Hello: I have a few questions regarding the CFA exam series. I’ve decided that I am going to pursue the charter, rather then MBA school for a few reasons. I’ve eliminated the MBA as an option because 1.) I’m already thirty one with only year of real experience in this sector (I spent six years in the military before four years of college) and 2.) Outside of the technical skills, I am not sure what added value an MBA can give me that real work experience can’t (given the caveat of item (1)). If I was to tart pursuing an MBA now, I would be 34 before (or 35) by the time I graduated with little real work experience. Mind you, I don’t consider the CFA a substitute for the MBA (or vice versa), merely this is the path I think I will follow. I also happen to enjoy the material in the charter. I like the challenge, and I like the problem solving and creative process involved in much of the work. Unfortunately, at my current firm, I can’t get enough technical experience, and there generally aren’t people to show me what I am doing right or wrong with some of my ideas, with one or two possible exceptions. Thus I have decided that the charter is a logical course of action for me. Now, I have two questions: How much time do I need to prepare for Level I? Can I register now (or rather in December) for the June exam and have plenty of time to prepare? I have a BA in Economics from a four year liberal arts school, and I have a fairly decent grasp of some of the concepts described, but I have absolutely no experience in corporate accounting and there are some other weak areas as well. The other question is, what sort of jobs should I expect that I could consider with one to two years of ops experience (and given the above). For me, it’s all about challenge. Money, while important, is not the first priority. If I can’t be challenged all the time, then I get bored and want to move on. Also, I don’t have the strongest academic background, and I am not being modest – I did do well in certain measures of achievement but this didn’t translate into grades for me. However, I have always outperformed my peers in any job I have ever been in, whether the military, or here at my current firm, or wherever. That said, I know I am not going to walk right into some star hedge fund, but what sort of jobs (or firms, or types of firms) could I start to look at now with an eye towards a year or two down the road? One additional question, I am not going to register until after December, but I would like to try to start studying now. Is there any good supplementary reading I can buy at Barnes and Nobles or Borders (or any other bookshop in Manhattan) that could aid me? Thank you for reading this lengthy post and I look forward to your responses.
31 is not too late for MBA
6 months are enough to prepare for L1. You could try and get hold of someone’s old study material in the meantime. Maybe you can ask for it in L1 forum and pay for shipping.
Unless you really can’t see yourself doing something else I would avoid this industry right now. Seriously. Find a profession where you can put your leadership skills to work. You would probably make a great general manager. Analysts are a different breed. The stereotype is that they are just a bunch of effete geeks.
Good luck. It is very challenging. You will need to put in at a very minimum 300 hrs study from now until June for Level 1. I would bet you will probably drift towards 413 hrs. The sooner you start studying the better. Best Wishes
eire1130 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hello: > > I have a few questions regarding the CFA exam > series. I’ve decided that I am going to pursue the > charter, rather then MBA school for a few reasons. > I’ve eliminated the MBA as an option because 1.) > I’m already thirty one with only year of real > experience in this sector (I spent six years in > the military before four years of college) and 2.) > Outside of the technical skills, I am not sure > what added value an MBA can give me that real work > experience can’t (given the caveat of item (1)). > If I was to tart pursuing an MBA now, I would be > 34 before (or 35) by the time I graduated with > little real work experience. Mind you, I don’t > consider the CFA a substitute for the MBA (or > vice versa), merely this is the path I think I > will follow. > > I also happen to enjoy the material in the > charter. I like the challenge, and I like the > problem solving and creative process involved in > much of the work. Unfortunately, at my current > firm, I can’t get enough technical experience, and > there generally aren’t people to show me what I am > doing right or wrong with some of my ideas, with > one or two possible exceptions. Thus I have > decided that the charter is a logical course of > action for me. > > Now, I have two questions: How much time do I need > to prepare for Level I? Can I register now (or > rather in December) for the June exam and have > plenty of time to prepare? I have a BA in > Economics from a four year liberal arts school, > and I have a fairly decent grasp of some of the > concepts described, but I have absolutely no > experience in corporate accounting and there are > some other weak areas as well. > > The other question is, what sort of jobs should I > expect that I could consider with one to two years > of ops experience (and given the above). For me, > it’s all about challenge. Money, while important, > is not the first priority. If I can’t be > challenged all the time, then I get bored and want > to move on. Also, I don’t have the strongest > academic background, and I am not being modest – I > did do well in certain measures of achievement but > this didn’t translate into grades for me. However, > I have always outperformed my peers in any job I > have ever been in, whether the military, or here > at my current firm, or wherever. That said, I know > I am not going to walk right into some star hedge > fund, but what sort of jobs (or firms, or types of > firms) could I start to look at now with an eye > towards a year or two down the road? > > One additional question, I am not going to > register until after December, but I would like to > try to start studying now. Is there any good > supplementary reading I can buy at Barnes and > Nobles or Borders (or any other bookshop in > Manhattan) that could aid me? > > Thank you for reading this lengthy post and I look > forward to your responses. If you don’t have too much finance experience, the soonest you could get the charter would be 2011 and you might have to settle for an analyst position without the MBA. With the economy going down and so many troops still deployed (raising the number of applicants and lowering the veteran/applicant ratio), you might be in good standing with the military background to apply to MBA schools. My brother went to get his MBA at 33 after 11 years in Navy Spec. Ops. and was accepted to a good school. I think they usually like military/leadership experience so I wouldn’t completely rule the MBA out, as you could probably jump to Associate or Vice President much quicker than the CFA alone.
I’m planning on signing up for Level I soon, but in the meantime I’m studying a free guide online. It seems very comprehensive to me, might be good to look through before you start buying study materials. http://www.investopedia.com/study-guide/cfa-exam/level-1/
I don’t think that you have the right reasons for writing off the MBA option; maybe you need an extra year or two of work experience. As for CFA, if you find the material interesting, you might as well try for L1. If you pass and still like the material, go for L2.
Hey, Thanks for the feedback. I’ll definitely check out that investopedia resource. If anyone else has any suggestions I would be happy to hear them.
I think that you might be too quick in turning down the MBA, I have a military background and just finished up my MBA at 30. You would be surprised at how far the leadership and practical management skills that the military ingrains goes with MBA admissions people. As for trying to gain your charter, and find appropriate work there are several roles that might be good for somebody like yourself. Depending on your military background there would no doubt be roles as analysts for the defence and aerospace sector, and given the requirement for the US government to spend some money to stimulate the economy, the sector might be seen as reasonably recession proof, that said you potential employers are probably not going to be afforded the same title. I would tend to agree with the sentiment of the above posts, its a hard market to crack into right now, if it is what you love go for it. If you are a not decided then it might be worth another thought. Hope it helps
get MBA and CFA, do it all. You have to these days.