Just wondered why this designation seems to be frequently slandered on this board. I’m not denying the fact that you need to have much more going for you than this piece of paper to end up in the right place, but the way some people talk about it, it is as though many feel it is completely useless. I dunno, I am a commodity trader and yes, where I work, it is 100% useless in terms of educational value. But people still respect the effort and time you put in after working a demanding 7-5. I’m not claiming this thing opens doors wide open. But we all wouldn’t be doing it if there wasn’t some benefit right? How can it not help you stand at least a little further out? It’s not as though jobs fall to you immediately afterwards. But as a part of a well rounded resume, would you not think it is valuable? Certainly at this point, I don’t regret having written these exams. Do you? Just my 2 cents, would appreciate yours…
no way i put myself through this if i thought it wasn’t valuable.
I have a lot of respect for CFA and I will always treasure the knowledge, but I did expect it to also help me in my job search, but it does not seem to have much value if you do not have any finance experience. I had asked about this about a year back and folks on this forum had warned me about exactly this phenomena and it was confirmed during my campus recruiting last fall. Some of my college-alumni had told that MBA plus CFA level II would be a killer combination to make the career change, but I did not find that to be true. But you have to keep this in perspective of the imploding banks. So, while I am telling about my experience, but it is possible that it was very much tied to the current situation and it may have helped in a normal situation.
Here (in Scandinavia) people respect the effort we put into it. But the CFA doesn’t really open any doors.
CFA is extremely valuable if you combine it with relevant experience. I honestly don’t see why you would put in almost 1000 hours without already working in the industry. It’s such a long shot, I would prefer to do other stuff with my time instead.
I think it’s valuable- people also pooh-pooh the utility of MBA and advanced degrees, complain that work experience is always subjective, and can find something wrong with anything. But taking three 6-hour exams with low pass rates that is globally regarded as among the most difficult set of professional tests around is an objective measure of determination and ability as anything else in the known universe. It might be hard to measure what the ‘dollar benefit’ in the end is, becuase that’s as dependent on the choices and opportunity set of the charterholder, but I’d say that when someone in the industry sees “CFA” after your name, it’s credibility and legitimacy (warranted or not), that currently does not have a substitute for in this industry. Maybe if J.D. or PhD. And that seems to be worth a lot.
I think what you are seeing are a lot of lurkers poo pooing CFAI because the test wasn’t on schweser material. Plus when you have a lot invested in something and one feels slighted either due to test or material emotions run high. Spending 300 to 600 hours for an exam is such a commitment. To think that nothing comes of it despite genuinely learning the material is too much to handle for some I have to agree with the experience within finance for the most value add. Any job that I’ve seen that required an MBA or CFA designation essentially also required heavily finance experience. I think using the designation to break in is laudable but difficult. On the flip side it definately sets you apart from non charterholders that may be trying to get into finance also.
Experience might be the most value added, and i certainly agree…but i came to NYC after 14 years in Chicago trading my own money on one of the exchange floors…i truly thought that was worth something, but it turns out it wasn’t in the eyes of the bulge bracket firms. the CFA designation gives credibility to my work experience, with the added benefit of broadening the scope of my knowledge. I am going to be humongously proud of myself when i see myself on the list. It is definitely worth the work.
Its all circumstantial people. Depends on what you want to do, what your investment philosophy is, what your past experience was, etc. For me, I think the experience was valuable, but not what I was expecting. I was not expecting this to be a golden ticket. I have about 4 years experience, 2.5 of actual investment experience on the buy-side. I despise Wall Street and the Wall Street model of dressing up frat boy’s in monkey suits and bullsh*tting to clients. So I have no desire to work for any of the big banks - so I could give a rats @$$ how its perceived by them. Given my investment philosophy, its not really applicable since I regard a lot of it as academic rubbish. But I am not going to poo-poo it since overall I think the program benefited me. I think I am a lot sharper than I was three years ago as a result of the exam and it gives a broad knowledge base to charterholders. Definitely a good thing to have on one’s resume.
well put value addict - monkey suits hahahaha.
I’m with Value Addict on a lot of it, although being in the program did help me change jobs. I think the biggest benefit to me has been from a confidence standpoint, and more importantly it has changed the way I think about things. I am now able to evaluate and analyze things with a lot more complexity than I did before I started the program, and this is something I just noticed. I still think if you deal with investments its the most relevent/applicable designation you can get.
I fail to understand why people not in the industry would want to do this. An experienced CFA vs. a non-experienced person who happened to pass 3 exams will usually get the job because of the relevant experience. Moreover, given all the turmoil in the industry, those hoping to break into the industry should just give up. Ain’t happening. If I tried to get some books on IT stuff and try to get some IT certification hoping to get that back office job, I highly doubt I’d be more competitive than those already with experience.
>>But taking three 6-hour exams with low pass rates that is globally regarded as among the most difficult set of professional tests around is an objective measure of determination and ability as anything else in the known universe. If you think these 3 exams are even remotely on par with attainment of FSA or FCAS you are sorely mistaken.
good point pimp - i think you should take it one step further. why bother getting any university degree in the first place. if you aren’t working in the investment industry there is no chance ever of getting in so just go flip burgers for a living. the recession will be permanent and getting any type of designation is pointless at this point. sound logic right?
I agree to some extent with PIMP. However, I was sitting for CFA II when I interviewed for my current job, and what I learned from that material really prepared me to be able to speak the language in my interviews. I have no doubt I wouldn’t have landed my job had I not been sitting for / exposed to the CFA curriculum.
I think learning the material in fear of the test is extremely valuable, and I think everyone who goes through this deserves a very large pat on the back and has gained a lot from this. I think the reason everyone gets so upset is that on June 6th, there is very low correlation between what people think will get tested and what actually shows up. And the test-makers like to throw in new terminology and flip the situations you are used to seeing on their backside. In some ways its good - they’re testing applicability of knowledge, you need to know the material inside and out, and that’s what gives this charter such credibility. In other ways - it feels intentionally misleading and not representative of the CBOK. So after the test, a lot of people feel like they’ve wasted their time that could’ve been spent with family/friends studying lengthy concepts that never showed up. And at the same time, they skim over the low probability or obscure topics which end up being killers. I think its a combination of people that are (1) mad at themselves for taking the wrong approach (2) mad at CFA for not asking the perfect questions (3) exhaustion from 4-6 months of being a recluse and realizing that they might have to do this all over again next year Overall, everybody on this board is dying to put the letters next to their name no matter what they say
I dislike it when people bash the CFA here. Ok so you hate the program yet you post like a motherfu_ker on here? Get the F out and do something else. You’re only an idiot if you have such low respect for the program yet spend most of your spare time participating in discussions here. If you can’t land a job and blame it on the lack of value that the CFA brings you, it’s YOUR problem. There are issues with yourself that you need to work out. I respect anyone who puts themselves through this program. All else the same, I would pick the prospect who is perusing this over one who is not.
By the way, I’m not directing my post to anyone on here. I haven’t even read most of the posts. I’m just expressing my 2 cents
Slash Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > By the way, I’m not directing my post to anyone on > here. I haven’t even read most of the posts. I’m > just expressing my 2 cents Dude, you need to be a little careful with your words and read before you respond. I have not seen anybody on this thread disrespect CFA. Mind you due diligence is core of CFA ethics:-)
buddham Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Slash Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > By the way, I’m not directing my post to anyone > on > > here. I haven’t even read most of the posts. > I’m > > just expressing my 2 cents > > Dude, you need to be a little careful with your > words and read before you respond. I have not seen > anybody on this thread disrespect CFA. Mind you > due diligence is core of CFA ethics:-) No I don’t. I’ve seen many people complain in the general discussion forum about how “useless” the CFA program is. These are people who have passed L2 or L3 and are generally just bitter and negative losers. Like I said, my post wasn’t directed to anyone here.