you are taking it next week, then you are either a) a senior who missed ibd recruiting last fall or b) a junior, and i'm not sure if you can take it as a junior (unless you are a junior which you then would be able to)
i don't think CFA would work for breaking into IBD (assuming, as I am, that you can't take it as a junior) simply because of timing
The test is only in June and December, and December is only part 1. So you could take part 1 during the first part of your senior year. Either way, recruiting season for IBD typically ends by early November (this is what I've heard from an HR rep I've spoken with). So you wouldn't be able to pass the test and put CFA Level 1 on your resume until way after all the IBD positions have been filled.
Of course, if you can take the first part of the exam during your spring semester Junior year, I guess it could help. I was under the impression that you couldn't do this but perhaps I'm wrong (I have no desire to research this on CFA website but if you really care just google it)
You can take it as a junior. I think their exact wording is something like "must have a bachelor degree or be entering the final year of a bachelor degree program." I actually know several people at my school who have taken level 1 with 2 years to go.
yah that is the wording I saw... i thought it meant you had to be in your senior year
anyway, i take back what i said about it not helping since you can obviously take it now, pass, and then put it on your resume for recruiting season
I'd like to see the historic level one pass rate for college kids taking the exam, especially since the pass rate in general is ~35%. Either its good, since the students are in the study/test taking mode, or its bad bc of the distractions. You wonder how they would compare to professionals taking it. Its hard to compare the pros, cons and tradeoffs to taking level one during and after college
I could have never done cfa1 in college--was too busy in the library trading all day junior and senior year, studying bto, atc and most of the weekend to make up for trading, and I was chasing tail around most nights I could. I think its better to have a life and develop certain skills in college and worry about the CFA later.
Anyway, I'm drunk right now and am not excited about taking level one on saturday.
I am about to take CFA1 in 4 days, I personally feel that it covered everything that was covered in undergrad finance major (disclamer: I went to a state school) and more on top of that.
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