How did you spend your CFA gap year?
Hi,
Quick question to anyone who has re-taken any level of the CFA. A little background first. I signed up for the program a while back when my goal was an industry that "kind of" respected it (ie. not AM, ER, etc.). I have since shifted to an industry that it is a pinch above complete irrelevance. The reason i say this, is that the sign-up price hike is about 5 days away. Due to the change of industry, part of me says fuck it. However, the other (more rational, perhaps) part of me says I'm $700 away from $1500 and 300 hours NOT being a complete waste. So yea, I'm on the fence w/out a whole lot of time to decide.
Onto the question. What were your guys' game plans in the time between? I'm thinking secret sauce and 5 or 6 practice tests in the month or 2 prior should suffice? Did you find you recalled a lot or was re-clocking the 300 neccesary? Any other thoughts on how you prepared "again"? Like I said, due to the industry change- if I find that the consenus is the same effort was necessary again, I'm going to have a lot of trouble convincing myself it's worth it.
Much love,
GBS






had to retake L2, and the 1st
had to retake L2, and the 1st time I just used schweser, the 2nd time i went and read the accounting/derivatives portions in the actual CFAI books and did as many EOC / Blue Box questions from all the CFAI books...so not necessarily re-clocking 300, but rather shifting focus/strategy...which inevitably involved learning things i didnt learn properly before but the skeleton of knowledge was already in place and the expectations of content covered were already set
You have to play the game to find out why you're playing the game.
true. I figure it's all up
true. I figure it's all up in there still but I'm worried about the whole "you don't use it, you lose it" thing. Bond yield convexity and distribution kurtosis are not exactly things I've been using since, lol. I'm thinking taking a 100% cold practice test before that deadline might be a good idea to test the water. Thanks for the response
GBS
It does depend on what level
It does depend on what level it is... If it's Level 3 and a charter, then I say go for it. But if it's Level 2, what's the point? What are the odds you'll have the drive to do level 3 once (or even twice, potentially)?
CFA Level X Candidate may look good for a relevant industry (ER/AM/etc.), but outside of that, it'll be pointless. John Smith, CFA has an impact - even in industries where it's less relevant.
Can I ask what completely
Can I ask what completely irrelevant industry you're in now? Curious because I just passed L3, am in ER, and I'm strongly considering trying to move into a completely irrelevant industry, ie. corp strategy in the sector I cover. Part of what's holding me back is that I'd have wasted all this time on this damn test.
I guess it's good knowing that the CFA would help if I ever wanted to bounce back into AM/ER after trying out corporate, so if you see yourself in a similar position (even if it's just a somewhat relevant part of finance) then it might be worth it, but probably only if you're talking about L3.
Oh and my girlfriend failed L2, put in another 300 hours, failed again. And she's not dumb. But I think it's on a brain by brain basis...some people are much better at retaining than others.
DCFwacc: Oh and my girlfriend
Oh and my girlfriend failed L2, put in another 300 hours, failed again.
my condolences...that is one beast of an exam
You have to play the game to find out why you're playing the game.
DCFwacc: Can I ask what
Can I ask what completely irrelevant industry you're in now? Curious because I just passed L3, am in ER, and I'm strongly considering trying to move into a completely irrelevant industry, ie. corp strategy in the sector I cover. Part of what's holding me back is that I'd have wasted all this time on this damn test.
I guess it's good knowing that the CFA would help if I ever wanted to bounce back into AM/ER after trying out corporate, so if you see yourself in a similar position (even if it's just a somewhat relevant part of finance) then it might be worth it, but probably only if you're talking about L3.
Oh and my girlfriend failed L2, put in another 300 hours, failed again. And she's not dumb. But I think it's on a brain by brain basis...some people are much better at retaining than others.
Can I ask you how was the week of the results when you found out you passed and she failed? I want to know what kind of impact that had on your relationship (I'm in a similar situation)
Check out my Blog
Unforseen: Can I ask you how
Can I ask you how was the week of the results when you found out you passed and she failed? I want to know what kind of impact that had on your relationship (I'm in a similar situation)
First time around (last year) was tough on her, but she didn't hold it against me that I passed. Her disappointment was addressed before my achievement, which was totally fine with me. In the following days she tried to show how happy she was for me despite feeling down about the whole process, gave me little gifts, etc., which I really appreciated. Her resentment over the amount of wasted time popped up now and again after that but it wasn't a huge deal.
This year was similar except she got over it much more quickly. She's writing off the CFA for now since she's applying for top MBAs.
We've always seemed to end up in "competitive" positions. We used to work together and went for the same promotion, which I got over her. We both started looking for new jobs at the same time; she got one almost instantly and it took me about a year (granted we were looking for different things). We took the GMAT around the same time, she did better. Next up is the b-school race haha.
But I still want the best for her and vice versa, so it's all good.