Do paid internships count towards work experience?

CFA General
#1

Do paid internships count towards work experience?

Full-time paid internship in investment firm. Definitely investment related. Something which would unquestionably count towards work experience if it were not an internship.

I couldn’t find a clear answer on the CFAI website.

Anyone ever try to submit that kind of work experience?

Thanks.

#2

I would say yes

#3

@ Clark…

For CFA charter candidates requirements CFAI says,” when you apply for regular membership, you will attest that your submitted work experience qualifies as acceptable professional work experience as defined by the guidelines shown below.

…To become a regular member, you must have completed four years (48 months) of qualifying work experience in activities that consist to a majority extent of: …

Then it clearly states that

* At least 50 percent of your work experience must be:

  • Directly involved in the investment decision-making process

  • Engaged in responsibilities and/or producing a work product that informs or adds value to that process

* Positions must be full-time. Part-time positions do not qualify.

_ Here it does not say anything about exclusion of Internship Position. _

While by the same CFAI for CIPM the Professional Experience Requirements are stated as:

“You must be a regular member of the CIPM Association to be eligible for the award of the CIPM designation. To qualify for regular membership in the CIPM Association,…”

Then it goes on to clearly state:

“Summer, part-time, and internship positions do not qualify.”

Evidently it means for CFA Charter experience requirement there is no exclusion clause for internship as long as it meets other requirements e.g must be full time position, 50% work experience must be as per norms etc. Only restriction is that it should not be part-time while for CIPM it has some restriction regarding internship too.

Hope it clarifies your doubt. In any case it is advisable to just send an email to the CFAI membership dept. they are pretty prompt in resolving queries.

#4

^ oh. i stand corrected. no work experience for you then.

#5

You didn’t read his reply closely enough.

#6

There’s an assesment exam for this on the CFAI site:

http://www.cfainstitute.org/about/membership/process/Pages/work_experience_assessment.aspx

I’m going to say your work experience does not count, the fact that its paid means very little. Unless making coffee and picking up dry cleaning was added to lvl 1, that is.

#7

You must not have been through any reputable masters programs.

#8

So your paid internship is related to your master’s program? Even more useless…

#9

I think a lot of charterholders will attest to the fact that how you write up the experience in your application often makes the difference. I’m not suggesting that you stretch the truth but persuasive word-smithing of your experience using key words can make it easier for the CFAI to count it if a particular job is on the borderline.

#10

I had been looking for answers everywhere for this and learnt the truth through my own experience. Therefore i am adding my input to every thread with this question to help other LIII passers - Yes relevant full time internship counts, just like other jobs. At least it is true for 2014.