So I failed my CFA Exam
I thought I’ll share this with the rest of the world for two reasons, the first is that it’ll help me let some steam out and hopefully help with the my temporary depression phase like I am going through, the second would be to hopefully get through to “amuse and entertain” some of those who also failed and are in the same boat as me.
I decided to roll-up my sleeves and study for the CFA a good year ago, during which I had dedicated a good 7 months to serious studies and by serious I mean a good two hours a day and considerable time going through the question bank whenever I have the time to during my working hours. By serious I mean giving up weekly dinner gatherings with my friends, gym life, TV my dear blog, the F1 race and a number of other events.
I had gotten my hands on every available study material known for the program, went through the books cover to cover, took not less 10 full fledged mock exams of 6 hours each, I had never given any degree I have done before anywhere near what I give this examination.. It was bad..and.. believe it or not.. I walked out of the exam hall the day of the test with a smile to my face. For some reason, I believed I passed..
Now, picture this with me.. Yesterday was the big day… the day of the results, I couldn’t sleep two continuous hours the night before, the results were supposed to be out at 4 PM our time, by 1.. I couldn’t even sit on my chair… I was walking around in circles like a headless chicken, looking at my wrist watch every 2 minutes, until it was time.. it hit me.. I failed… miserably..
I took my lunch bag and walked straight out, my colleague (who passed) had this huge grin on his face, and.. as soon as I gave him the “no” nod and looked down. He decided it would be a great idea to hug me..
My friends decided to get even friendlier, I had to tell 7 people that I failed that afternoon.. Must suck to be in their position.. I mean.. what can you say to a guy you call to congratulate, only to find out that he failed right?
The best reaction I got was from my mom though, she didn’t even wink when I told her I failed.. she just continued watching TV and responded, oh.. so when are you going to take it again? December I said.. this coming December? Oh.. OK.
To add insult to injury, everybody I know passed! All my colleagues, all my online study buddies, people I met in the prep course I spent a fortune on! Most with flying colors too!
I was never exactly the nerd at school or university for that matter, barely even aced any exam, I’m your typical B student. Someone who would always do the bare minimum and will pass with an average of a B just because I get high A’s in some subjects and low C’s in others. And umm, that didn’t work very well with the CFA. I had to learn that the hardway…
The good news is, that I aced my weak points, those areas that I was weak in.. the bad news.. well.. I still failed, by practically failing everything else..
It was quite an experience, I got my books out of the closet.. Wiped out the dust that built on them the past two months.. Registered for December’s intake…This time wifey will be with me..
I’ll crack this sucker…
Don’t give up, you can do it, I know you can.
For some reason I thought my reaction was bad too. I was torn between whether you wanted the nonchalance (as in your mum’s reaction), or wanted something more personal from me. I think I ended up taking a stand somewhere it between, which was quite bad.
I’m just glad I’ll be there for the next round, we’ll do it together this time.
خليك من الكلام فاضي هذا خش في مجال التسويق أو مجال التمويل الاسلامي
A wise man once told me that being able to honestly identify the main reasons behind failures is the first step towards success. Kudos for sharing this with the world. It shows bravery I can’t even dream of. Most people hide their failures, while the successful ones scrutinize them the way you just did.
Mo, if I learned something about you from this post, it is that you’ll definitely pass this.
On the other hand, I can’t imagine a man failing while being showered with unconditional love and support from his woman
God bless you
Hey I came across this by randomly googling “I failed the CFA”. I failed my too and apparently just barely . I totally know what you’re going through. I hope we both do better in December!
أتفق مع بوزين واهنيك على شجاعتك في التصريح بإخفاقك بهذا الشكل العلني فمعظمنا لايفعلها وان فعل فأنه يلقي عادة باللائمة على اسباب لاتتعلق به ولو كنت مكانك فلن اشعر بالارتياح حينما اعرف ان جميع من حولي نجحوا الا انا
ولكن دعني اطرح عليك سؤالا ويحق لك ان تحتفظ بالاجابة، لماذا فكرت بدراسة الـ سي اف اي؟ فقد لاحظت في الاونة الاخيرة ان هناك اقبال شديد على نيل الشهادات الاحترافية وخصوصا الس اف اي وسألت فقيل لي لندرة المؤهلين والحائزين علي هذه الشهادات في سوق العمل والتي تفتح ابواب للترقي لمناصب اعلى. هل خطر في بالك مثلا انك ربما ارغمت نفسك علي دراسة شئ انت لاتحبه، اقول هذا لاني مررت بتجربة مماثلة قبل سنوات ونجحت في اجتياز امتحانات نيل شهادة احترافية بشق الانفس ولكنني بعد ان انتهيت اكتشفت انني لم اكن احب التخصص ولا أجد نفسي فيه وبالتالي لم أعمل في المجال نفسه
لاأحاول النيل من عزيمتك في اجتياز هذه الامتحانات ولكن أعتقد بأننا في البحرين نعاني من هذا النوع من الضغوط، فحينما يتجه الغالبية في قطاع معين لنيل مؤهل ما تجد نفسك مضطرا لفعل الشئ ذاته حتى لو كنت غير راغبا فيه كي لاينظر اليك اقرانك على انك أقل ذكاء او اجتهادا منهم. التحصيل العلمي شئ جيد ولكن حينما يكون نابعا من رغبة ذاتية في تطوير الذات في المجال والتخصص الذي نحبه لا الذي يرغمنا سوق العمل على انتهاجه
Well, it sucks doesn’t it? I failed a module here on my law exam too. Having to retake it isn’t the worst part. The problem is that my potential job hangs in the balance – not to mention my self-esteem and dignity. At least you’ve still got your job hey? Good luck.
Thank you all for your kind wishes and support.
BuZain / Suad:
Writing this piece up and publishing up to the world is the first step towards accepting failure. I don’t mean to be a drama queen here or anything, but.. when you put so much efforts into one thing, give it your heart, soul and dedicate your life towards it for so long.. only to find out that you have miserably failed.. While everybody around me is celebrating, there was very little room for me to, well.. come to peace with the fact that I didn’t make it..
I can’t blame it on anything but myself, I have walked in that exam hall knowing that I have given it all I could. There is not a single thing that I could’ve done better in anyway.. My “best” wasn’t good enough, and in return.. instead of celebrating and getting that gratifying boost of self-confidence I get looks of pity and sympathy..
I still can’t even talk to Wifey about it, we just decided to act like nothing happened and move on with life as we know it, till I decided to open up to the rest of the world here..
@Suad:
Why the CFA you ask, well.. I believe the world has drastically changed the past decade, the work environment grew to demand degrees that set standards that everybody can relate to, with explosion in the number of university graduates and post graduate degrees the recruiter will naturally prefer something that is known to set high standards.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved preparing for the exam. I can totally relate to the material, it’s the bread and butter of my job and what I do for a living, it’s not that I just want another degree to add to my CV, I have actually chosen to study the CFA because I wanted to add value to myself… which now seriously sounds rather shocking.. but.. well.. yah..
@Wifey:
You have given me more than enough baby, I appreciate all the support, care and understanding you have shown through those past months. You were the reason I have started this in the first place, without you I don’t know what would’ve done.
Thank you simply doesn’t cut it.. December it is !
I offer no sympathy. All I can say is that is great news. I don’t know why you waste your time in the financial industry. You seem much more intelligent than to do that.
In fact, I hope you get made redundant too, so that gives you an even better excuse to go do something useful for the world.
I dont know you, so dont take this personally
Good luck next time emoodz
But, I don’t believe in those companies that approve of these so-called examinations required to climb up the corporate ladder.., certificates are just pieces of paper from our birth certificates to our identity cards and degree certificates, they can never replace hands-on experience
Who would you hire?
a) someone with tons of degrees, certificates, trainings, and minor experience
or
b) someone with experience, some trainings and basic education or basic education in a specialized field you’re hiring for?
I know my answer, what’s yours?
(and this isn’t really relevant to graduate hiring)…
what does’nt kill you makes you stronger.
يلا الحمدلله على كل حال
هو يعني الشيء الزين انك قدرت تنجح في الاشياء اللي كنت تعتقد ان عندك نقص فيهم أو ضعيف فيها
عموماً لا تعتبر هالتجربة إنها فشل لأنك قمت باللي عليك و سعيت انك تطور نفسك و هالشيء بذاته نجاح و ان شاء الله في شهر 12 تقدم الامتحان و تجتازه بألوان طائرة على قولت الانجليز
و موفق ان شاء الله يا بو جاسم
من زمان ما كتبت بالعامي خخخ
I had exactly the same experience in L1 Xmas exam 2008. After having studied night and day (REALLY) for three months I went to the exam, felt quite confident afterwards only to find out in Feb that I failed it. It was a disaster to tell everyone.
I had terrible motivational probs to start studing seriously again for the June exam. Only two months before I somewhat got myself into doing something more or less seriously – and had a lousy feeling both before and after the exam the June exam. But can you believe it now I passed. I cannot. I smiled nonstop for several days afterwards.
Hi Mohammed,,,
before two months i regestred in a CFA program, as she said sometimes you take some course just because you want to be special and because its a powerful thing to have it… but what if you discovered that you don’t like what you’re studing ???!!! i jsut discovered it !!! and now i can’t quit because my sister is with me in that course and if i quit she will do so !!!
although i have so many dreams and goals but now i reached a point whereby i don’t i know what i want !!!! because simply things ain’t interesting as i thought it would be !
however, i’ll be taking the Dec. exam enshallah i’ll try to study and enshallah we’ll succeed “me n you”
i have my doughts lol
don’t give up and always remeber that there’s always something useful behind things we hate “Such as failure”.. you don’t now what’s the bright side that God hides for you
“In Arabic.. ymkn Khera”
all the best
No one remembers the 950 auditions that sylvester stallone was rejected in, People only remember him by his success. It doesnt matter that you failed the exam, what matters is that you pass it this time or the next. Even if it feels bad now, years later, sitting in your fancy office, some clients getting rich, some getting poor and you charging them anyways, you are going to look back at this blog now and laugh about it.
Leaving the free counsel aside
I am taking the exam in December. I wasnt worried but now i really am courtesy your blog. You obviously worked really hard. Seven months is a long time and 2 hours a day is no small feat. So Please help us the CFA hopefuls and tell us what were the mistakes that you have done during your preparation. What was differrent about your peer’s preparation and yours ?
Would really appreciate your help. There’s not much time and maybe we ought to reassess our preparation methods
Dear Ange
Your point is Experience vs CFA … Experience wins hands down,
Sorry to say that but its wrong. Allow me to explain.
If you have 30 years of experience as an accountant, you still cant become an auditor unless you have the CPA or CA i.e. unless you are certified. Once you become a certified auditor, you will get an amazing salary but it still isnt as much as if you are a Certified auditor with lots of experience as an auditor. You cant get the latter kind of experience unless you become certified.
So heres reality
Experienced Analyst > Certified Financial Analyst > Certified Financial Analyst with lots of experience as a Certified Financial Analyst.
CFA is not just a course like one’s bachelors. Its also not the peak of one’s career. Its the beginning of one’s career. You could be an accountant or a salesman or whatever and then you do the CFA and you start a career in Financial Analysis. In BHD your salary will jump from 500 to 900 – 1200, and then as you gain more experience as a CFA, your salary will go up.
hey mohamed dont give up !, you can do it!
خيرها بغيرها يامسقطي وكل جواد وله كبوة
بس مالك حق بخصوص الصديق اللي حضنك
تب تعرف وش السبب في انك مانجحت ؟
لأنك ماعاد تجي تأكل المندي ولحم الرقبة مع الربع.
وسلمتكم
خوءيك
ابوأحمد
I studied hard for my exam in December 2008 while I was working. I studied hard until I went in for the exam. I did like most of you, study with the books and materials available elsewhere.
After writing my exam in June, I told my friend “we’ll see you L1 in June”. we were pretty sure that we didn’t do well. In fact, I was 7/10 who failed. I figured out that I wasn’t studying hard enough and I did not plan out my strategy well enough. Also, I couldn’t sleep well the night before the exam. I hardly had 4hours of sleep.
I spent the enxt few months preparing for the examm in June. I focused on my weak points and somewhat omitted my strong points. Guess what, big mistake again. I did pretty good but in “economics” i totally bombed (which is supposed to be my strong area). I had <50%. I did a lot better than in December. In fact, I was 9/10 who failed. Basically I was close, yet still very farm from passing. Again, sleeping was still an issue.
This time in December 2009, I am giving all i got. A few days before the exam. And guess what? I bought OTC sleeping pills
. I am not going inside with little sleep.
So let’s know about your December exam. How was is?
i failed today…………and read ur blog………
I Failed too guys!
I was googling “Fail on CFA exam” and randomly I get on here.
I am totally frustrated guys
hey,
I’m glad you’re taking it again! I just got the L2 results today and guess what! Failed!
Anyways, I’ll definitely try again for next year!
I was studying 8 months and I was hoping to pass but in email I read Fail. My band was 3, I guess that means very bottom or something… I have 4 months and I don’t know will I have enough time to prepare it. I did only Ethics and FRA above 70%…
I feel so down. I don’t know how to organize my self to study all over again …
Hard luck, I have failed level one too band 10 :S ..This is the first time in my life I fail in anything.. So you can imagine how does it feel..
…
i did not give the effort you did, i only studied for 4 months n did not dedicate the time I planned to..but when i went out of the exam i found that the questions were easier than I thought but very more theoretical than i had expected, during my study i was focusing more on calculations and that was wrong
Am not sure if i want to retake the exam in December or June and really cannot make up my mind tell now, and thought that you might be of a help
I loved reading your blog. Thanks for sharing. I can relate to you. You’ll be fine. Will crack this thing!
yes i failed to, somehow expected somehow unexpected, i know im not the top 30% but i also knew im not bad. in the last 1-2 months i did around 2500 questions in Schwesers Question Bank,
what i do every day, CFA,, nothing else, it was my life, anytime, everytime, all the time, CFA, that was it
but i failed, i cried, i called my dad, i said i dont want to disappoint them, she is such a perfect man he never fails in ANY things and his daughter fails ,what a shame. im the failure of his lif emaybe. i just want him to belive im good enough, i can support the family im not someone who just play around spending money, i REALLY worked hard.l
fuck i failed, so what, i gonna take the fucking exam again and prove myself, prove my dad that when they look down on me they were WRONG. i want them to remember they have a successful daughter, im not a bad kid, i worked hard.i will make it. i will disapppoint no one no more. fuck yeah. i will do the exam again im not a loser
wish you all the best