I don’t know how many people here read 300 Hours, but during a study break, I came across what I thought was the stupidest blog I have ever read. It began and ended with Howard (a Level 2 Candidate) talking about how devastated he was when he got an “F” on his Level 2 exam. (He got a score band of 4, which means he was in the bottom half of all failing grades.)
At the end, Howard says, “My failing score will defeat me only if I quit. And I am not a quitter.” I have heard others echo this same sentiment, saying that they’ll die before they quit the exam.
I posted a comment, and I would like to know, from those who have survived Level 2 (like I have), who agrees? Who disagrees?
Winners never quit, and quitters never win. But those who never win, AND never quit are idiots. (Thank you demotivators.com.)
Some people can’t pass the exam. Some lack the mental capacity. Some lack the 1000+ hours of time that it takes to study. Some have the time and the brains, but lack the fortitude to put in the 1000+ hours (on top of your job and family time and other time).
If you can’t pass (for whatever reason), then you can’t pass. The sooner you realize that and move on, the sooner you get your life back.
I, for one, failed Level 2, with a score band of 10. I had a great many extenuating circumstances (as we all do), so I tried again the next year. But I told myself that if I didn’t pass it the second time, I was going to hang up my hat, because I just couldn’t do it. My best just wasn’t good enough. Thankfully, I aced it the second time around.
So, those of us who are past the real hurdle, but are still in the thick of the battle, who agrees with me? Who agrees with Howard?
I think in the end its a personal choice and depends on how much the CFA charter means to you. I personally feel I am no one to call another person an Idiot for his personal choice of deciding to continue this course.
I will try to draw a parallel to my life now. I am not a runner by any stretch of imagination. I did two 10Ks and was able to complete them. But the moment I crossed this and went for a 15K, I got tendonitis and other knee issues. I cant quit, because I want to continue and do a 21K by Dec 2nd. Would you call me an idiot? Probably some will, but many runners wont - they would encourage me to correct the problem and help me achieve the target.
May be those who keep trying, “want” it so badly! I will take this positively and move on. Cheers!
Sooraj–I think that running and the CFA exam are not good parallels. Some people run for health, some run for enjoyment. Whatever your motivation, I dont think your wasting your time by running. You’re also not trying to pass a test.
The CFA exam, however, is a “Pass” or “Fail” test. You either pass, or you don’t pass. And if you don’t pass, then you’ve essentially wasted your time and money. (The CFA exam is like being pregnant–you either are, or you aren’t. There’s no “kinda” or “halfway”.)
That being said, I understand that everybody learns something new during their study. But you don’t have to pay thousands of dollars to learn. You can just buy used textbooks on Amazon and learn. The goal is to PASS THE TEST. I can learn my job while doing my job. Yes, I failed Level 2 the first time. But I had a new house in a new city in a new state, with a newly pregnant wife. And I started a new job in a new industry. Then I left that job and started another new job. All of this between taking Level 1 in December and taking Level 2 in June. So I think that score band 10 was okay, given the circumstances.
And if a person scores in the bottom half of all test takers, I wonder how serious they really are about the test. I wonder if they “really want it”. I think that I could have probably put in almost no study at all and gotten score band 4 on Level 2.
if it took 10 years to pass the CFA program, you may have finished and “won”, but if you think about your career, which is the whole point of the CFA, you probably could have used that time to have done something FAR MORE beneficial for your career.
So your opportunity cost (that you gave up) would have yielded a better result than 10yrs of CFA effort. So, in terms of the bigger picture, you “lost”
make sense?
This doesn’t even factor in lost time with family/friends/opportunity costs of enjoying life/no yearly exam stress/$$costs. So, on the whole, you really lost.
Remember, if you already put down 6yrs, you never consider sunk cost when looking ahead.
On a related note, there is a website similar to this one for CPA candidates. On that blog, some people choose to show their grades (AICPA actually gives you a numerical grade–75 is passing), and how many times they took each exam. (There are four exams. You can take them in any order you wish. However, once you pass one, you must pass the other three within 18 months, or your credit for your first one “falls off”.)
For the record, the average person takes 7 tests to complete the CPA exam.
One guy took the tests 11 times before they passed all four.
One person took the tests 14 times.
One person has taken 19 tests and counting. They still have to pass the last one.
Have these people “won”, or “lost”?
“I’m not bi-polar. I’m bi-winning!” --Charlie Sheen
hey ddrobinett, how is the CPA compared to the CFA ( i know such comparisons are froened upon; apples vs oranges…but still curious!)…is it essay or mcq…or item set…more quantitative? is it similar to FRA from CFA?
I agree they are not completely parallels mate. But my family members do think so… They ask me why are you so adamant on doing a 21? Do 10K multiple times is their question! Cant blame them, because they cant see me in pain!
And I work in IT and am trying to clear the three levels of this exam because it kind of pacifies me for not having done MBA when I needed to do it. I am 34 now and have a 7 year old son! I dont think I will ever derive complete benefits of this certification, nor do I think I will ever become a charter holder as I dont have the required work exp. Thankfully I havent failed yet, and even if I do, I think I will still get this cleared.
So I probably wont blame those who want to clear it even though they are extremely weak in algebra or have no affiliation to this industry like me. Right or Wrong, I dont know. As long as it gives them satisfaction, why bother whether they fail or pass!
But we could term those folks as idiots, who dont clear the exam and claim that its CFAI’s fault and not his or hers You know what I mean mate
My enthusiasm for the CFA has waned in a big way. It seems to do that for most everybody who doesn’t get it done quickly in 18 months.
In the beginning it made perfect sense. Here I was with this new job and I needed the fundamental skills to really do it properly. That was December 2009. I took CFA Level 1 and passed. I loved learning all the new shit, which was totally new to me.
The following Spring I took CFA Level 2 and passed. Spring 2010. Loved learning all the new shit.
The following spring I took CFA Level 3 and faile, band 5. I didn’t really have the time or energy to do what was needed. DIdn’t find much of the curriculum that useful but sort of enjoyed it.
The next spring, I still didn’t have the time or energy. I skipped the test that year.
Now I’ve been in my job for nearly six years. I have all the requisite expertise I’ll ever need. Nobody really gives a shit about my CFA charter as they are far more concerned with me being an expert in the type of assets that I work with. I could easily cop out at this point. In fact, I would like to walk away, if I did I’d still be a winner (at least no more of a loser for it). But, yep, I’ve come this far. What’s a couple hundred ours of studying just to be able to say I finished what I started? Not a lot. But in any case, yep, I’m having a hard time finding the motivation. I’m not excited about it. If I pass, I’ll be no more of a winner.
My perspective is similar to that of iteracom. When making decisions, it’s important to consider opportunity costs and sometimes quitting means accepting an outside option that is better. Though I really enjoyed the CFA curriculum, I still regret starting the CFA program a few months after getting married. I know that everyone’s situation is different but it would be unwise not to consider opportunity costs.
With that said, a lot of time people quit because they feel hopeless and it’s understandable because each exam requires a substantial time commitment and passing exams is difficult. I have huge respect for those who were able to overcome failure and finish the program.
Some interesting opinions and perspectives in this thread. Everyone gets their motivation from a different source and for some that motivation goes away over time. Think back to why you signed up and why you kept going after passing level 1 and 2, does that original source of motivation still apply?
There is a reason so few people finish the CFA program, it takes a LOT of work, time (I think I read the average person takes 4 years to finish), energy and effort to pass one exam, let alone 3 of them, each with a different exam format. But their are rewards for the hard work - some employers give promotions and/or raises based on having the charter, having the charter makes you more attractive to employers and hiring managers for higher ranked positions and you have access to a larger network of finance professionals that also have the charter.
No one can give you the motivation to finish and pass level 3, it takes a lot of work but there are rewards to doing so. The only question is, is it something you want and are you willing to put in the work to do it?
I feel like Studmuffin. I don’t know that I’m going to get much out of it, anymore. When I started, I was living in a big city with a lot of jobs for CFA’s. Now I live in a city of about 200,000, far away from any big city. There’s not much demand for CFA’s out here. But then again, there’s not much supply, either.
Ultimately, I decided to keep going because I’ll finish (hopefully) when I’m only 33. I figure I will probably work another 30-40 years, if I’m healthy. Who knows what kind of opportunities I’ll have in that time? And if I hadn’t gotten my charter, how many of those opportunities would have just blown by? I’ll probably never know.
Proverbially, I fkinda feel like I’ve been studying for a PhD in Mathematics, but now I’m starting to realize that College Algebra was all I really needed.
You know what I mean mate