CFA L2 - take it now or wait
Hello all. I graduated this past December (early) as well as passed my CFA L1 exam this past June (or August). I have a semester off that I plan to take full advantage of by training my collegiate sport, taking my GMAT, and traveling a bit. Is it worth it to go ahead and take my level 2 now or wait until later. It will be a strain on my time greatly and might hinder performance in my GMAT, sport, or might suffer due to already booked travel plans. I remain confident that I can do all but would love to hear thoughts on if the huge burden is worth it so early in my career. I figured having l2 done now will help differentiate me for PE/HF recruiting (I will be at a BB with average placement) and it might look good to have my charter for MBA applications. Thanks in advance.
Take it. There’s never a perfect time to take any level of the CFA because life has a tendency to get in the way. But if you gave a semester off from school that’s about as perfect of a time that you’ll get. Personally, I would prioritize level 2 over the GMAT because you can take the GMAT whenever but level 2 is only once a year in June.
I took level 1 in December ‘16 and passed. Signed up for June ‘17 level 2 and started studying. Then switched jobs and had to take the 7 and 63. Still sat for June ‘17 even though I was completely unprepared. Used it as a practice test and to help lower the minimum passing score for my fellow candidates. Failed, obviously. Then came back and passed level 2 in 2018 and level 3 in 2019.
I often hear people say they are going to wait until the time is right to get the CFA. The reality is that you will always continue to get busier, have more commitments and things you are responsible for. As your career progresses your time becomes more valuable. The true cost of a CFA is the opportunity cost of the time you spend studying. The longer you wait, the more expensive it becomes.
I agree 100%. I had to wait until work started for CFA 2 and that just blew. Do it while you can.
It sounds like you don’t need the CFA program in your career path. Maybe it would be better to casually study the GMAT if you want during your travels. Relax - have fun. Enjoy your time away from being in a company or being at school and live a little. This is the only time you have for the distant future to have so many ‘vacation days’ lined up. See the sites, have drinks with the locals and take lots of pictures. Cheers.
CFA L2 is big investment of time/money - it has lots of material on it ( much more than L1) and the exam fees and review books add up to a non-trivial cost. I'd recommend figuring out if you need L2 at all - not sure if it's helpful for HF/PE recruiting.
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