I think I may be better off pimping micro-loans in a small Eastern European country… Yes, I’m serious.
Interesting to see other people’s reasons. I’m taking it primarily as a pastime, it gives me something to do and I don’t like doing crosswords. Don’t think I’ll benefit from having the designation, if I ever will, that is. People in my business won’t care about it, they will not know what it is.
because its hard
I started it with thoughts of potentially moving towards a different career. I have finished it now and about half the way through I decided right now I like better staying in more of a corp finance/accounting/FPA role than doing much else (If I had failed level II I was pretty sure I would stop). So it wont really do much for me. But, I would still do it again.
jkey57 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I have seen hundreds (it feels like thousands) of > posts that pretty much say the CFA is useless and > that if your not rockin’ a top 20 MBA program by > the time your 27, or didn’t get a banking job > right of undergrad, you’re pretty much screwed and > wasting your precious free time. If you go through all the threads, you’ll notice there are almost an equal number of doom-and-gloom posts regarding MBA degree programs This board represents only a small sample of (biased) opinions; pay no attention to sour grapes.
I already got mine, but I got it for the knowledge and the legitimacy in confers. It’s done nothing but help me, definitely helped me get into interviews I would not have otherwise. Once you’re in the door, it’s really just blackmail the rest of the way.
to make people think i’m respectable
I completed CFA Program because i was bored
I studied math & finance in university, landed internships with banks, pension plans, investments within insurance company. That’s when managers told me about the CFA and said if I want to stay in the industry, I need to have it. Took L1 after I graduated. That helped me land an interview with an asset mgmt firm. What really got me the offer were the glowing references I had from previous managers, and mainly my diverse internship experiences within the financial industry. Now I have to finish the program because my firm pays for it, I get a raise after passing each level, and I don’t want to be fired.
I’m getting the CFA so I can throw that in if needed at rooftop cocktail events.
I took the CFA to support my hobby of making origami out of official or rare documents. I intend to transform my CFA charter into a beautiful swan.
so i could order table service and date models and drink from bottles
Analti_Calte_Equity Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I’m getting the CFA so I can throw that in if > needed at rooftop cocktail events. I don’t know how many girls that’ll help you get; most of the rest of the pop. has no clue.
Yeah really, I hope that was a joke. Bragging about obscure academic credentials is negative game.
Analti_Calte_Equity Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I’m getting the CFA so I can throw that in if > needed at rooftop cocktail events. This is probably the worst thing you could say at a cocktail party so I am thinking it was a joke.
Analti_Calte_Equity Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I’m getting the CFA so I can throw that in if > needed at rooftop cocktail events. I got it so I’d have justification for the CFA tattoo on my forearm.
To bust into this whole asset management game. I got the bottles and hot girls (not sure if there models). Being in the fight game helps that one out.
I want to be a financial expert. I could just read some books in my spare time but it wouldn’t be quite so efficient as this.
I usually take my 2 weeks vacation in late May. I consider myself somewhat of a bookworm so I like to keep busy while on vaca.
I started because I wanted an intellectual challenge, to get get ahead of the crowd and be better positioned for an asset management job after my top 10 MBA. I learned a lot from the experience, but it really has not been worth it. The CFA will not get you into an ibank, hedge fund or asset management job if you do not have prior experience. A top MBA will. It is far better to study for your GMAT and practice your interviews just like for level I. You will get more bang for the buck. CFA is desired by for PM’s and for Analysts on the sellside for marketing purposes. Truth is that you don’t need it either and it is not required (just preferred) for everybody else. If you are smart, effective and a good worker most bosses will prefer you to a CFA… and it probably will be less stressful on your personal life. On a philosophical note: I am tired of what CFAI is becoming. It is now just an old boys club. The curriculum is only marginally different from 10 years ago, but the tests are 3 times harder (I have tests from then). It is not about improving the profession as it was originally intended, but rather about gatekeeping. Worst part is that about 40% of the curriculum is based on efficient market hypothesis, Keynesian economics and other aspect which are now widely accepted to be mistaken. Have you seen GIPS 2010? Completely violation of the original intent. It was originally intended to be a simple clear standard for international performance comparision, accessible to all firms. GIPS have now been kidnapped by the verification services which have made them an arcane overly detailed system that REQUIRES you hire full time staff and special software to implement. Small firms cannot dream of implementing these new GIPS. (in fact the official GIPS objectives were changed - not making it up) In other words I have now spend 600 hours memorizing level 3 concepts that I know are wrong instead of reading up on real economics and trading. Very frustrating waste of time. I am not recommending my analysts take the CFA anymore. I tell them to do Level I to get a general sense of finance if anything. How can I recommend that they spend a miniumum of 900 hours (more likely 1,800hr = a full year) studying concepts 50% of which they will never need for their direct job and 40% of which I know to be wrong? I would rather just give them a reading list. I am only finishing level III as a personal challenge and because I have invested so much time into it, but honestly the CFA for me has gone from prestigeous to not worth the effort.