ioimparo Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > All, > > This is a gr8 forum. I am in a similar situation, > working full-time, doing part-time MBA (half way > through) and thinking of appearing for Level I in > June 08. > > I am still unable to decide whether I should buy > the material from CFAI or whether I should go with > Schweser. I have covered topics such as NPV, Time > value of money, stock valuation etc. in my finance > courses at school > > Any suggestions? > > Regards > Sada I went through both Schweser and CFAI material. Definitely CFAI is much better. I’d certainly recommend it.
Sarath, Thanks for your suggestion. If possible can you throw some light on how did you divide time between work, school and CFA prep and of course family commitments. Also I see what the other members are saying, I do believe that it will be a challenge. Like Smarshy said that juggling CFA with Full-time MBA can be a real challenge. The only advantage I see with my situation is that with part-time I can schedule how many and what courses I can take while I am also preparing for CFA. Also my take on it is that right now I have atleast some time to venture this, 2 years down the lane, time at hand will be even less since I will have more responsibilities to take care of. Also BU offers CFA coaching in their MSIM courses so maybe I can talk to those people as well. Overall this is a great post and a lot encouraging than what I thought. So keep it coming.
ca-cbv-cfa Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > mcthorp, just out of curiousity which msc of > finance program did you do? I was living in Denver when I started the program, so I went to the University of Colorado’s Denver campus.
ancientmtk Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > hows bartending? is that fun as a second job? > > I know the full time job is prob boring as hell… > and the CFA/masters too… so bartending might = > tons of fun?? Bartending can be a lot of fun - free drinks, great friends/co-workers, tons of cash - but it also is wearing since you spend late nights in the bar (think of leaving at 3am - 5am), and with an early morning research job, it gets to you quickly. It definitely was a good outlet, and didn’t seem quite as brutal since I was spending the majority of my time behind a desk all day, so the switch to a fast-paced socially-interactive job late at night helped me forget what time I actually woke up and started working that morning. Bartending and serving tables are great for part time work due to the fast cash and work hours after banking hours. But, the second job gets to you after a while (at least it finally got to me), both mentally and physically.
Smarshy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Not sure you have a choice there…I think in '08 > you have to buy the CFAI books. > > I’m a Babson MBA grad - full time, class of '01. I > could not have done the full time gig and CFA at > the same time, Not sure about part time. In the > full time program I was at school from 6:30am to > 11pm 6 days a week. Never would have been able to > combine them. My own opinion, for whatever its > worth, is that sometimes its better to fully focus > on one thing and do it well (i.e MBA with honors), > then get a good job and do the CFA right away > after graduation. Agreed. I find it interesting how people try to do so many things at one time. Wouldn’t it be better to get high marks in fewer fields by taking your time than to get ordinary marks in every field in a rushed manner?
Not to knock you down, but those questions you looked at (the free ones) are meant to show format, not level of difficulty. A job, part time masters and CFA can be done, its actually somewhat common. However, the relationship is going to be the issue. You’re either going to lose the relationship or lose the CFA if you try to balance all those things. Simple as that. There’s just not enough time, CFA takes a minimum of 250 hours of studying for level one, and based on my opinion that you were patting yourself on the back with your post before even starting any of the things you listed, I just don’t think the commitment’s there. Its well and good to say you’re fine with putting your social life on hold for 3 years, but it just sounds naive. Three years is a long time, and your setting yourself up in a major way for a burnout at the worst possible time. Happens to the best of us, and it could result in you dropping all the peices your juggling. Bad performance reviews at work, a relationship going sour and effecting your focus, having a bad semester that permanently sandbags your gpa, and failing the level 1 exam. At least with CFA, you can always go back and retake. If I were you, I’d put the CFA on hold, and do a year of your masters. At that point reassess where you are.
Agreed with Black Swan.
ditto
Common thread between everyone who has said this is doable have ONLY passed Level 1. Again, back to my original post: “working, relationship, MBA…and CFA? Not gona happen” CFA = not just Level 1. atleast certainly not in three years. Why sacrifice one thing for the benefit of another, especially if both are important? If you have a strong relationship, don’t break it by trying to get through level 2 material and simultaneously finding yourself skipping night class after work… I’m not saying you can’t do it, but after only getting through Level 1 while working long hours at work in NY, well…I don’t know how possible it will be for ME to obtain the CFA designation in 3 years with only work (let alone MBA and a relationship like yourself)…that is, if I pass level 1 to begin with. Whatever you do, GL.
Anytime…I’m an analyst in a corporate treasury department. Initially, I was a financial analyst for a mortgage company. I only have about 2 years experience so far.
Take the advice you receive here with a grain of salt and remember you’re the only one who knows what you’re capable of accomplishing. You can do it if you’re smart and determined.
I’m doing the same thing. Working full time, CFA, and MBA via Penn State–life is a bit busy right now. And, for those of you who want to pursue a MBA without leaving work, check out Penn State’s iMBA–you can complete it via the web.
iMBA? That sounds ridiculous.
Get with the modern age! Networking face-to-face is so 15 minutes ago. If you can’t bond with a stranger classmate over the Internet just give up now.
LMAO, TTYL
ioimparo Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > All, > > This is a gr8 forum. I am in a similar situation, > working full-time, doing part-time MBA (half way > through) and thinking of appearing for Level I in > June 08. > > I am still unable to decide whether I should buy > the material from CFAI or whether I should go with > Schweser. I have covered topics such as NPV, Time > value of money, stock valuation etc. in my finance > courses at school > > Any suggestions? > > Regards > Sada Hey Sada, glad to see you could register for this awesome site. Hope your exams went well, we should make arrangements to study for the lvl one or come up with a group study plan in Jan
dnoyelles Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi everyone, > > MBA/CFA together is tough, i’ll tell you that, I > studied for LI while finishing my MBA last summer > and it was very time-consuming. However, the two > complement each other well, as I found a lot of > the Finance and Investments material very > applicable, and in turn, that stuff was easier to > study for when the exam came around. CFAI even > lists some schools that offer a combined program, > which is interesting as well. That is definitely interesting! I’ll see if Babson offers this combination
Black Swan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Not to knock you down, but those questions you > looked at (the free ones) are meant to show > format, not level of difficulty. A job, part time > masters and CFA can be done, its actually somewhat > common. However, the relationship is going to be > the issue. You’re either going to lose the > relationship or lose the CFA if you try to balance > all those things. Simple as that. There’s just > not enough time, CFA takes a minimum of 250 hours > of studying for level one, and based on my opinion > that you were patting yourself on the back with > your post before even starting any of the things > you listed, I just don’t think the commitment’s > there. Its well and good to say you’re fine with > putting your social life on hold for 3 years, but > it just sounds naive. Three years is a long time, > and your setting yourself up in a major way for a > burnout at the worst possible time. Happens to > the best of us, and it could result in you > dropping all the peices your juggling. Bad > performance reviews at work, a relationship going > sour and effecting your focus, having a bad > semester that permanently sandbags your gpa, and > failing the level 1 exam. At least with CFA, you > can always go back and retake. If I were you, I’d > put the CFA on hold, and do a year of your > masters. At that point reassess where you are. Hi Blackswan, when I said the questions looked easy, I wasn’t trying to sound conceited or naive. I know this will be a challenge, I expect to burn out and maybe I’m being a bit too enthusiastic. I’m taking two classes for my first semester at Babson (a 5 credit & 1 credit) so I feel I’ll be able to squeeze in CFA lvl 1 study time. I’ll re-access the situation in July and decide if pursuing a level 2 in December is feasible and if not I’ll concentrate on my MBA degree. Thank you very much for your candid input
lehmetelya Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Anytime…I’m an analyst in a corporate treasury > department. Initially, I was a financial analyst > for a mortgage company. I only have about 2 years > experience so far. Hey how did you ‘break into’ the I-banking world? I’ve been looking to get an analyst or junior analyst position at several firms but my lack of an economics/math/finance degree seems to hinder my progress (I have an engineering undergrad). Any tips?
"I’ll re-access the situation in July and decide if pursuing a level 2 in December is feasible and if not I’ll concentrate on my MBA degree. " I didn’t know one could pass the first Level six months in advance. By the way, I believe Level 2 can only be written in June.