Just joined forum and wanted to get some thoughts from others on where I’m at in program/ why I’m doing CFA.
Level 2 retaker- Band 8 last year.
Aiming to have over 400 hrs when I sit for exam (currently have over 300). Have went through all CFAI material, and topic tests twice. Just took Kaplan Exam 2 and scored 56- very demoralizing. Plan to revise but thought I’d be at least in the ballpark for passing. My big weak point is FRA- I am not intuitive with it.
Reason why I’m doing CFA- currently in a “sales consultant role” on the sell-side where the $ is good for my age but job is essentially a dead end and more of a job than career.
If Level 2 does not work out this time I’m not sure I’ll have the gumption to retake, may take a year off either way.
I don’t see any other way to get to the side of the business I want (research/pm) without the CFA as I am a state college graduate and don’t see how I can sit in the room without it.
Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.
I’m kind of in the same boat at you except I have a wicked low paid job working as asset servicing. I’m also re-taking level 2 as I want to become a pm. I took this 2 days course on FRA, let me see if I can find the notes that the professor hand out. It was very helpful in my opinion.
I am also retaking–it sucks; my exam scores haven’t been as high as I’d like, but this is the time when you’ve just gotta keep pushing. Don’t go anywhere without some material, don’t lose sight of the bigger picture…but also make sure you sleep/workout/stay sane.
In terms of what the CFA can do for you…I worked my way up from the bowels of the back office to become a trader, and I’ve since moved on to a corporate strategy role. None of it required a CFA (obviously), but in my opinion, the CFA does more to prove that you can handle the kind of complex, critical thinking that you’ll need at that next level. When you think about your career, I would try to focus on really crushing it at work–if you do, people will take note and you will advance…at that point, having your charter will just be icing on the cake
Never underestimate to sleep enough and stay sane. Last week I worked and studied too much, the score of my exercises worsened a lot.
After having slept and without studying for a few days, my scores are back higher at the previous level. It’s difficult to understand that sometimes is better to do nothing instead of studying hard, but we are not machines and our brains need to switch off sometimes.
Failed band 10 two years ago and was so disgusted that I didn’t retake last year. Studied right at 300 hours first time around, sitting on only about 170 right now.
I will say this - don’t get discouraged by low mock scores. I went back and looked, and was scoring mid-50’s on most two years ago, about a month before the exam, and still came really close to passing(and left a question blank-long story…). Anyways, my best advice would be to not get discouraged at this point and just keep grinding. The last month of mocks/questions is where you really learn quickly and see rapid improvement. Am currently scoring low-mid 60’s on mocks and feeling pretty confident I’ll pass this time, assuming I stay the course for the next four weeks.
Yes I am not saying one should not to simulation of the exam day, but it brings nothing if you spend the last 3 weeks before exam without sleep,… If you show up on day D, without sleep and a tired week (or even weeks) it doesn’t help at all. To be honest, I did even more difficult exams than CFA and my experience always has been that you need to find an equilibrium between study and non study. There a lot of studies that proof that. Furthermore, it’s better to study like a “marathon” instead of a “sprint”.
Marathon 6 months heading to exam till 2 weeks to exam, then you start sprinting. Otherwise, you might fall behind.
I usually never study 1-2 days to exam day or just quickly repeat my notes during these last 2 days to clear my minds and take a rest. Prior to this, it’s good to practicing hard in real conditions to build up the form.
