Required hours

CFA General
#21

+1

Biggest mistake I made - thinking I could study the same amount of time for Level 2 as I did for Level 1. I’m sure I’m not alone.

#22

AND your undergrad was finance and/or accounting, rather than something like math, physics, or engineering.

#23

^ If it was the latter topics, then you are most probably smarter than finance grads and will have no problem grasping the material in the CFA program if you put in the time.

#24

Mike. Any good poker player understand implied odds. Yes, the pot odds say fold, but the additional rewards you make throughout your life if you “hit” make this a no brainer “call”.

#25

I personally don’t think anybody should be encouraged to begin the CFA, in the same way that I don’t think anybody should be encouraged to get a dog. The merits of being a CFA (or having a dog) are obvious, and are almost never overlooked. A person will encourage themself to start the CFA (or get a dog). The intense time and effort requirements are more likely to be overlooked. If they have the motivation to push through all the debbie-downer statistics and advice, then they’re probably right for the job.

Too many people get puppies without understanding what it takes to properly raise a dog. A lot of the L1 failures in CFA are probably for the same reason.

#26

^ Great analogy! Now how can I take this puppy back to the pound?

#27

I actually don’t understand the comparison :slight_smile:

Dogs are lifetime commitment and you cannot give them up (at least you SHOULD NOT), but CFA charter is just an object, if you give it up, no lives are harmed.

#28

I think you’re holding my analogy to too high a standard lol. I was just trying to say that people are usually plenty motivated on their own to get a dog or to start the charter, but they’re really only ready for it if they can hear a bunch of bad news about how difficult it is and STILL be willing to go through with it.

#29

i still don’t get it… T_T

do you mean, candidates are not prepared to hear the bad news despite their efforts?

#30

Gordon Gekko, is it you? wink

#31

I’ve never been good with analogies, but I sure do like them. I’m a physics/history teacher and one of my personal worsts was comparing pre-war Germany to a jar of expired pickles.

What I’m saying is that a person is probably only truly prepared for the vigors of the program if they are severely warned about how hard/terrible/difficult it will be, and they remain motivated. Everybody wants a dog, but unless they’re willing to hear 101 horror stories and STILL want a dog, they’re probably not entirely prepared.

#32

I think i know now, candidates tend to register without hearing all the negative things because those aren’t usually available information when they register. only when they are in trouble and search for help online they come across forums liek this and realize how much hardships everyone has to go through…

#33

The _ first time _ pass rate for Levels 2 and 3 seems to be about 20% for Levels 2 and 3. So most candidates (who will obviously take at least two attempts) will study 500+ hours in total for each exam over a multi-year period. The often-quoted 300 hours study-time is actually what most successful candidates put in during the final twelve months prior to finally passing, and this is on top of previous study. I would think that to pass first time probably requires 600+ hours of focused study effort for each of L2 and L3.

The Level 1 first-time pass rate is probably around 25%, excluding exam no-shows, but anyone who is motivated and holds an undergraduate degree in finance (or a good quality MBA / MSc in Finance) should have no problem passing L1 after 150 hours of focused study.

#34

There are many people that never failed an exam in their lives. If you put in the 500-600 hours you will pass. All this talk about needing 2 shots at it is hogwash and giving yourself an excuse to fail.

#35

I agree. For L2 and L3, 500-600 hours of focused study will likely generate a first-time pass on each exam. Anything significantly less will probably guarantee first-attempt failure. There is simply too much material to understand and memorise for a bare-bones 300-hour study schedule to work successfully for a first-time L2 or L3 pass.

#36

I like SpareTime 's analogy. I would say many lives are harmed, relatively. Can you imagine accomplishing all the criteria based pursuits of your life and then all of us sudden failing miserably after devoting hundreds, sometimes thousands, of hours of your time. That’s quite a dent in your bubble and your scarce time on Earth. I agree with former trader in that the material is overrated in difficulty but the scope makes the exams an absolute bitch that many don’t comprehend getting into the process. My engineering program had a 33% percent completion rate after six years. During orientation, we were told to look to your left, look to your right, only one of you will have an engineering degree in six years. Everybody laughed. Not so funny. The point? Have an honest discussion with yourself. You have to be able to answer yes to one of these questions. Are you willing to work harder than most of your colleagues(broad net) or do you have an aptitude greater(fluid or crystalline, either will do) than most of your colleagues(broad net). If not, move on. Nothing to see here.

#37

Yes. Based on the person’s background, budget between 150 or some higher number of hours per level. I personally cannot imagine spending 500 hours on any one of these exams (what are you spending this time doing?), but some people claim to have needed that much time, so I guess it probably happens.

#38

^

  1. Reading the entire curriculum once

  2. Reading every schweser book 5 times until you know it inside out.

  3. Reading ethics 2-3 times

  4. Doing every possible past exam you can get your hands on at least once

  5. Doing questions at the end of the book at least a few times

  6. Reviewing the notes you’ve jotted down and memorizing important formulas

  7. Going back to the curriculum and rereading the most important topics

  8. Taking the 3 schweser’s practice exams and carefully going through the answers

  9. Taking the practice online exam the CFA offers for free and ordering the other ones

#39

  1. Read entire calculator manual and figure out what time value of money is and various calculations (what you gotta do with no background).

  2. Reading entire curriculum once

  3. Read entire schweser set

  4. Read entire curriculum again

  5. Work every question in the q-bank (4k-ish but are quick, build speed). Tag all weak areas and redo them.

  6. Do 2 practice exams

  7. Unleash hell on the real one.

I’m envy those who can retain it all on one pass, it’s not very difficult material but there is a lot of it!

#40

If time was the answer alot more candidates would pass all 3 levels. The pass rate for all three levels is approximately 8.9%. So obviously time is not the answer.

Warren