I am from a science background trying to switch into finance. I have just passed level 1, but i dont really feel that qualified. Will level 1 help me getting though HR of the big banks? I understand level 1 isnt much, am I at least considered to have a “finance background” when i look for jobs? P.S. I am in Australia. I heard in the US, you need at least level 2 to get you into an interview. is that the same here?
No it doesn’t qualify you to have a finance background, but it should help. I see several jobs with “progress towards the CFA” in the specifications. I don’t know about Level 2 needed to get an interview. Last year, a guy interviewed me for a position (yep, requiring progress towards the CFA) and he himself had recently been hired, because he had “CFA Level 1 candidate” on his resume. (Let’s not go there on the fact that he hadn’t actually registered, but did think about it…)
level 1 ethics section 7 the use of CFA designation…
yeah… this is the same guy that the recruiter said had great quant skills, evidenced by his analytical score on the GRE exam! WTW!! As my dad used to say, “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.”
LMAO, omg, this is killing me…
I am in Toronto (Canada) and was told that level 1 is enough to get your foot in the door without a prior finance background. I am curious to see what others think.
It helped me get an internship in a treasury department. The Treasurer had thought about doing it but decided against it because it was just too much work. She liked that I had completed something that scared her. Although, I have L2 now and unemployed.
L1 doesn’t substitute for actual experience, but it does seem to eliminate the question “does this guy know anything about finance at all?” and may get you looked at. In this market, you really have to market yourself as experienced-and-demonstrably-awesome, or cheap-and-low-risk. There’s not much in between.
a level 1 pass and 89 cents will get you a grape soda at my local quick stop
Good luck finding a recruiter or HR manager in Australia who knows what the CFA program is…! If you are in Sydney, I’d look into the Macquarie University masters in applied finance - with no experience, you will need to network your way into a job, & you can’t really network doing the CFA program.
i am still in school, talking about grad positions of course.
Passing level 1 will take you as far as level 2.
In India, CFA is slowly becoming a prerequisite to work in finance KPOs if you don’t have MBA degree.
We interview L2 candidates far more often than non CFA participants. It helps get you an interview. It doesnt get you a job.
hi 1morelevel, would you say that the difference between someone passed L1 and someone passes L2 is marginal from a recruiter’s perspective?
lzen5 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > hi 1morelevel, would you say that the difference > between someone passed L1 and someone passes L2 is > marginal from a recruiter’s perspective? Huge difference. L2 is much harder.
Whenever I meet somebody asking me for something I wonder the following… 1) Is this kid lying to me? Or how much is this kid lying about? 2) Is this kid dumb as bricks? 3) Is this kid hard working or lazy? 4) Can I trust this kid? In terms of gaining employment I think passing Level 1 answers some of these questions. I can’t be sure he’s not dumb as bricks but atleast he has the mental capacity to learn basic finance. Can’t be too lazy if he had to spend atleast 100hrs studying for level 1. Passing level 2 answers even more of these questions. I know level 2 is much harder then 1 so the kid had to study (i’m not sure if he/she is smart but I know the kid had capacity to work hard). Passing level 3 confirms to me that the kid keeps going and is somewhat career focused. Still not sure if he’s really innately lazy or dumb as bricks. I can somewhat trust this kid more because he’s not willing to screw up his career after working on the CFA for so long. Thats the value of the CFA imo, you shown you have the capacity to learn and work hard. Still not sure how smart you are or how lazy you are.
It obviously will vary based on your overall background, but I found that after passing level 1, I was able to get interviews for all kinds of support type roles on the buy side (think portfolio analyst, data analyst, etc). After passing levels 2 and 3, I was able to secure more interviews for research associate roles on the buy side. I don’t have any experience with the sell side, so I can’t speak to it.
how about progress in your positions e.g financial analyst to senior analyst - is it at all related to CFA?
BiPolarBoyBoston Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Whenever I meet somebody asking me for something I > wonder the following… > > 1) Is this kid lying to me? Or how much is this > kid lying about? > 2) Is this kid dumb as bricks? > 3) Is this kid hard working or lazy? > 4) Can I trust this kid? > > In terms of gaining employment I think passing > Level 1 answers some of these questions. I can’t > be sure he’s not dumb as bricks but atleast he has > the mental capacity to learn basic finance. Can’t > be too lazy if he had to spend atleast 100hrs > studying for level 1. > > Passing level 2 answers even more of these > questions. I know level 2 is much harder then 1 so > the kid had to study (i’m not sure if he/she is > smart but I know the kid had capacity to work > hard). > > Passing level 3 confirms to me that the kid keeps > going and is somewhat career focused. Still not > sure if he’s really innately lazy or dumb as > bricks. I can somewhat trust this kid more because > he’s not willing to screw up his career after > working on the CFA for so long. > > Thats the value of the CFA imo, you shown you have > the capacity to learn and work hard. Still not > sure how smart you are or how lazy you are. I disagree with these comments. Passing L1 to me isn’t a big deal. Someone’s taken a small step and knows the basic of the basics. I would still take a top school finance undergrad over someone with 0 finance + pass L1 Pass L2 tells me someone is really driven, and is not dumb. L2 is quite a big hurdle, and this person is serious. A lot of the quant stuff is done at L2, L3 is heavily portfolio mgmt and IPS. Pass L3 is great, and just a step to the charter