Getting an MBA & CFA simultaneously.

Hello all! I plan on getting my MBA and CFA simultaneously. I am currently enrolled at Babson College (Evening) and a candidate for the CFA level 1 exam (December). My plan is to complete grad school & obtain the CFA certification in 3 years. I know this is tasking, but I am a numbers person (good quantitative aptitude) and I feel I can pull this off and still go to work full-time and maintain a relationship with my significant other. Has anyone ever been in this situation? What are the Pros and Cons? any advise on tips to ease the burden? I am fully committed to putting my social life etc on hold for 3 yrs to pursue this. Thanks!

hey i am with ya~ first year fulltime mba registered for June 08 CFA i am on my christmas break right now and hoping to get as much done during this time as possible

Really? thats cool! SO you won’t be working? I wish I could do that :frowning: But I don’t want to depend on student loans for my mortgage payments and bills etc! At 27, I would like to have no more than 70k in student loan debt come 2011. What school are you going to?

working, relationship, MBA…and CFA? Not gona happen

kenanadu Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hello all! > > I plan on getting my MBA and CFA simultaneously. > I am currently enrolled at Babson College > (Evening) and a candidate for the CFA level 1 exam > (December). My plan is to complete grad school & > obtain the CFA certification in 3 years. I know > this is tasking, but I am a numbers person (good > quantitative aptitude) and I feel I can pull this > off and still go to work full-time and maintain a > relationship with my significant other. > > Has anyone ever been in this situation? What are > the Pros and Cons? any advise on tips to ease the > burden? I am fully committed to putting my social > life etc on hold for 3 yrs to pursue this. > > Thanks! I took Level I this december after 1st year of Part Time school + Full-time job. Its doable. Not so sure of Level II though. Good Luck with your studies!

Re: Getting an MBA & CFA simultaneously. Posted by: jalmy8 (IP Logged) [hide posts from this user] Date: December 14, 2007 10:20AM working, relationship, MBA…and CFA? Not gona happen _____________________________________________________________________ Really? How do you figure? I looked up sample questions for Level 1 and found 70% of them easy and solved them w/o a calculator. I know level ii and iii will kick butt, but I will re-access my plans after level 1 and first year of grad school! I am not that naive, my plan is not set in stone! Worse case scenario, I’ll get rid of the girl friend! (JUST KIDDING lol)

sarathk Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- >> I took Level I this december after 1st year of > Part Time school + Full-time job. Its doable. > Not so sure of Level II though. > > Good Luck with your studies! Thanks a lot for the kind words!! What school are you going to?? Are you in a relationship? If yes, how did it work out with school, work and CFA studies?

kenanadu Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > sarathk Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > >> I took Level I this december after 1st year of > > Part Time school + Full-time job. Its doable. > > Not so sure of Level II though. > > > > Good Luck with your studies! > > > > > Thanks a lot for the kind words!! What school are > you going to?? Are you in a relationship? If yes, > how did it work out with school, work and CFA > studies? I’m married. give me your email address and I will be happy to answer specific questions. best, -S

sarathk Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > kenanadu Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > sarathk Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > >> I took Level I this december after 1st year > of > > > Part Time school + Full-time job. Its doable. > > > Not so sure of Level II though. > > > > > > Good Luck with your studies! > > > > > > > > > > Thanks a lot for the kind words!! What school > are > > you going to?? Are you in a relationship? If > yes, > > how did it work out with school, work and CFA > > studies? > > > I’m married. give me your email address and I will > be happy to answer specific questions. > best, > -S Really? Thats awesome! Looks like we’re in the same boat:) or close! My E-mail address is k_e_anadu@tmo.blackberry.net! Thanks again! Oh the questions are: -How did you manage to juggle all 3? (CFA studies, married life, full-time work and part-time MBA program?) -On average, how many months did you prepare for the Level 1 exam? Did you find it challenging? average? easy? -What school are you going to? career goals etc? **Feel free to leave out questions that are too personal** Thanks!

It is doable, but be prepared to make a lot of sacrifices. I’m working full time, doing my MBA part time (will be done in April), and wrote level I in December. One thing you will definitely learn is how to manage your time. Still, even with good time management skills, I hope your girlfriend/wife is as understanding as mine is. I also know quite a few people who are studying either part-time (so working full time), or studying full time, and doing their CFA at the same time. Some of them even worked on PRM/FRM in addition to aforementioned things.

It’s definitely doable. I just took Level 1 of the CFA test 2 weeks ago. While I was studying for the first level, I was taking 3 courses in my Masters in Finance program at St. Joe’s University(Philly), working full time as an analyst, competing in triathlons, and maitaining a house/being a landlord. It’s definitely a full plate but doable nonetheless. However, one drawback is that when you’re done with school and/or CFA studying, you’ll wonder what you did with all your free time in the past. “All I have to do is work full time?” is what you’ll probably ask yourself. But I’m sure with some hard work (sleeping in and watching TV) you can can shake that ambitious attitude pretty quickly. The only reason I still have a girlfriend is because she’s a CPA and knows what it takes to earn these degrees/certifications.

lehmetelya Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It’s definitely doable. I just took Level 1 of > the CFA test 2 weeks ago. While I was studying > for the first level, I was taking 3 courses in my > Masters in Finance program at St. Joe’s > University(Philly), working full time as an > analyst, competing in triathlons, and maitaining a > house/being a landlord. It’s definitely a full > plate but doable nonetheless. > > However, one drawback is that when you’re done > with school and/or CFA studying, you’ll wonder > what you did with all your free time in the past. > “All I have to do is work full time?” is what > you’ll probably ask yourself. > But I’m sure with some hard work (sleeping in and > watching TV) you can can shake that ambitious > attitude pretty quickly. > > The only reason I still have a girlfriend is > because she’s a CPA and knows what it takes to > earn these degrees/certifications. This is very inspirational:) Thanks for posting! So what type of analyst are you? I-Banking (2-3yr) analyst? Financial? ER? QA? I am looking for an analyst position too, need to get more in-tune with the industry. Thanks again

I started my MS Finance program in the Fall of 2003, at the same time I started working full-time (50-70 hours/week) at an investment bank as the editor in the equity research department, while working two nights a week as a bartender while the wife was pregnant (meaning - I had to paint every room in the house, build a crib, fix this, do that, etc.). Within a year, I started as an associate analyst, had signed up for the CFA and was still doing the second job along with school. To manage my time, I dropped my course load down to one course per term. It can be done; however I am more of a cautionary tale. I am still in the industry as an associate (going into my fourth year), have dropped the CFA studying (didn’t pass the first attempt due to lack of study), and through two moves (different areas of the country) have skipped a few terms of classes. I don’t feel I really dropped the ball (except in regards to the CFA), because I just signed up for my last course for Spring 08, I am moving forward in my career, and my wife and daughter love me dearly. I also quit doing the second job, but only recently. I do plan on taking the CFA again next December after I have my MSF off the plate. I would just say this: be sure that you are ready to make many sacrifices in all areas of your life to accomplish all of your goals. It does seem ambitious, but it is perfectly natural to want it all, and want it all right now. All of these goals are relatively short term goals, and the beauty of the CFA is that it is self-paced, so you are able to study in those rare moments when you have free time and the ability to focus (the train, a cab, lunch, before work, after work, etc.). So that one is relatively easier to fit around your hectic schedule. Just know what you are getting into, and plan accordingly. Be sure to take breaks and enjoy life along the way.

mcthorp Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I started my MS Finance program in the Fall of > 2003, at the same time I started working full-time > (50-70 hours/week) at an investment bank as the > editor in the equity research department, while > working two nights a week as a bartender while the > wife was pregnant (meaning - I had to paint every > room in the house, build a crib, fix this, do > that, etc.). Within a year, I started as an > associate analyst, had signed up for the CFA and > was still doing the second job along with school. > To manage my time, I dropped my course load down > to one course per term. > > It can be done; however I am more of a cautionary > tale. I am still in the industry as an associate > (going into my fourth year), have dropped the CFA > studying (didn’t pass the first attempt due to > lack of study), and through two moves (different > areas of the country) have skipped a few terms of > classes. I don’t feel I really dropped the ball > (except in regards to the CFA), because I just > signed up for my last course for Spring 08, I am > moving forward in my career, and my wife and > daughter love me dearly. I also quit doing the > second job, but only recently. > > I do plan on taking the CFA again next December > after I have my MSF off the plate. I would just > say this: be sure that you are ready to make many > sacrifices in all areas of your life to accomplish > all of your goals. It does seem ambitious, but it > is perfectly natural to want it all, and want it > all right now. All of these goals are relatively > short term goals, and the beauty of the CFA is > that it is self-paced, so you are able to study in > those rare moments when you have free time and the > ability to focus (the train, a cab, lunch, before > work, after work, etc.). So that one is relatively > easier to fit around your hectic schedule. > > Just know what you are getting into, and plan > accordingly. Be sure to take breaks and enjoy life > along the way. WOW! You definately had ALOT on your plate! Glad to hear you’re still going strong! Falling off the wagon is ok as long as you brush yourself off and keep climbing! Another inspirational tale, thanks a lot for sharing :slight_smile:

mcthorp, just out of curiousity which msc of finance program did you do?

hows bartending? is that fun as a second job? I know the full time job is prob boring as hell… and the CFA/masters too… so bartending might = tons of fun??

Dear all, Hi! I am Kam from Malaysia. I am also working full time and study part time for my RMIT MBA + CFA program. I glad to know all of you who in the same boat like me. Cheers! Warm regards. Kam

Hi everyone, MBA/CFA together is tough, i’ll tell you that, I studied for LI while finishing my MBA last summer and it was very time-consuming. However, the two complement each other well, as I found a lot of the Finance and Investments material very applicable, and in turn, that stuff was easier to study for when the exam came around. CFAI even lists some schools that offer a combined program, which is interesting as well.

All, This is a gr8 forum. I am in a similar situation, working full-time, doing part-time MBA (half way through) and thinking of appearing for Level I in June 08. I am still unable to decide whether I should buy the material from CFAI or whether I should go with Schweser. I have covered topics such as NPV, Time value of money, stock valuation etc. in my finance courses at school Any suggestions? Regards Sada

Not sure you have a choice there…I think in '08 you have to buy the CFAI books. I’m a Babson MBA grad - full time, class of '01. I could not have done the full time gig and CFA at the same time, Not sure about part time. In the full time program I was at school from 6:30am to 11pm 6 days a week. Never would have been able to combine them. My own opinion, for whatever its worth, is that sometimes its better to fully focus on one thing and do it well (i.e MBA with honors), then get a good job and do the CFA right away after graduation.