"I am studying for the CFA" -"I know what that's like" continued......

So I tried to explain to a co-worker the jokes people made on the forum regarding other people commenting that they know exactly what I was going through in studying for this exam. Holy shit!@ I struck one of those “just because you think its so hard doesnt mean other people would too (referring to those who have their series ######, mortgage broers, etc- I have all my damn series##)” I just needed to vent because there really are imbicils out there who really think this test compares! Now, I would even go ask this lady if she even has her degree- but I don’t want to set her off…maybe I should anyway…wouldn’t that be mean?

Deep breaths, deep breaths… Seriously, though, who cares what others think? I take the exam to gain more knowledge and get better at what I do.

I take the exams for the postcards they send out. I love that dog with a tennis ball in his mouth…

I hate to say it, but when you find yourself in a workplace where the charter isn’t understood or valued, you are likely in the wrong workplace. I’ve certaintly found that out the hard way. Key is to use this stuff which makes you angry, as it should, it makes me angry when you know it’s unappreciated, to motivate you positively to work harder at night and on the weekends on it. That being said, one shouldn’t overemphasize the value or difficulty of the charter, like someone else above said, don’t worry about what others think. I know it’s probably terrible, but I derive utility from a few co-workers who have signed up for Level I, thinking it’s a cinch, and then either not following through with writing it because it’s too hard or too much material, or just failing it because they don’t study enough. The thing I love about these exams is you only pass by working like a dog…there are no shortcuts.

I don’t even know why one would tell other people he/she is taking the test. Really, no one cares…

Honestly people are in my business all day when I am studying etc asking and poking. I should just say 'Im doing my daily ass-scratch" Really, you all are right, if I am somewhere no one really knows what it is even to appreciate , why waste my time. I uderstand what everyone is going through - or at least a taste of it now on this forum. Keep working! Thanks Yall =)

The same thing happened to me yesterday. I work as a Business Analyst. My VP is taking PMP certification exam for Project Management and she was asking me why don’t I take it in May. I said that I am taking CFA L2 exam this June so can’t take PMP in May. She asked me what is that and then she said PMP is much tougher than CFA. Take PMP in May and then study for a month and take L2. How moron can become a VP?

Morons usually rise to the top…my boss is a moron

I’m a moron.

Turkish did you see Mr. Rankin got fined 250k, and he “personally” can not trade for 10 years. Maybe its time to consider insider tipping ehh?

He can trade within his locked in registered plan though…so he has that going for him. I think it’s a shame that he got dinged for just trying to help out a fellow UCC alum.

Just tell them to F off when they ask what you’re doing

CFA is not hard. Lets be honest, it is time consuming, but it is not hard.

The CFA just lets employers know you are willing to work long hours to get something. And that you are not a complete moron.

I know exactly what you guys are talking about. A buddy of mine recently completed a PhD in math from an ivy and geez this guy struck me as the biggest dufus ever because he had NO clue how much work goes into the CFA. Heck, he didnt even know what a CFA was(!? Hes clearly a dufus). Later on after all my explaining he ACTUALLY tried to hint to the fact that his PhD MIGHT just be comparable to the CFA in terms of prestige. I was SOOO frustrated with him. Furthermore he went on and on about knowing what its like to be studying advanced theory for more then 10 hours a week (A WEEK, not a MONTH), honestly these people frustrate me. Sorry. Had to vent.

I’d think a PhD in math would be pretty prestigious. I also think it would be pretty time consuming and you’d have to be fairly bright to complete one. There are alot of other letters that probably shouldn’t be compared to the CFA exams in terms of difficulty or time consumption, but I don’t necessarily think a PhD in Mathematics falls into those categories. But, I’ve never gone through it, so I could be totally off base.

I think comparing a PhD to the CFA would be like comparing the CFA to the CSC/Series 7. They are completely different types of studying and learning and for completely different purposes. First you say that you learnt most of the stuff in Level 1 in your first year undergrad? and then you want to belittle a PhD to below the workload of a CFA? maybe the PhD is as “prestige” a CFA or vice versa (i don’t think so honestly). but don’t make the work to get a PhD seem so insignificant. I can’t even imagine the work that goes into one of those thesis and to have to sit at a panel and defend your work that you spent months on. The worst that happens when you don’t prepare for your CFA is a here’s your fail… and this is what you did bad on, come back and try again…

I failed Level 1 in June 07 and this was after a few of my co-workers knew i spent months studying for it. They didn’t know what CFA was and what it involved and when they actually found out I failed, I could tell that they thought I was intellectually challenged or something. There’s definately pressure when people who don’t know what the CFA is know you failed (at least for me). I even noticed that some of my dumb-ass superiors shyed away from giving me certain tasks (albeit non-challenging tasks) because of the fact that i spent months studying for something and failed! Second time round, no-one knew why i was ‘hybernating’ for about 4 months and voila, I passed. Not to say that keeping quiet about my studying did the trick, but it sure makes a difference. My co-workers think I’ve become anti-social or that I have problems at home and that’s why I never make appearances at non-work-related weekend get-togethers etc . Well F#%$ 'em, if they don’t know what is involved in this beast of an exam, then I obviously shouldn’t be there and I’m definately not going to waste my time explaining the pass rates, volume of material, exam-day pressures etc. Besides hopefully this can be my ticket out of that place anyways. The hunger to move to where the CFA is recognized and rewarded is a key driver in my motivation. Everyone else seemed to be venting, so i thought i should take a shot. Now I feel better and ready to study on this friday night…muahahahahahaaa!!!

Was being sarcastic… Big Babbu Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I’d think a PhD in math would be pretty > prestigious. I also think it would be pretty time > consuming and you’d have to be fairly bright to > complete one. > There are alot of other letters that probably > shouldn’t be compared to the CFA exams in terms of > difficulty or time consumption, but I don’t > necessarily think a PhD in Mathematics falls into > those categories. But, I’ve never gone through it, > so I could be totally off base.

I don’t get it. From first hand experience, I can tell you that there is no comparison about whcih is tougher. It took me 5 years to get one of those and a few months of part-time to get the other.