Hi, I am a 4th year university student with Math/Finance double major background and I was wondering if I should take CFA level 1 on dec. I know that the full time recruitment will be all pretty much done sometime in November so I would not get my result for CFA level 1 to put it onto my resume…so I feel that I could wait and take it after I graduate (let my employer pay for it)…but at the same time, I do not mind obtaining some more knowledge to help my full time job either. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you
Sincerely, my advice is to concentrate on getting good grades and enjoying yourself a bit during your final year. There will be plenty of time to study for the exam afterward, and putting your GPA at risk by loading up your schedule with CFA stuff is just not a good risk-reward trade off. A lower GPA follows you for many years and is looked at for all sorts of positions; starting the CFA 6-12 months later has almost no consequence if you’re early on in your career, and is completely irrelevant for many fields outside of asset management.
I thinking of doing the CFA Level 1 exam while in college but put it off for the reasons that bchadwick mentioned. Probably the only situation in which I would recommend doing it would be if: 1) You go to a less reputable college or one with poor finance recruiting, such that having passed the CFA Level 1 exam might meaningfully boost your credentials 2) You already have a high GPA and are currently taking only easy classes
I guess both of you guys are right. Studying for CFA may affect my GPA. I currently have 3.7 GPA and taking full course load with 4th year mathematics and finance. Its just that I’ve seen people doing it but I guess there is always risk involved.
I’d wait too, plus your employer will most likely pay for the whole program if you can get their blessings from the start
If you go to a top-tier school, delay the exam if you want. If you don’t go to a name school, take it. Even wharton kids grads with finance are having tough times finding a job.