I had much better luck with Level I and II, but this is my THIRD attempts at the Level III. During which time I had missed my two little girls grow up. I’m not sure it will be worth for me to retake the freaking Level III next year. Not to mention, my marriage is suffering as well. Any thoughts? I feel like I really have nothing more to give.
Passing L3 is not intrinsically valuable. What will be its effects on your career?
Per my employer, it’s nice to have after your name but I have few collegues who earned the CFA charter and they’re not rewarded for their efforts. So, I’m not sure at this point unless I go to other institutions.
ohai Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Passing L3 is not intrinsically valuable. What > will be its effects on your career? Um. It is valuable to have the CFA designation if you believe it to have value. Self-worth, pride, confidence – these things have value. Anyway – if L3 has no value, then what say you about L1 and L2?
It seems a shame to give up after passing Level I and II. Maybe you have passed? If not, I would not give up. If you have to, take a year off and consider retaking in 2012. CFA has value as a credential. Even if there is no immediate change in your career or compensation, it is an accomplishment you will have for life and future employers may put more value on it. In this crappy job market you can never have too many credentials.
I would keep taking it man… too much time and wasted $$ to quit now. You have to remember that as a rule-of-thumb, first time takers each year are at a disadvantage because its their first go-round with the new curriculum whereas you’ve seen it before. If you give yourself a legit chance to pass each year, chances are you’ll eventually get through it… I’m most likely guna be a third timer next year because I thought the morning section this year may as well been written in hyrogliphics. Bottom line is that you’re not alone in this torture so buck up and resaddle for L3 2011!
charlottekid Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > Um. It is valuable to have the CFA designation if > you believe it to have value. Self-worth, pride, > confidence – these things have value. > Really? I would feel very sorry for someone who needs to derive self worth from a series of exams, but if that’s the case for you, then so be it.
I would keep taking it man… too much time and wasted $$ to quit now…the concept of sunk cost mean anything to anyone?
I’d say it depends on if it will have a significant impact on your career, whether at your current firm or next one, and if that impact will in turn make a significant impact on you and your family’s life. If your life will more likely be improved (looking beyond financially) by spending more time with your kids and wife, then I would say that is what matters and where your focus should be directed instead of Level III. (…and from a financial standpoint, divorce, alimony and child support probably cost more than any future career benefits you would garner from having “, CFA” after your name)
pimpineasy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I would keep taking it man… too much time and > wasted $$ to quit > now…the > concept of sunk cost mean anything to anyone? I think you contradicted yourself there, sunk costs be excluded from the analysis as they’ve been incurred either way
@ DTM86 sorry should have been clearer i was quoting BrockLanders post couple posters up …yeah no matter what the time is already gone the decision to take level 3 should be based on the incremental benfit vs incremental cost but of course you already knew all that 
its really a catch 22, because when you get divorced bc of prepping so hard for the exam your wife will most likely take your kids which might lead you to do something irrational and unethical and then CFAI will pull your charter… tread lightly in this situation buddy
A lot of people here are young, single and don’t have a family. They don’t know what it’s like to have children and have to miss the time with them, so I’m not surprised to see a lot of people above say to go for the CFA. My advice would be this, if you have a job and it’s doing ok, take some time and spend it with your family. If you don’t pass this year, just delay L3 one year and then get back to it the following year.
Keep taking it. Wives b!tch. If it’s not about you not about being around enough it’s that you’re not making enough money. Just plan accordingly. Try to find times to study so that you’re still giving enough time to your family. You could wake up early and study. Study on your lunch break. Probably the best solution - Wake up early on weekends and study until 2:00. Plus you shouldn’t have to study as much as you did in year’s past being you’re a repeater. Anyway you might pass in a few weeks so isn’t this post a little early?
As per my name, this is my 3rd time as well and have pondered the exact same question should i fail in 3 weeks when results come out. getting married and moving cities in april next year has me pondering the same thing. BUT - if you should know, i have done an analysis of the curriculum LOS for 2010 vs. 2011 and hardly anything has changed, so this is a HUGE advantage should we need to retake. Also, 1st time I had Band 4, 2nd Time Band 7, if I fail again and it’s higher ( band 8, 9, 10) then at least i know im going in the right direction and will for sure write again. If I get lower then a 7 then something is wrong but I probably will keep writing again until they make a dramatic shift in the curriculum where i will give up on wanting to learn brand new material. so maybe if you do fail, start studying with the text books in october, sure you will put in more study hours in total if you start that early, but it wont come to the point of saying you have to write off a whole weekend such as what would happen if you start in February. We might be talking too soon, but we are so close !
do it do it do it! don’t give up now! maybe, MAYBE take a year off but really, just do it! you’ve come so far, and the whole program is a huge mind game, but you can and will beat it. the key is to strike the right balance, which is really just another way of saying “discipline”. what you need is 300 hours max. between sep and may of 2011. that’s not even 40 hours per MONTH. in other words, its really like 1.15 hour per day, firm. what if you had to work one hour later, sure, missing time with kids, whatever. its an hour. you probably spend longer than that commuting, or working out. you can do that standing on your head! do you watch TV? if yes, STOP. spend time with kids, by all means, but be disciplined about it. make it quality time. in fact, i find that the more restricted my leisure time is, the more i enjoy it, and the more memorable and special i make sure that it is.
This is a really interesting thread. I am quite certain that I am not going to get through this year, even I am thinking if I should attempt it again in 2011
iteracom Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > A lot of people here are young, single and don’t > have a family. They don’t know what it’s like to > have children and have to miss the time with them, > so I’m not surprised to see a lot of people above > say to go for the CFA. > > My advice would be this, if you have a job and > it’s doing ok, take some time and spend it with > your family. If you don’t pass this year, just > delay L3 one year and then get back to it the > following year. I would give you the same advice. If you fail this year, take some time for a rest. Enjoy your time with your family and register fot June 2012 exam. CFA worths a lot, but does not worth your family. At least not for me. The family come first.
You sound as though you have put in a huge amount of effort. For that sake alone I would keep going now until you finish. As for your marriage, I don’t believe that the CFA exam alone is causing problems, if there are any. It may be symptomatic of deeper issues but, if it is the one factor that your wife is citing then she should look at the words of the marriage vows; “for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health”. I’m guessing you are not doing this for the sake of your health but rather to make a better life for you and your family. Short term pain for long term gain. The last thing you need when doing soemthing like this is to feel presured not to work when you should be working for it. I was at a graduation ceremony at Durham University recently and one at Oxford last year and in both ceremonies the Vice Chancellors made reference to the value of the support network that students require to get through their degrees. Without it, he said, noone would fulfill their potential. It is only when you think of it like this that you realise how important a supportive family/friends is/are. This programme is intense and isolating. You need support. Have a word with her and tell her that it’s in everyone’s interest that you focus should you need to take it again - which, by the way, I’m sure you won’t need to. Good luck
zazu11 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > iteracom Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > A lot of people here are young, single and > don’t > > have a family. They don’t know what it’s like > to > > have children and have to miss the time with > them, > > so I’m not surprised to see a lot of people > above > > say to go for the CFA. > > > > My advice would be this, if you have a job and > > it’s doing ok, take some time and spend it with > > your family. If you don’t pass this year, just > > delay L3 one year and then get back to it the > > following year. > > > I would give you the same advice. If you fail this > year, take some time for a rest. Enjoy your time > with your family and register fot June 2012 exam. > CFA worths a lot, but does not worth your family. > At least not for me. The family come first. +1000.