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Hi everyone,

I'm spending my 2L summer doing investment management work at a v100 firm. I'm not enjoying Law firm life and think a great way to transition out would be to go to a bank or fund in a couple of years. Would passing two levels of the CFA help with this or would it be a total waste of time?

Thanks in advance

I'm a JD/MBA (not concurrent) and I was once a bulge bracket analyst. I had a lot of roommates both pre-b-school and while in b-school who did the CFA. It's a ton of work. It's not an easy test. It's more highly valued on the buy side, but there's plenty of "regular" bankers who have a CFA. Could be a good plan, as long as you pace yourself, studying-wise. Definitely cheaper than going to b-school! There's a lot of desks on the capital markets side that value JD/MBAs. I say, go for it, knowing that you're a non-trad banking hire and there's a place for you!

Anonymous User wrote:Hi everyone,

I'm spending my 2L summer doing investment management work at a v100 firm. I'm not enjoying Law firm life and think a great way to transition out would be to go to a bank or fund in a couple of years. Would passing two levels of the CFA help with this or would it be a total waste of time?

Thanks in advance

I took a level of the CFA my 2L year. It was very helpful when I was applying to fulltime finance jobs as a 3L.

Thanks for the reply! This makes sense; I know the CFA is a ton of work but it at least costs less/is less time heavy than an MBA when I have a BBA undergrad degree.

RedGiant wrote:I'm a JD/MBA (not concurrent) and I was once a bulge bracket analyst. I had a lot of roommates both pre-b-school and while in b-school who did the CFA. It's a ton of work. It's not an easy test. It's more highly valued on the buy side, but there's plenty of "regular" bankers who have a CFA. Could be a good plan, as long as you pace yourself, studying-wise. Definitely cheaper than going to b-school! There's a lot of desks on the capital markets side that value JD/MBAs. I say, go for it, knowing that you're a non-trad banking hire and there's a place for you!

Ok this is great to know! Are you liking finance more than law? And how did you include it on your resume?

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Hi everyone,

I'm spending my 2L summer doing investment management work at a v100 firm. I'm not enjoying Law firm life and think a great way to transition out would be to go to a bank or fund in a couple of years. Would passing two levels of the CFA help with this or would it be a total waste of time?

Thanks in advance

I took a level of the CFA my 2L year. It was very helpful when I was applying to fulltime finance jobs as a 3L.

Anonymous User wrote:Ok this is great to know! Are you liking finance more than law? And how did you include it on your resume?

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Hi everyone,

I'm spending my 2L summer doing investment management work at a v100 firm. I'm not enjoying Law firm life and think a great way to transition out would be to go to a bank or fund in a couple of years. Would passing two levels of the CFA help with this or would it be a total waste of time?

Thanks in advance

I took a level of the CFA my 2L year. It was very helpful when I was applying to fulltime finance jobs as a 3L.

It will be trickier for you since all you can put is "CFA Level 1 candidate".

I actually took a corporate associate gig. I was recruiting for corporate development and the pay was somewhere around $100k all in, which I couldn't swing at the moment.

Anonymous User wrote:Thanks for the reply! This makes sense; I know the CFA is a ton of work but it at least costs less/is less time heavy than an MBA when I have a BBA undergrad degree.

RedGiant wrote:I'm a JD/MBA (not concurrent) and I was once a bulge bracket analyst. I had a lot of roommates both pre-b-school and while in b-school who did the CFA. It's a ton of work. It's not an easy test. It's more highly valued on the buy side, but there's plenty of "regular" bankers who have a CFA. Could be a good plan, as long as you pace yourself, studying-wise. Definitely cheaper than going to b-school! There's a lot of desks on the capital markets side that value JD/MBAs. I say, go for it, knowing that you're a non-trad banking hire and there's a place for you!

I am the exception, but I went to b-school very young, and then finished law school at 37. I'm a first year associate in corporate, but I worked as a paralegal in corporate a long time ago too, so sort of returning to my roots. GL on the CFA.