My CFA Journey and Advice

These posts always have haters, people who are unhappy with their current situation and try to bring others down.

I pointed out that I barely got through my undergrad degree, withdrawing from 2 semesters and failing a course. Most people, including myself, would have laughed at the idea of someone with my track record completing the CFA program. I wrote this post to demonstrate what work ethic can do and to share what worked for me. This is something people in this program need to hear. They, like me when I enrolled, believe earning the charter is beyond them but that isn’t true.

To anyone who has completed even one level of the program, my hat is off to you. I delight in your success and wish you the best going forward.

Itera,

Go through your history as I did. Ask yourself, is this who I want to be? I’m betting you’re a nice person IRL.

gj but man, 450 hrs, thats an overkill, don’t know how you guys do it, theres not enough material to last that many hours, and with real job , ya aint got time for that

I put in that many hours because I didn’t want to retake a level. I also… enjoyed learning the material?

Thanks!

but where do you get that much material from? theres no enough for 450 hours

I read the material more than once, maybe I’m a slow reader =(

ok that would do it i guess

@ CFADragon: Good job!

One of the biggest things I have learnt is, like you said, to have a consistent regimem (just like the gym). I also believe that once you have a good night out, recovering to study gets harder because you broke your “study comfort zone”. Another piece of advice I can give is to make sure you stay healthy… When I mean healthy, I am not talking about not eating chocolate bars and oreos etc… I am talking about the need to stop any vices, whether it is drinking or drugs, Recovering from a hangover is not fun and you can waste a lot of time during that process… I stopped drinking for 4 months and it worked for me :).

Congrats on your success.

I don’t think the OP is being arrogant in any way. The man is proud of his accomplishment and is telling CFA candidates how he did it to help them out. What is wrong with that? Yes, the ones close to him are the real heroes but this isn’t Facebook or a family gathering, this is a CFA forum. There’s no reason to thank his wife and kids on a CFA forum. This forum is for education.

Congrats on passing all three levels CFA Dragon and I wish you the best in your career endeavors.

Why is this an argument? CFA dragon’s post was full of advice and could give hope to others who think they cant do it . look at the positive side of the post folks .

Some people are just DARK from the inside and think that everyone has to be like them .

Congrads CFA dragon, enjoy ur success and spend quality time with ur family .

I’m surprised how shallow some people are on this forum. Give OP some break.

I agree; my own experience has been almost identical! I did a bog standard History degree at university, and had studied no maths or numbers based subjects since the age of 15/16 - just slogged my way through it all as the OP did.

If I can do it, then many other people can too, regardless of what they might think!

totally agree… only a few people are happy to see others succeed. Especially on AF, you will find a platoon of cyber warriors ready to jump in every other thread and spread negativity

this was very nice of you to write a detailed description of your approach to studying for CFA exams, could be helpful for a number of people trying to look for some advice on managing these beasts. there may be a bulk of such posts but people can read and find the common points that work for most passers and then formulate their own study plan

one thing that caught my attention the most in your post was leaving the questions unanswered for which you have no idea and not relying on guesses, most of the time I did that and it really helped me strengthen my weak areas.

congratulations on your success

Did same route as you (Dec 2012, June 2013 and June 2014) and I agree with a lot of what you say. Make a serious plan, say no to distractions and stick to that plan. Get your normal life back again when you are done. Cheers

It’s quite incredible that you criticize people for psychoanalyzing you as an arrogant dude, then turn around to psychoanalyze those dudes and chicks as “haters who are unhappy with their current situation”

Nobody here really needs your condescending encouragement…go establish a PIMCO and then come back and condescend…until then…FOH

youre still a bum Dragon Slayer.

Well put. I’m baffled by all the hostilities.

It’s just itera stirring the s*** pot, as usual. The unhappiness on that guy is palpable.

You abandoned your wife and kids you loser and you still boast about it

How does the guy spending 450 hours on each level equate to him abandoning his wife and kids? Have you even raised a kid? You absolutely don’t need to be with them 24/7 when they are under 3. He married the right person who supports his career.

The guy spent 450 hours for each level, which is perfectly understandable especially considering his academic background. He was being smart and cautious and was fully aware that he needed the time to ensure his pass, as opposed to some idiots who don’t spend enough time studying, fail the exam several times only to waste even more time repeating the exam.

If he started in January, that’s just about 3 hours a day, and if he has a stable 40-hour work week, it’s completely manageable without sacrificing your so much of your time with your wife and kids.

What about you Muffin? 1955 AF points gathered in just about 2 years. Maybe it’s time to make some real friends out there other than gathering your AF experiences?