We have a lot of overachievers here, but who here was a C student in College but went on to at least clear level 2? I myself was a pretty average student in undergrad because I could have cared less about outperforming in my classes and was interested in sports and having a good time. I went on to graduate with honors from my MSF degree program and obtained the CFA charter, passing all three on the first try. On the other hand we have a girl here in my office that graduated with honors from undergrad and was valedictorian in her HS class but failed the Series 65 exam twice before passing and is stuggling with the CFP pre-education program (both of which I think monkey’s should be able to pass). Anyway, what say you?
What is your question?
Yes.
I wish i had trajectories as clear and straight like that. Butt the only time where i felt i knew what i was doing was in the 2nd year of my undergrad degree and the first 4.5 months of my msc degree,the rest was just a bumpy ride to the bottome it seems.
Question was, who was a subpar student but was able to overcome those years of mediocrity?
i like meat
Thats what she said.
Passing CFA does not exactly raise you above mediocrity.
Ha, perhaps that was worded poorly. Good point.
I drank a lot
Many went the opposite route. Dominated in high school then when they moved in dorms they discovered girls…
In university, I always looked up to people who cleared level 1. I keep thinking how great they are.
When I pass level 1, I looked up to people who cleared level 2. I imagined to myself they are one of the most intellegent lot.
When I pass level 2, I looked up to people who cleared level 3. I told myself they must be genius to be one of the 8% who completed the program.
When I cleared level 3, I looked back and started to tell people CFA was not that hard afterall. In fact it is easy.
^ For most people it should be:
Start here : in university / hope to transition to finance/ back-office / IT
I dreamed of having the CFA charter and how I’ll get an awesome job with big$$. So i signed up
When I pass level 1, I looked up to people who cleared L2. THey beat the L2 beast
When I pass level 2, I looked up to people who cleared L3. They practically got it
When I passed L3 or got the CFA charter, it’s not a big deal anymore. Nowhere near as exciting, doors don’t automatically open, jobs still go to experienced people w/ no CFA, unskilled grads fresh out of schools get picked over no-experience w/ CFA, and I get a job that’s somewhat finance related but nothing like what I dreamed.
^ i would say maybe 90% end up somewhere like this.
I barely graduated from college, kind of suprised they didnt kick me out. Passed all 3 levels without much trouble.
The difference is that in college I never even made a 10% effort while I was pretty dedicated to passing these exams. Blows my mind when I meet people from top undergrad or MBA programs that failed lvl 1 or took lvl 2 three times… what tards…
I was like you. I went back to study my Msc after passing the three exams.
Realised the program made me a lot more disclipined and competitve.
Had a 58 out of 100 average in univeristy of sydney which mind you, is a pretty shit uni compared to the uni’s in the states and uk. Had a shit uni, decent pre-college and shit high school marks and yet I passed all 3 levels on a first attempt with ease. Conclusion, cfa isnt that hard if im able to pass it. You just need the drive and the motivation to pass. I wanted it bad enough. To prove to myself that i am not that stupid after all.
If you really ask me, getting a cfa is not a big deal. You get respected by your peers but it will not land you automatic jobs unlike getting into ivy league.
Err… I wish going to an Ivy League university got you automatic jobs…
Well, if we can assume that the average Intelligence across candidates is about the same, with a few significant outliers ofcourse,then passing exams is just a function of motivation and dedication. To me, motivation and will are the only thing that matter…if you don’t have these ingredients, the rest is just window dressing.
Motivation is harder to attain than cfa…
It helps if you know people that advanced their careers after completing the program. If not, then it will be more challenging to find the motivation.
I am in this boat. Did terrible in uni because I had no direction so I put in no effort, but I scrapped by. I passed L1 and L2 relatively easy and hoping to pass L3 this June. My issue: since I screwed up uni pretty badly I will have a huge challenge in getting into B-school.