Should I enroll for LII?

CFA General
#1

hi,

last year, in june 17, i was failed at band 10 in my level ii exam. it was a very disappointing experience for me.

my situation is a bit complex. currently. i am unemployed. i have applied for some doctoral programs in finance but i don’t know that i will be admitted. the admission decisions will be announced in mid-april.

so i have two choices here:

  1. get a job and forget cfa (because i don’t know that i will have enough time for cfa. i haven’t started studying yet and by getting a job i will diminish my studying hours)

2a) stay unemployed and study for cfa

2b) stay unemployed and prepare for a doctoral program (revising calculus, linear algebra, real analysis, asset pricing and so on)

the deadline is approaching (14th feb) and i have to decide. i need some suggestions.

thanks

#2

I think… pursuing a PhD in finance is going to be a path of great pain and unfulfillment if you think CFA is not incredibly easy.

I don’t see why CFA is exclusive from any of these options. You’re supposed to take the program while working full time…

#3

i want to maintain a decent work/life balance. i workout a lot and got some hobbies.

furthermore, i do not see the connection between phd in finance and cfa. they are not related at all. yes, cfa is easy when compared to a phd. cfa requires a certain discipline of 5-6 months to study that mainly consists of remembering mundane formulas and rules. on the other hand, a phd requires years of discipline that should be concentrated on doing research.

#4

Why do you need real analysis (essentially a study of the topology of the real numbers) for a PhD in finance?

#5

If you think Grad School will improve your worklife balance, do I have some real estate for you in Florida.

It is possible you will go to a school with a great gym, it is also possible the prof responsible for your supervision is amazing. Some professors treat their grad students like slaves. You will have to teach, grade, and study/research. Obviously the CFA is a huge sync of time, but if you got Band 10, you can pass if you studied intelligently instead of wasting time posting on the Internet.

#6

I would register… worse case you failed and lost another thousand bucks… best case you pass and do another 300 hours next year lol…

#7

some proof techniques are required in graduate microeconomics. also, you have to pass math for econ which is basically linear algebra, calculus and a bit real analysis

#8

i hope so mate. i also think that i failed at band10 because i wasted my time on stupid things. this time i will crush it if i enroll.

#9

probably, i will. i think there is no better option at this time.

i have two paths, as you stated:

  1. enroll, pass and enroll for l3 next year

  2. don’t enroll and quit cfa

even though, benefits of cfa are quite ambigious for my career path, i don’t want to quit the path where i am already on the midpoint.