The fact your boss doesn’t have a CFA shouldn’t change if you try for it or not. You’re going to see a lot of the MDs don’t have the charter. It just wasn’t a thing when they were coming up. If I look at the VPs I see many more of them are aware or have tried it. So don’t do it, but 50% is a lot of extra money. Sometimes in life you have to make your own decisions Chizi.
My $0.02
There seems to be a pattern in your results- you have always done well on FRA, Ethics, Corp Fin, Econ (5/10) and badly on FI/Derivatives(2/10). In the quant section, you got at least three questions right consistently.
In the 2014 syllabus, if the ‘strong’ topics don’t change substantially, I see no reason why you can’t pass by focusing on the ones that need improvement. ‘Self worth’ is very important in my opinion. If failing this exam causes you to think less of yourself, I would advice making one last effort to get over the line. If you start early, have a well thought out study plan and don’t get nervous on the exam day, passing L2 is eminently doable (given your background and past performance).
Hi Chizi,
I’m band 10 as you… and I would like to know how many hours do you spend when you resit L2?
I guess it must be much less than the first try since you already master around 65% of the curriculum.
Thanks
Thanks a lot Jwn566, lxwar30, lerfings and kc123… your comments are appreciated. I owe it to people like you when I pass the exam in June 2014. You really have awoken my spirits.
I left work at 3pm today and my wife has just entered the house and found me in the thread. All she could do was echo the belief of how I will pass in June next year. She believes in me, even though we make jokes of how she will narrate the story of ‘my Level II journey’ to our son and other children if God blesses us with others. She was two years behind me in campus and she knows how I nailed exams and how I acted as a sub-lecturer to my classmates; and how I crushed the CPA exams. She never believes it’s my mind that sits for the level II exam. She always says; ‘that’s why I chose not to sit for the CFA exams’. She encourages me on the premise that she has sat in some of my presentations in Finance and she has heard how knowledgeable I am in Finance. And BTW, CFA has added to my finance knowledge quite a lot.
Unlike the past years when I started to study in March, I will roll up my sleeves and start in the next month. I know I have to master every concept of derivatives, fixed income, aternative, PM, QM, Econ while making sure that I dont forget the biggies FRA, Ethics, Equity and Corp Fin.
To hear one of you say that there are some people who have passed on their fourth attempts or even beyond has awoken my spirits. And to hear one of you tell me ‘I should pass it because other have passed before’ is really so kind. And yes, it is true that when our MDs tried CFA back then, it was not as valuable as it is today.
I really wanna feel worthy and appreciated as an investment professional. I have already deferred starting an MBA at the MIT Sloan SoM. The intention was to work and save money for my family upkeep during the time I take the MBA and to make sure I pass CFA Level II exam. Probably that’s why I was so much frustrated. I now have one chance to achieve this and I am thankful to have had people I have never met contribute to my motivation. I hope to come back and inform you that I passed the June 2014 exam.
So much thankful
qqqbee’s brother?
Don’t quit, you can do it. Its obivious that you just need a little bit more direction. Spend some more time on derivatives, FI, PM and make sure you hold your level at the big chunks.
Respect.
To the OP, you should get up, dust yourself off and go at it again. The time you spent is sunk cost, but the feeling of seeing this through is worth the effort. I sense that because of your past successes, you may be a bit over-confident. And if you are, Lvl 2 will beat the crap out of you and teach you humility.
I passed L1 in one go, without writing any practice exams (but I did study). Like you, I’ve enjoyed success academically. I work on the buy side where the CFA is a requirement. Going into L2, I didn’t see what the big deal was given my experience in L1. I just wrote L2 for the 4th time this June, and finally passed. I had no time to study for my first try, but still went in to sit as a public service to others. Failed band 0/1 (whatever was the lowest). Second attempt, I read the Schweser notes, failed band 4. Third attempt, I studied hard for 6 mths and gave it a genuine attempt, failed band 6. Fourth attempt, I studied my ass off, gave it my all, and kept going. Passed. And if I didn’t pass this time, I would’ve got back on the horse and tried again. It’s worth finishing what you started.
I’ve never thought I could be pushed this hard. But learning what I’ve learned from L2, I’m excited to tackle L3.
DickeyFuller, I am now humbled and I thank you for sharing your experience… it gives me all the reasons why i shoud go at it… and it is true, I may have been over-confident in the past especially during my 3rd attempt. I now will sit down and study to tear off the curriculum.
Its true, my long gone grandpa used to tell me; ’ if you start something and never finish it, you are just like one who never started’ I am gonna live hi words and I will kill this.
My job also requires CFA and rewards follow if one completes the program. You must be feeling knowledgeable after taking the exam 4X… because I assure I am more knowledgeable than ever after preparing for level II thrice. How did you go at it in your last attempt? Thanks a lot!
That’s the spirit Chizi.
Even though i passed, when I walked out of the exam, I didn’t feel confident. I was already preparing for the worst the night before the results.
I work in the research department and work with some of the brightest minds in my firm. My colleagues have all passed it on their first tries. They’re supportive as is my boss, but I’m sure it didn’t look good I was doing it for the 4th time. The record at my firm stands at 6 attempts for L2.
What I would suggest you do is introduce some changes to your study strategy. Going through the materials for a 3rd time, you can fall into a trap of thinking you know the material well b/c you’ve seen it before. And the boredom can really get to you. So what I did was to sign up for the Schweser live class. It didn’t provide much in added value compared to the study notes, but it kept me on track schedule wise.
I would read the study notes, go to class one day a week, and then hit qbank questions. Rinse and repeat. I started the curriculum in january, finished last week of April. First 2 weeks of May, it was review and questions. Last 2 weeks of May, it was review and mock exams. I only managed to do 4 mocks. i never did a full one, only did halfs. And I would seek to really understand the questions I got wrong, and what tricks I was prone to fall for.
You will get it, and when you do, it’s an amazing feeling.
Travelling from continent to continent doesn’t make you smarter, neither does your working experience at investment banks.
Because I travelled too. I was born on the other side of the globe, and I’m now working for a fund with more than 200 billion asset.
So what? Nothing to be bragged about.
what you do and say defines you. You made mistakes, that’s fact no matter how you argue. Mistakes are like permanent stains in life. They never disappear.
Now I sense not only carelessness but also arrogance.
You are still young, being humble is a virtue which is very rare here.
Chizi your name means crazy from where i come from.
Aanyway that’s besides the point. Some clear it in one fell swoop others two and so on. In my opinion what really matters is how badly you want it and what you become as a person in the process of acquiring your Charter, think of the past failures as preparation for something bigger and better.
All the best.
My 2 cents… approach the exams next year as if you failed it woefully in your previous attempts i.e. band 5 or below. You could be lulled into a false sense of hope when you fall in the Band 9/10 fail category.
I also failed L2 on my first attempt (Band 7) and sat again the following year, studying harder than i had ever done before and guess what, i passed convincingly (>70 in 8 subject areas).
It’s doable, kill the beast in 2014!
The 2013 exam was super easy. Next year’s exam will definetely be harder. Think of it as well.
I question this…the pass rate was virtually the same and from my personal expirence I felt this exam to be as challenging as last year.
Exam was much easier than mock
Yes, they usually are. But comparing to last year I don’t believe it was significantly more or less challenging.