Hi YouTube friends, welcome to my channel!
Since the start of the pandemic, the CFA Institute has implemented a series of changes in regards to the exam format and the exam dates
If you are currently debating whether or not you should sign up for the CFA exam,
I will share with you my thoughts and suggestions in today's video
I received my CFA charter in 2019
I have an entire playlist on my channel dedicated to the CFA exams
I have videos on how I studied for the CFA exams and my thoughts on the CFA program
In today's video, I will be discussing 5 things you should consider before registering for the CFA exam
If you are interested, please keep on watching!
The first thing you need to consider is that the CFA exam is very hard
Before signing up for the exam, you need to have a realistic view of the difficulty of the exam
passing all 3 levels of the exam is not easy
Back when I took the exam. Level 1 exam was held twice a year
The level 2 & 3 exams were only held once a year
If you failed either level 2 or 3, you need to wait for another year to retake the exam
Now, for the level 1 exam, you can take it 3 times a year
You can also take the level 2 & 3 exams twice a year
Due to the limited amount of times you are able to take each test every year, this makes the exams challenging
Me and my husband have known some coworkers/friends who have both the CFA and CPA
I am not talking down the CPA by any means. If you have a CPA, that is very impressive
However, our friends who have gotten both the CFA and CPA said the CFA exam is a lot more difficult
The CFA exams cover a broad range of topics
You might be able to pass the level 1 exam easily if you have a finance undergrad or a finance masters degree
However, you do need to take time to study for the level 2 & 3 exams
The CFA Institute recommends an average of 300 hours study time per exam
If you study 2-3 hours a day, you need approximate 2-3 months to study for the exam
My husband is a US citizen and English is his first language
He thinks the CFA exam is very challenging
For non-native English speakers,
the exam is even more difficult
Before registering for the CFA exam, you need to prep yourself to have the correct mindset
There might be a few people that think the exam is easy
However, most people will find the CFA exams to be very challenging
Secondly, I want to point out that the CFA exam/being a CFA charter holder is not cheap
When you register for the CFA exam,
in addition to the normal exam fee, you need to pay a $450 one-time registration fee
if you register for the exam within the early registration window, you can pay a lower fee of $700
If you miss the early registration window,
then the exam fee is $1,000
you could ask your employer for reimbursement
based on my personal experience, most employers will only reimburse you if you pass the exams
some employers might reimburse you the full amount, while others might only reimburse you half of the amount
the reason why some companies reimburse the exam fee is, if you pass the CFA exams or if you become a CFA charter holder, it will be a great marketing opportunity for the company
Some big companies recommend their employees take the CFA exam/become a CFA charter holder
Assuming you pass all 3 exams on your first try,
the overall cost of the exam is around $2,000-$3,000 depending on when you registered for the exam
and this is just the exam fee
and does not include any of the study materials costs. For example Schweser Notes, or any other prep courses
after passing 3 levels of the exam and meeting the work experience requirement, you can apply for the CFA charter
you need to pay annual dues to the CFA institute after becoming a CFA charter holder
I think the CFA charter is a bit high maintenance
and overall the process is not cheap
Thirdly, in my opinion, the CFA program is only worth it if you pass all 3 levels of the exam and become a charter holder
if you only pass 1 or 2 levels of the exam,
and if you think the purpose of registering for the exam is to put the "CFA level X candidate" on your resume/LinkedIn
which will be helpful for your job search and increase the competitiveness of your resume
I recommend you reconsider your motives
The CFA is only beneficial for your career if you become a CFA charter holder
having the CFA after your name
Next up, if you are currently debating on whether or not you should sign up for the exam
I recommend you do it early in life
after graduating from school, you start to build your career and start your family
The CFA program requires you to put in a lot of time
The CFA exam is a huge time sink,
if you are thinking about getting married, planning your wedding, or having kids
I recommend you putting all these matters on hold
until after you pass all 3 levels of the exam
make sure you start the process early in life
don't wait until you have many other things that would distract you
Me and my husband were working while prepping for the exam. Every day after work, we had to spend 3-4 hours studying for the exams
Prepping the exam while working is very hard
we waited to get married until after passing the exams and we couldn't have imagined how hard it would be if we had to plan a wedding at the same time
if you are debating if you should register for the exam, register for it early in life so that you can get the ball rolling
last but not least
The CFA is not a golden ticket that will help you find a job
this is based on me and my husband's personal experiences
me and my husband were both already CFA charter holders when we tried to switch jobs in the US
unfortunately, lots of companies and their HR departments do not know the CFA program
some people think the CFA is a CPA
this might be partly due to the fact that there are fewer CFA charter holders
The CFA Institute does not spend lots of effort marketing the CFA program
unless you work on Wall Street, a lot of companies have never heard of the CFA program
if you think having a CFA will guarantee you a high salary finance job
you need to reconsider your decision on enrolling in the program
for international students, if you want to find a job in the US
the employers value a lot of other skills in addition to the CFA
for example, your inter-personal relationship skills and English abilities
and most importantly, if you want to get an interview, your resume plays a vital part
if your resume has lots of grammer mistakes and if your resume does not have a standard format,
even though you have the CFA charter,
that does not guarantee you getting an interview
if you don't know yet
my husband and I provide professional resume correction and interview prep services
we have helped several of my channel subscribers with their resumes and interview prep
and they have successfully landed job offers
while prepping for the CFA exam, if you want to improve your resume
or if you want to hone in your interview skills
please don't hesitate to contact us, our contact info is cuddlesspicy@gmail.com
that's it for today's video
personally I think having a CFA is definitely worth it
once you have it, it's a great asset
Being a CFA charter holder does demonstrate your understanding of finance and your ability of sticking with and completing a very difficult task
if you have any CFA related questions
or any questions related to finding a job in the US
feel free to leave a comment down below
Please also follow me on Instagram if you haven't done so
I share my life and spicy life channel updates regularly on my Instagram account
Thanks for watching, bye!