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- Topic: Any retake advice for a mother of 3 toddlers?
Author | Topic: Any retake advice for a mother of 3 toddlers? |
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Muneera @2018-01-26 15:07:44 |
Hi All! First of all, congratulations to all who have passed Dec'17 level 1 exam! Well done! Now coming to my subject, being a mother of 3 toddlers (age: 3.7, 2.3 and 7 mths old) and not working at the moment, I had appeared for Dec'16 level 1 exam thinking I could pass the exam as I've got bachelor's degree in finance and accounting. Well I guess I was in for a shock as I could hardly study with 2 toddlers and a newborn without any external help! I somehow could manage to touch the books (AnalystNotes study guide not CFAI books but would've loved to) in the last 2 mths before the exam. And no I couldn't give in 5-6 hrs per day like many but barely 2-3 hrs per day only after the kids would fall asleep. I guess you can do the math! I could barely finish all the topics and CFAI EOC questions, didn't get to do any review or what soever, and merely did 1 practice paper. So you can calculate my pass rate!?! After I received my result (band 4) yesterday, I've been rethinking again and again if I should retake the exam? If yes, then should it be June or December exam? What should be my study strategies considering i've kids all under 4? Being in my 30s will it be the worth the time and effort? Though I still feel if I could've given my 100% then I would've passed. Please feel free to advice/suggest (positive/negative) as I really need to think through it. And as I plan to get back to work, preferably in a consultancy job if I get lucky! Thanks in advance. |
carlos20 @2018-02-04 15:00:04 |
Candidates report dedicating in excess of 300 hours of study per level to prepare for each exam. The question what you need to answer is, "Can I dedicate more than 300 hours along with 3 kids in my 30s to clear all 3 levels", if no, then I guess we both are thinking on the same line. To answer you the other question: If you're working in finance or serious about working in finance, then yes, it's worth it. Idk about timing though. Can you regularly dedicate 2-3 hrs per day for the next 3 years? (L1,2,3) |
jenjenks @2018-02-05 15:38:03 |
I'm a working mom of 3 so I get where you are coming from. It's tough being a mom and needing to study while other people, especially small people, are needing you too. I failed band 10 in June 2017. I completed the material, some mocks, and put in the hours the first time and I have come to believe that the hours aren't as important as the quality of study, # of questions answered, mock exams, etc completed. I don't know how many hours I put in this time around but the quality study time was much better- and the outcome was much better too. If I were you, I would assess your support system (husband, partner, grandparents, etc) and then have a conversation with them to see how much support they can provide. My husband and I sat down and really talked through what I was going to need to study and pass and we put together a "family" study schedule. That gave everyone involved an idea of the times I needed to study and it also gave me an idea of when I needed to plan NOT to study. Forget the 300 hours of study thing and study smarter instead of clocking time. Also, figure out how you learn best (there are lots of free online tests). It's not easy but if this is something you really want to do, it will definitely be worth it. And believe me, my whole family was estatic when I got my results last week; it's really an accomplishment for the whole family. |
CFA Discussion Topic: Any retake advice for a mother of 3 toddlers?
I passed! I did not get a chance to tell you before the exam - but your site was excellent. I will definitely take it next year for Level II.