Toughest 4 months and 8 days of my life coming up

Got to say I’m a bit nervous for the next 4 months and ~ a week. Should get my L2 books tomorrow from Schweser and CFA institute. Have gone over ethics but haven’t done much more. Have a baby that is due in 3 days, Level 2 which I can’t even imagine how tough it’s going to be, and with work expanding my new business. I’m sure I may have it easy compared to some but I’m thinking it’s gonna be a byaaaatch… To make me feel better about myself, how many people are even worse off than I am?

Congrats on the baby, that’s great news. Sounds like a hell of a ride you’re going to have coming up. You’ll get through and then feel a huge sense of accomplishment (and relief!). Good luck!

it seems like you will have tough 4 months ahead of you but your hard work will pay off!

Is it possible? I really hope it is. I’m sure I’ll have a ton of questions for you guys in the upcoming weeks and months on the material. I don’t have a good gauge for how much tougher II is vs. Level 1. Thanks for the nice words.

I’m a bit surprised at how many people are giving L2 a go after writing L1 in December. I understand that the material is still fresh in one’s mind, but given the amount of material that needs to be covered in such a short time period, I feel it will be very difficult for many. Given your circumstances, I would have waited. I work full time and found studying for L1 with all other commitments was extremely taxing. I make no illusions about the time one must spend on L2, so I’ve decided to wait until June 2009, when I’ll have more than enough time to prepare. The question you have to ask yourself is, in the grand scheme of things, how highly do you value having L2 behind you (IF you pass) one year ahead? Perhaps age plays a role, I’m really not sure, but my intention is to have a sound knowledge of this in 2009 rather than just trying to ‘get the grade’ and move on.

By the way, I didn’t mean to sound like a pessimist. It IS possible. If I wasn’t working full time for sure I’d do it. If I was expanding a business and raising a kid, probably not.

I don’t see a problem with wanting to attempt L2 with only four months of study time. I have a full time job (~40 hours a week), but other than that I don’t really have any commitments. There are 130 days left until the exam. Even if I only studied 2 hours a night that would put me at 260 hours which is slightly higher than what CFAI recommends. Adding an additional 1 hour a night will put me at 390 which I think is reasonable. Clearly there will be times when I study less one day and more another, like on the weekend. That doesn’t even include the 10-12 hour days leading up to the exam. Four months sounds plenty reasonable to me if the only commitment you have is a 40 hour a week job. Not to mention the knowledge you gain for the next time if you happen to fail.

GMofDen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Got to say I’m a bit nervous for the next 4 months > and ~ a week. > Should get my L2 books tomorrow from Schweser and > CFA institute. Have gone over ethics but haven’t > done much more. Have a baby that is due in 3 > days, Level 2 which I can’t even imagine how tough > it’s going to be, and with work expanding my new > business. I’m sure I may have it easy compared to > some but I’m thinking it’s gonna be a byaaaatch… > To make me feel better about myself, how many > people are even worse off than I am? I feel you. I have a baby due in 5 weeks.

I don’t see why you wouldn’t attempt it actually, its not that bad of a price to pay to be extra prepared for 2009 if you do fail. Not to mention I passed LI with two months of studying. 7 weeks to read the CFAI materials, 1 to review, and I have a full time job. 4 months is not only twice as long, but assuming I read through in 2 months again, it will afford me 8 weeks or 8x as much review time as for LI, that should give me a fair shot. Granted I’m the first to admit I have 0 life outside of CFA right now, but hey like I said, even if you were planning on only studying mildly hard, its good experience to go through and fail and it will get you studying and exposed to the material much earlier than waiting for 09.

I think it’s going to be tough. Both sides of these rec’s have a lot of validity and I know the odds are against me. I’m going to take the approach similar to what prossetti mentioned. 3 hours a day, 130 days left, should be enough if I’m able to focus. With L1 I studied 2 hours in the morning (getting up at 4:45) then working and getting an hour at lunch or after work. Hell if I’m up with the baby at 2 in the morning maybe I can get a good hour in. Bud Fox, if I’m able to learn anything in the 5 weeks before you have your baby I’ll try and pass my $.02 worth. (it’ll probably be what not to do) Thanks for the responses. Good luck to everyone.

Family first guys. The birth of a baby is not something which distracts you from passing level 2, but is a miracle, and part of the reason why you’re working so hard in the first place. Don’t let your family life slide while you’re busy advancing your career or one day you’ll wake up successful, but with nobody around to share it with. Don’t mean to lecture you - you know best how to prioritize and balance all the competing pulls in your life. By the way I agree that 4 months should be enough preparation time. Most of the people who passed L1 last june have just started to study.

Keep in mind that babies don’t ask where daddy is on weekends…get it done by 2009 and you won’t ever have to hear it. Helped me motivate for level 1 in december. Would much rather get 4 hours of sleep now than have to miss [insert sport here] games and other fun sh#t on weekends and evenings. that and don’t forget your wife/significant other…she will need the most help/attention/love.

Failing L2 is not the end of the world. Nothing to sweat about to tell you the truth.