+1 on Yoda quote
I am older than the OP, have two small children, a dog , a real job. I just finished Level 3 in 18 months, I.e., Level 1 Dec 2015, Level 2 June 2016, Level 3 June 2017. I became so time efficient that I had no problem with the hours.
However, I watched almost no TV, listened to videos during my commute, didn’t drink, and took about 8 vacation days per exam to study. It cut into my family time some, but more into time after the kids were asleep, or during what could have been quiet time at work (e.g., last two weeks of December).
i wish I had started earlier.
For your situation, in addition to what others say, I suggest thinking about whether you are persistent, determined, and calm. Those people seem to do better on the exams.
I am 42 years, have two children (3 years and 5 1/2 years when I started to learn for the exam) and registered for the Level 1 exam in 2014. I changed my job in October 2014 (I became manager with responsibility for 6 guys). I passed L2 in 2015, L3 in 2016 and got my charter in 2016.
In my opinion it was worth it. But as MunicipalBob wrote you have to be very time efficient and committed. I learned mostly in the evening and when the children spent time with their grand parents which was about every three weekends. I didn’t count hours, but I definitely studied less than 300 hours for the exams since I just hadn’t the time for it.
This means that it is very unlikely to do tons of mock exams (I read in the L3 forum that candidates did ten or more mock exams for the L3 AM session). Again this means: Be efficient.
On the other hand my age was an advantage when it came to experience and knowledge. I didn’t need to study all of the topics in detail since I knew some of the topics from work. I think this will also be a big advantage for the OP and will compensate for the disadvantage of the time restrictions that you have.
Of course the benefit of having the charter is not as big as it would be if you were 15 or 20 years younger. But in my opinion it still has a benefit that outweighs all the efforts. And since I am 42 it means that I have to work for another 20 to 25 years. So it’s surely not to late to start to learn for the CFA.
This seems like a good place to ask another question. Has anyone ever asked how old you were when you got your CFA? Or when you got it?
I earned the charter in 2016 and up to now this question wasn’t really of importance and also I also didn’t ask someone when he or she earned the charter. So, in my opinion it is only important that you earned the charter but now when you earned it.
I’m 33 having a 3 years old girl, one of the eldest guys in my local training classroom but Jesus I feel like a young man in this post. Passed L1 and L2 with flying colors and now through to the final level next year. Impressed by you guys over 35, with more than one child and still on the way pursuing the charter. It’s important that you get your family’s support and understanding when you decide to take CFA exam and I bet you’ll be rewarded. CFA is more a test of persistence than intelligence.
I passed L3 at the age of 55. Despite, poor memory and bad eyes. So be assured age can not stop you if you are determined. But rethink why you want to do it and what are the trade offs. IMHO - Career wise it may not give as much a bump. But you may learn something new - about finance and about yourself
Having sold my business at 51, I had lots of time. But more importantly I had a strong desire to learn a new subject (I am an engineer) and explore the world of finance. Every reading had an Ahaaaa moment for me!
nice job PEG
kudos to all
The cash outlay for the CFA exams is minimal compared to the time cost. If you put a per hour dollar amount on it you’re talking $15,000 to $50,000 or more as a cost of the 300 hours. The bigger cost is time away from family and friends.
One thing you might do is take a couple of practice exams. When I gained the charter I had been doing fundamental equity and bond analysis for several years. I passed all 3 in 3 years.
Taking the practice exams with no study before will give you some idea of the level of knowledge you already have, and thus how much you need to work to pass.
That being said, it’s still a bunch of hours away from friends, family, and even work. It’s a bunch more hours of distracted time even when in their company. You need agreement in advance so you don’t deal with frustration their part in addition to the heavy work load.
And it’s definitely worth it. You’re never too old. The scope of the knowledge and the confident mastery of the content is greatly satisfying!
Age is not a problem, motivation is. You need to know what you want to get. If you are in a position or status that you are very satisfied with and no prob to lay back, then you are not strongly motivated. If you want to further enhance yourself in the investment area, it should definitely worthwhile and go for it.
Next is really family support + commitment + time management discipline. I’d say family support is really important for your case. Myself I have 2 sons and I brought my family members onboard with me and later things are a lot easier to handle. They helped me go through some of the tough time and they shared the same joy with me when I passed all the 3 levels.
Good luck.
I was 33 when I wrote my first exam with a new born. A second baby born March before the June sitting for level 3, so two kids under 3 for level 3.
I passed all on first attempt. I have to credit my wife for being accommodating with my studying and picking up the load a little bit. What worked for me was starting really early. I always find it difficult to cram for things as my mind wanders too much.
And I agree with the above, motivation is above all else. I wrote a handful of actuarial exams and failed a couple of times because I lacked the discipline to put in the required amount of work. My stage in life was actually a benefit as there was less disctractions.
I’m 35 and writing L1 in Dec. If I manage to get all 3 done before I’m 40, I’ll be happy with that. Although I do envy the younger guys that already have it done. I wish I hadn’t spent about 4 years deciding if I wanted to do it or not.
I was 45 when I started and now 48 I got my charter. Odds are against you not because young guys are smarter. It is against you because you have kids and a wife and your family must be supportive. They need to realize you may fail and you may have to do it all over again. I failed level 2 once with band 10. But I aced the next one and level 3 I also passed at first try.
cfa is more than just a paper hanging on the wall. It is proof of hard work and accomplishment (for me). It was convenient where I didn’t have to attend to classes like I did for my masters. But most importantly it gave me information that I will use for the rest of my life. I feel it weighs more than most MBA. But it was very very time consuming and I thought it was difficult (level 2 was the hardest for me).
just my experience