CFA Level I while studying for M.Sc. in Financial Maths

gob

Hi all,

Hoping this is the best place to post this.

I am about to start the M.Sc. in Financial and industrial math in DCU. I graduated in 2007 with a 1H engineering degree from UCD so I have no background in financial theory at all.

I have read here and other places that the CFA (chartered financial analyst) is fast becoming the gold standard for traders in the UK and US. I have also read that this exam is quite difficult.

With competition for good finance jobs now very high I was considering sitting the level I exam in June 2010 for 2 reasons:

1. I hope that prospective employers will be impressed by my committment and ability to self learn.
2. I hope that doing more of the theory behind the numbers might help me with exams, thesis, general understanding etc.

So here are the Q's:
1. Is this crazy? Is the CFA really that well regarded? I am a good student but not a genius by a long shot; do you think it will be possible to study for the CFAs while doing the M.Sc.?(the M.Sc. has exams in Jan, May and thesis to be handed in end of August and the CFA is on the 5th of June 2010).
2. If you have done the CFA level I exam, how did you find it? How much prep did you do?
3. Does anyone know how much overlap there is between the M.Sc. and the CFA?

Thanks guys,
Gob

pocketdooz

gob wrote: »

Hi all,

Hoping this is the best place to post this.

I am about to start the M.Sc. in Financial and industrial math in DCU. I graduated in 2007 with a 1H engineering degree from UCD so I have no background in financial theory at all.

I have read here and other places that the CFA (chartered financial analyst) is fast becoming the gold standard for traders in the UK and US. I have also read that this exam is quite difficult.

With competition for good finance jobs now very high I was considering sitting the level I exam in June 2010 for 2 reasons:

1. I hope that prospective employers will be impressed by my committment and ability to self learn.
2. I hope that doing more of the theory behind the numbers might help me with exams, thesis, general understanding etc.

So here are the Q's:
1. Is this crazy? Is the CFA really that well regarded? I am a good student but not a genius by a long shot; do you think it will be possible to study for the CFAs while doing the M.Sc.?(the M.Sc. has exams in Jan, May and thesis to be handed in end of August and the CFA is on the 5th of June 2010).

In my opinion this is pretty crazy. The workload is huge and for someone who has not done a commerce/finance undergraduate it will be even more intense. I would estimate you will need to put in between 250 and 300 hours of study to pass the CFA Round One. Do not underestimate the workload.

The CFA is very well regarded and it is excellent that you are thinking about doing it but my fear is that it will get in the way of your studies/projects/thesus etc and you may end up doing a half-arsed job at both rather than doing a great job at each individually.

There is no rush to do the CFAs anyway because you need 3/4 years of industry experience before they will qualify you so there is no need to hurry into Round One because you will need to wait 3/4 years after you graduate and get a job anyway to get accredited.

2. If you have done the CFA level I exam, how did you find it? How much prep did you do?

It is not extremely difficult as an exam (I did finance undergrad and MBS Finance masters so I had a good grounding) .... but the workload is huge. Round Two is much more difficult

3. Does anyone know how much overlap there is between the M.Sc. and the CFA?

There was a huge amount of overlap between my Masters in Finance and CFA Round One - couldn't be sure about your course specificly.

Thanks guys,

no worries - good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Gob

.

woodseb

pretty much echo what p-d said there - it is not to be taken lightly and it you don't have a finance background which will make it harder initially. Have you thought about doing it in Dec 2010 instead

soddy1979

Pocketdooz, just wondering; are you a CFA charter holder?

I passed level 1 in June and I agree the difficulty in it lies in the amount of work as opposed to the difficulty. Although, if you don't have a grasp of undergrad economics and accountancy you might have more of a problem.

Also, for the OP - I would be surprised if 300 hrs wasn't the minimum amount of study required for someone with an engineering only background.

pocketdooz

soddy1979 wrote: »

Pocketdooz, just wondering; are you a CFA charter holder?

I passed level 1 in June and I agree the difficulty in it lies in the amount of work as opposed to the difficulty. Although, if you don't have a grasp of undergrad economics and accountancy you might have more of a problem.

Also, for the OP - I would be surprised if 300 hrs wasn't the minimum amount of study required for someone with an engineering only background.

No I'm not but I'm on the way !