Is CFA Level 3 worth it?
Passed Level 1 and 2 first time. Currently working in a buy side firm in the billing department. Love finance, trading, programming etc, but can't get a new job dealing with investment management.
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definitely, but you'll probably need more. need stats like your ug degree, maybe an mba is an option? any alumni or contacts you can lean on?
Passed freshman, soph, and junior years of college... Can't get a job. Is senior year worth it?
Level 3 is the lamest of the 3 levels (low bar) but you can't get the letters without it. If you've already wasted hundreds of hours getting to level 3 (and make no mistake, it is definitely a waste), then you might as well finish it. There is still some marginal value in having the CFA after your name.
Gotta ask, do you have the charter? or what exam did you go up to?
Not to sound harsh, but if you're in the billing department, CFA will not help you get into front-office IM. i did bulge bracket trading and have the CFA but even then it didn't help me with the transition. A top MBA is pretty much the only way to make this jump if you're not already in the industry.
Since you're already at level 3, go ahead and finish it. In the meantime try to get a better finance job and then apply to b-schools.
Finish it, you've passed the hard part. The CFA won't be your golden ticket. But in the long run it'll likely come in handy.
Studying for Lvl 3 of the CFA... considering using the time to cover practical material to get a new gig instead (Originally Posted: 02/25/2017)
So long story short I'm finding it very difficult to continue studying for this exam when little to none of it has any value to add to my current role or what I'd jump to next. I'm currently working in trade support for a derivatives group (about as general as I'll get) and feel like the time spent studying up until June could be better spent reviewing practical, markets-related stuff (minor modeling, trade ideas, paper trading, etc.) that could assist with jumping to a FO role. Granted, that really comes down to networking, but even after passing two levels of this exam I'm having trouble seeing what value it's added outside of showing that I'm willing to grind and am serious about progressing my career.
Jumping from my current role, I'm either thinking something markets-related (sales) or trying to make a move to ECM. Honestly though, I'm really not sure and need to do more networking to figure it out. The thread linked below sums up a lot of the feels right now but I'm really having trouble deciding whether to go 100% into studying practical stuff in hopes of landing that next gig sooner or just trying to juggle it along with studying. Thoughts?
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/cfa-level-iii-exam-no-motivation
I mean you're almost done and it's only a few months away. Just gut it out. The material is so much easier in my opinion than level 2 in terms of depth and breadth, it's just tricky because of the format. Blow through the reading as fast as you can so you're at least familiar with everything, and then just focus on the essay section. Do the previous year's practice tests several times. Read through the questions and answers once, then take the tests, grade yourself, and then take them again so you have the way they want the answers presented down cold. The morning section is hard because you need to ride the fine balance of giving them the answers they want, without taking too much time with extraneous information.
You can still spend time looking for a job. I know because I was interviewing and networking for FO roles while I was studying for level 3. Don't let your burnout create these self-destructive thoughts. Even if you allocate your free time 80% CFA 20% job you'll still be making quite an effort in terms of your job search. And again, it's just a few more months and then you'll have an accreditation that will last a lifetime. It may not be applicable in your next role, but you never know where you'll end up. Especially if you're in BO now, you're going to kind of have to be flexible in terms of the role you upgrade yourself to anyway, so you just don't know.
Coreytrevor is completely right.
Think of it this way - your job in TS should be flexible enough to allow for ample study time on both week nights and weekends. The same can't be said for your next job. You're so close to being done that you should just finish. Get the CFA and use that as leverage in what you want to do next. What happens if you stop now and never pick it back up again? You have the momentum. Get her done.
Continue grinding it is. Thanks guys... we'll see how the next couple months go.
CFA is a powerful recruiting tool in many industries, once you have it you always have it as long as you pay your dues.
Suck it up, buckle down and get it over with. Don't half ass it, you'll regret failing and not finishing or having to retake.
Doing level 1-2 but not 3 will end up with a lot of regret you should keep on going as you are on your way!
Imma play devil's advocate here and say you shouldn't. The whole reason you do the program is to signal a certain level of competence to potential employers. You have already accomplished this by completing the first 2 levels. The marginal signal sent from doing L3 over L2 does not nearly justify the marginal effort it would require. I'm by no means saying "never" finish it. I'm just saying that you're at a point now that you should focus on getting where you want to be first. THEN I'd say go ahead and finish it. Until then you're just running the risk of piling onto something which may never even be justified. Tons of people bust their ass to finish this thing and never get anything out of it. You might as well wait to see its first dividend before investing even more. This is how i see it at least and I'm in a similar position.
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