All, I was hoping to get some input on my plan, as to whether or not others think it is feasible. I am considering sitting for the June level 1 test; however, I have not yet registered or started preparing in any way. To give you some insight into my background / situation, I have an undergraduate degree in Econ and have been working in investment banking for the past 3 years as an analyst focused primarily on M&A. I am also interested in markets and spend a fair amount of my free time (Admittedly not very much of this to go around) reading up on markets / investing and also managing my own small portfolio. Given my background, I don’t expect many of the concepts on the test to be completely foreign. I am planning on leaving my job at the end of April and can probably spend about 150 - 200 hours in total preparing for the test between now and June. Here are some factors influencing my decision to lean toward the June test as opposed to the December test - Will have an entire month of down time to prepare (this is huge) - It is possible I will have started a new job by December making it more difficult to focus on test prep - I would like to have the test passed ASAP so that I can leverage it to find a hedgefund / asset management job – the december test would be too late for this purpose What does everyone think? Is it worth going for it? Thanks in advance - psv
It all comes down to how bad you want it. You want CFA or what? So what if you fail June exam. Just continue on for December. Time to man up son.
dude, passing L1 will not help you in finding a job at a hedge fund or AM but if your goal is to end up in those fields (particularly AM), then it certaintly wont hurt to take it in June. If you have a background in finance and will have one month to do nothing but study, its def not too late.
With your background it should be achievable but it seems too late to read all the CFAI materials. Why don’t you do a mock exam? It will be a good indicator where you stand and determine the topics you should put priority.
Use Schweser/Elan or some other prep provider… You already have a background… It won’t take too much time… you should be able to clear it in june… reading cfa material might be very difficult in this time frame… even if you have a whole month, there are only so many hrs one can study for till one’s retention and comprehension disappear for the day…
WHO IS THIS GUY??? It’s WAY TOO late to start! People have been studying for months already and you’re coming in now asking if it’s too late??? Just forget about it!!! Do it in December! (How does that make you feel?) *wait 3 seconds BAM! You have your answer my friend… 
Well, to put it in perspective, I had a former analyst of mine who had 1.5 years of industry coverage I-banking start studying at about the same time and passed. And she was working at the time, had a political science undergrad from an Ivy school. You’ll likely breeze through the Financial statement analysis and probably the Equity / Fixed Income sections. If you stilll have the work ethic from M&A, you will be fine. Go for it.
Former I-Banker Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Well, to put it in perspective, I had a former > analyst of mine who had 1.5 years of industry > coverage I-banking start studying at about the > same time and passed. And she was working at the > time, had a political science undergrad from an > Ivy school. > Well, some people are just very smart, digest large chunks of new info quickly and memorize well. That’s why she made it it to the Ivy league. Don’t compare yourself with the top 1%, not realistic and only creates frustration.