I really thought I had a decent chance at passing, but obviously I failed. I had never left a test center feeling as confident as I did for this test, so this fail especially hurts. Now I find myself in quite the predicament. I am pregnant with our first child and am due end of December beginning of January. Should I even attempt to take it next June or wait it out until 2011? I know several men have taken this test shortly after having children, but I wonder how many women have successfully attempted it.
I know a woman did level 3 this year and passed, she delivered the baby in July 15th…
I say go for it!!! First time L3-er band 10 failer here… you have nothing to lose except all that knowledge that will be much fresher in your mind in 2010 vs. 2011. Additionally, those babies do sleep a lot when they are infants, you might find yourself with some free time on your hands. Is there any way you can extend maternity leave through June 2010?
depends on whether you have somebody to help out or can hire a couple of full time nanny. if not, i say no. spending time with your first born is way more important than a not-so-useful exam.
i am a woman and i’ve never had children … so maybe my thoughts are irrelevant… doing it and passing or not passing is not the REAL question. i would give it a deep thought if i were you. you baby is way more important than any exam career of anything else in the world. would extra stress distract you? make you more tired? make you less happy? emotionally drained? the first months of child’s life are probably the most important months of their entire life. as they pick up physical immunity from you, they also pick up emotional immunity and assurance from you as a foundation for their future development. you are helping to lay the foundation to their future character, to their strengths and fears. would it be possible that you will unconsciously transfer any of the “negative” emotions that come with the rigor of this test? here in America people tend to always “go for it” and “never give up” type of thing. “Do it the hard way, don’t ever let anything bring you down”. But i think it is a much harder decision not to go for it for the sake of your child. To sacrifice your own aspirations for the sake of the little one. however all this is personal, depends on how you study, organize your time , etc., especially your mental state of mind during the studying - is it happy, excited, energized state? or is it “oh, no, another day of studying this sh…t, this stresses me out, can’t wait until it’s over” type of state? i know i couldn’t do both for sure, as this would compromise my child’s happiness and take me away from what’s the most important. i took a year off from level II, after passing level I, and passed on the first try. so it’s not a big deal to come back.
No we unfortunately will not be able to hire help. My husband and I agreed that after the baby’s born I will work part time, which I know will leave more time for studying, but I just wanted to be realistic about what I’ll be able to do. I’ve heard from several of my friends that for first 6-9 months you are utterly exhausted ALL the time. But then again they all went back to full-time work. I know my husband will help out, but I don’t want to burden him too much as I know he will be stress out from work and the new baby. He has also been dealing with me and the CFA for 5 years now. Knowing what I’ve put in and given up for this test I don’t think I’d start again, but now that I’m L3 I HAVE to finish.
Forgive me for chiming in as I am male but I have 2 kids now and 1 on the way and plan on retaking LVL III in June. My wife is a godsend as she understands how difficult this is and gives me the time I need. My humble opinion says its easier when the kids are younger and not walking around and/or begging you to come play with them. It breaks my heart now thinking of next spring (my 6 year olds birthday is May 31) and that again on his birthday I will again be thinking about the test. With a newborn there is a great deal of time spent holding them while feeding, sleeping, etc… Its not easy but you can incorporate that into studying. My advice is go for the test and hire some help to help with housework if you can. Worst case scenario you have lots of CFA books with spit up on them! Either way good luck.
dont know VICI, i might have the same problem next year… perhaps i may just deliver the baby around that date… its my 3rd try, i am never so frustrated on any exam like this… will see by the end of the month whether will carry one… although this is only an exam, altho… but it eats up so much of my life, and next year… i dont even know how to face myself now
Lenchik101 I totally agree with your post. I do not want to be selfish and take anything away from my child especially during the crucial first months. I have a lot of thinking to do, but just wanted to see if anyone else has been there done that KWIM. I appreciate all the responses. I really don’t know what I’m going to do.
maybe you can send your baby to a daycare from march. it is the most cost effective way. might not be the most pleasant way for sure.
totally agree with NJLVLIII I have a 13 Month old baby now and just retook L3 (and thankfully passed). This will be the easiest year to retake the exam. They will sleep so much that first year you will have time to study (hoping you have a cooperative partner)
vici, I would say retake L3 in 2010. I am a woman with 2 small kids. I just passed L3. My elder one’s b’day falls on May 27. We just postponed his b’day celebrations till after the exam. My younger one was a few months old when I was preparing for L2 last year. The best time to prepare for and take an exam such as this is when a baby is less than 6 months old. Till then they mostly only drink milk and sleep most of the time and cannot move about. It is quite peaceful. Once they are older than 6 months, feeding them can take forever, and monitoring their movements can cause additional stress when you are studying. Please take the exam next year itself.
i am a woman and i say go for it. if you feel that it’s too much you should delay the exam. family always comes first. your baby will only be a newborn once, but cfa exams are offered every year
thanks again for all the responses. I think I’m leaning toward taking it next year IF my husband is ok with it. I’ve had the worst pregnancy insomnia since I got pregnant, if I decided to take it again, maybe I can put that to good use and study some before the baby gets here.
there are more important things in life than the CFA… take a year off - enjoy being with your child and not having to worry about BS IPS questions, it will be there the enxt year.
hmm i’m a woman but never been pregnant. i still think you should try it, it is going to be a lot harder when the baby as the baby grows.
I wrote the L3 last year when my son was 6 months old and failed. I was working full time, also had a 3 year old and was a nursing mom. I studied some of the materials in Oct-Nov prior to my son’s birth but had “mommy brain” afterwards and couldn’t recall much of the material. I wrote the L3 this year and found it a lot easier studying - my son was sleeping through the night, my daughter had outgrown her terrible twos and I completed nursing. If I had to do it again, I would wait, enjoy my infant and take it up a year later.
I wrote the L3 last year when my son was 6 months old and failed. I was working full time, also had a 3 year old and was a nursing mom. I studied some of the materials in Oct-Nov prior to my son’s birth but had “mommy brain” afterwards and couldn’t recall much of the material. I wrote the L3 this year and found it a lot easier studying - my son was sleeping through the night, my daughter had outgrown her terrible twos and I completed nursing. If I had to do it again, I would wait, enjoy my infant and take it up a year later. It’s a very different (yet wonderful) life once that little one is in your arms.
So sorry you haven’t done it now… Leave it till 2011 - you will anyway understand what a trash is all this if compared to what you’ll be feeling with a baby. (male)
So sorry you haven’t done it now… Leave it till 2011 - you will anyway understand what a trash is all this if compared to what you’ll be feeling with a baby. (male)