I’m in mid-20, work in finance (but not investment), did not study finance/accounting in college.
I took the level 1 exam in December and only started studying for level 2 when i found out i passed the level 1 in the last week of January. Those four months were really bad especially since i had to work 6-70 working hours a week.
With crazy work schedule i did not get to study much during the week, probably 2 days on average. Those two days weren’t even honestly that practical either, since it was hard to really focus after working for 12 hours staight
So instead i spent every weekend just studyng, i really gave up my social life for four months. Still, I did not study for like 10 hours a day, probably 6-7 hours maxium… When i study, i usually don’t get distracted too easily, but I would have to take a break in between. So for instance, i would study for like 2 hours and then take an hour break… something like that. I usually watched netflix during break. I know some would say that’s not practical but honestly that’s what worked for me. I had to take a long break for my brain to work in full capacity. But other than those breaks, I rarely went outside of my apartment, i just ordered food…so basically just studying + taking breaks (to study more) for the whole weekend. so i probably studied 15-18 hours a week on average.
The hardest part of preparing for level 2 wasn’t honestly studying…at least for me. I have to admit that i did enjoy learning the material. In fact I believe it would have been “hell” if i did not enjoy the material. But giving up social life was hard. Some people said it is not that hard for me, since i’m not married or have kids, but swear to god, it is just as hard for me as it is for them. Just because I’m young and not married, that does not mean it is easy for me to not see friends for four months.
Some people also said stuff like, why did you go for the level 2 right away, you are going to burn yourself out, peole rarely pass the level 2 on their first attempt, let alone in four months, etc. seriously do not listen to people who affect you negatively. How you see yourself is what matters and when i in fact passed the level 2, those people acted like they had never said such a thing to me. Most of my friends were on the other hand really supportive, I am really lucky to have a group of friends who understood why i could not really see them for a few months.
Anyhow, when i passed the level 2, some of my coworkers i work closely with were not really surprised. They knew the exam was really hard but they somehow knew i could do it. I also realized things people have said about level 2, like how going for it right after level 1 in four months is just crazy etc. are just bu** sh**. If i could do it, anyone could do it… you just have to give 100% and do not look back.