…and props to anybody that “gets” my screen name. I’m not a chick, I promise you that, but when I first sat for CFA, her name popped up on old exams.
The sacrifices you make… I’m calling people at work the wrong names; I forgot the pin number I’ve had on my bank card for the last year; I’ve been surviving on takeaway for an unhealthy proportion of my meals., after being in the best shape of my life at the start of this year. I’m smoking again. I can’t sleep until 2 because my brain is rushing. I’m having the CFA obligatory problem-solving dreams. I haven’t relaxed in months My flat looks like a bomb site. Swapped study cave pics with sister at Uni last night. I’ve not booked any flights/train ticket for any of the things I plan to do this summer. I have however saved a sh1t load of cash! APP
…I’m going to sound like an ass here, but nobody is going to hire a 34 year old CFA with no experience in EM/PM for the salary that I need to put food on my table. I would have worked for free at 24 to gain that experience, but not anymore." So true. I wish people read this before starting the program with a dream to become a HF manager.
Never in a million years would I have thought I would still be sitting for CFA exams in 10 years.
plenty of jobs where you can make good coin but without direct Eq/PM experience. Can prob be a sales guy at some place like RiskMetrics or Zepher with MBA/CFA. They make decent money.
Oh yeah, I know. I’ve talked to quite a few of those shops… and MSCI too.
CPierce, You are not alone. I started since 2001 . I took L3 exam seven times and failed each time with border line scores of band 9 and band 10. I am not giving up. Hopefully, we’ll make it thru the exam before we die. I just wish I could refund 10 years of my youth. sh34
Wow, sh34! I know I’m not alone in this, and misery loves company. Funny thing is my new boss doesn’t even know (or really care) that I’m sitting for CFA. I think I might get a “oh cool, congrats man, good job” if I do pass. Outside of our quant research group that has a few charterholders, few in my larger business unit has one that I work with on a daily/weekly basis. and hence I’m not even talking about it because having gone through this shiet before, I don’t want to hang myself when I hear a bunch of “OH YEAH I PASSED” yelled in the office. A client of mine (he’s on the buyside) just passed last year after 9 years. He took LII like 5x, and LIII at least 3x before passing. Passed LI on the first shot.
sh34 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > CPierce, > > You are not alone. I started since 2001 . I took > L3 exam seven times and failed each time with > border line scores of band 9 and band 10. I am > not giving up. > > Hopefully, we’ll make it thru the exam before we > die. I just wish I could refund 10 years of my > youth. > > sh34 7 times. Wow. Kudos to you!
CPierce Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > To address BiPolar - > > It’s really hard for me to pin down ONE thing that > has prevented me from passing. I honest to god > don’t remember my past scores (I’ve taken a few > years off, and when I last took LIII they didn’t > publish bands), but I know that fixed income on > LIII has just given me fitz. A wierdly worded IPS > will really mess me up too (the soccer player that > had a millions of currency units but no further > income was average risk tolerance still gives me > nightmares…). Also, I’m somewhat bothered that > the afternoon “only” has 60 questions. There is a > part of me that would not mind 180 questions – > but that’s left for another thread. > > goes to eleven - > > I could not agree with you more. A few weeks ago, > my wife and I went out to dinner. I was telling > her that I was running out of steam and just > “didn’t care” anymore. She kept driving how much > this will help me find a new job. I told her that > I wasn’t a young pup anymore - when I started this > designation, I wanted to land in asset management, > but after seeing the carnage, and working > alongside my clients (who are asset managers, I > work for a service provider, think along the lines > of Bloomberg), I’m not so sure they’ll even give > me a chance given the depth of the talent pool > right now. I’m going to sound like an ass here, > but nobody is going to hire a 34 year old CFA with > no experience in EM/PM for the salary that I need > to put food on my table. I would have worked for > free at 24 to gain that experience, but not > anymore. > > So yes, this designation isn’t for “career > advancement” anymore. I am too old for job > hopping and entry level jobs. heck, you’re only 34 CPierce, you’ve got about 30 years of working life ahead of you. There’s nothing to say you won’t end up in your dream job in 5 years. Ignore all these clowns who think that if you haven’t nailed the CFA along with 5 years of sell-side experience by the time you’re 25 then its all over.
- Dude, why are you studying so much? I just studied like the night before my exams in college. / yea so did I you fuck but this would be like taking every exam you ever took in undergrad, wrapping them all together into 1 exam, and then making it twice as difficult. -hate these people.
add to the clueless list: some wellmeaning coworkers ask, Why don’t you just postpone the exam and take it later? why don’t you just quit? WTF
Not co-workers, but rather … friends. Ah, yes, I kinda remember those people. I wonder if I have their phone number in my Blackberry.
I just kinda realized - I’m going to have to figure out a way to wean off my coffee addiction for the morning section. Frick.
Guys, don’t give up, finish strong. You are almost done!
i hope everyone does well on their exams. I’m really rooting for CPierce though…GOOD LUCK!