Wacka Flocka Flame representing southside Jamaican Queens
I say go for it. I am 38 and plan on closing it out this year. I have been a portfolio manager for over a decade and the great recession forced me to ramp up my resume. Not sure how you plan on approaching it, but if you put yourself on lockdown you could have it by the time you are 42 or 43. I really don’t think you need it for trading, but if you are planning that type of career change it could be the key to getting your foot in the door. Huge sacrifice, but if you make the commitment and follow through I think it can only help you.
I did my Level 1 in 2009 because I thought that the financial crisis would cause the global economy to melt down for the next ten years and thus I would be very free without a job. Little did I realised that the economy in my home country had a bull run from 2009 until now. I just hope that the business cycle will not turn south when I complete L3. Was getting worried after revisiting Reading 23 on business cycle.
This thread makes me feel better! I always see the threads of candidates who post their age with the overwhelming majority being about 23 or so. It’s nice to see a thread that shows there are people like me who didn’t start this right out of school.
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Started a long time ago, took a 5 year hiatus and now I am back to slay the beast.
elcfa Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > Personally, you will benefit a lot. You will get a > lot of opportunities to exercise your aging brain. > Expect to have to study at least 3 times longer > than what it used to take you when you were 30 > years old. It is amazing to see how much your > braincells have atrophied. > It will push you to be more effective, to learn > more about yourself and what you want. I actually think at an older age the challenge is actually very good for your brain, even though it may be much more harder. The exercise you get from memorizing formula, etc will help you in other aspects of your life and work.
Wildcat Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > AMA - how old are you? I am more than 50 and can retire next year if I want but I am running a business. Some exam materials which require pure memorization is really tough for me. Let’s do our best !
AMA , I 'm in your bracket too, but not in business ( working stiff ). Use mnemonics to memorize , and it is NOT age dependent thing to memorize . Trust me you have more than a trillion unused brain cells and will still have a lot at death
Jasonjski, I can also somewhat relate to your situation. Passed my LIII in 09 when I was 35. I am also a financial advisor for one of the big wirehouse and have been doing it for about 13 yrs as well just like you! A few years ago I also contemplated the idea of quitting this sales job for something a bit more brain challenging… however you will probably run into the same issue I did. With all due respect to your intelligence, you will simply NOT find a job with such relaxed hours and such a high compensation (as you are telling me you have a solid book). I was offered various positions as entry level analyst starting at around $70K (btw, I am in L.A.). So that was way too much of a drop from the current $270K while doing absolutely nothing… That thought of jumping industry completely flew out of the window after having 2 kids and trying to save what I can for upcoming tuition costs…
JJSki, Man up and whip this mofo. Age is irrelevant.
hey, if Enrique Inglesias can still rock teenage songs at the ripe old age of 39 then anything’s possible brothers.
AMA - you da man! And I can say that because we are neighbors age wise. I do have a question: Because I am in that 1% bracket, how many hours (above 250) should I plan for in preparing for each exam?
I am very much surprised to know from this post that there are some “old” friends here and I feel I am not alone. Maybe I am the oldest candidates but I will try my best though I am still struggling with so much exam materials to be embedded in my brain. On the other hand, I will like to say THANK YOU for your encouragements !
Wildcat, I don’t know how many hours have been spent until now but I started from last December, 20~25 hours per week. I will spend more than 30 hours per week in this last 2 months. Very glad to hear that you are also in the TOP 1% bracket. Let’s try best to beat it.
you bet!
Here some tips from experience. Usually people don’t calculate exact impact or effort which means amount of input to get to the successful goal. and this makes them worried for taking risks or not to be worth. let say 700 hours. you need to spare 100 hours in each month for 7 months. It looks difficult? It depends on. By experience 100 hours could be possible without seriously deteriorating your life. you could do so many things actually … after having know how to manage time … With 120 hours ? its almost edge to deteriorate basic life style or not. but could sleep 8 hours everday. and possible to maintain basic physical status by doing a few exercises. With 150 hours, it is very very marginal perhaps you have to sleep only 7 hours a day. Personally think 200 hours possible with some of sick days around 4, 5 days… Definitely it depends on types of work you re doing & work place
I think I need more time than average candidates because my original background was E&E engineering rather than finace or business and after all, my brain is aged, so I can not memorize the exam materials quickly/efficiently. That’s why I always try to understand the rationales of those statements in the curriculum instead of just memorizing them. This makes me move very slowly and, as a result, more time-consuming. I think for those younger candidates or those with finace/business background, there is no need for so much time.
Go for it. No pain no gain etc etc but I’d agree with what one of the other people said in that I am not sure that you need it for trading. Knowledge is essential when trading but you can have all the knowledge in the world and still be a lousy trader. From that perspective the Behavioural Finance readings will be enlightening 
AMA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > That’s why I always > try to understand the rationales of those > statements in the curriculum instead of just > memorizing them. This
I am with you, my brother. Don’t necessarily need it for career advancement, but I have learned a lot in the past 6! years, and I don’t really regret it. In the infamous words of Grandpa Simpson. “I used to be with it, but then they changed what “it” was, and now what I’m with isn’t it. And what’s “it” seems weird and scary to me.”