CFA along with MBA?

Hi @kirtyv – welcome to 300HC 🙂

Anyone here at 300HC going through the same experience of taking MBA and CFA simultaneously that can offer some advice to @kirtyv?

I recall @mattunderwood has an MBA already, but is currently taking CFA – perhaps he can help shed some light of the intensity of doing this together…

Hello @kirtyv ! As Sophie stated, I went through my MBA before considering jumping into the CFA curriculum. If you are attending a full-time MBA program, as opposed to an executive/accelerated MBA, I think level 1 would definitely be possible. However, keep in mind that your interests and opportunities change whilst in your MBA program. Level 1 is very feasible for a full-time MBA student. It may be difficult with an accelerated MBA program (I did this, almost 70+ hours of homework/case study per week, with more time during final projects/exams). Level 2 may be more difficult due to the depth of topics and “fitting everything in.” This becomes especially true with the MBA, as you will potentially be running in to the same “feeling full of information” for certain classes. I would hate to see you do poorly in your MBA due to CFA study, and/or poorly on CFA due to MBA study. Especially because Level 2 would be toward the end of your 2nd year of MBA (you don’t want to be any less than 100% there, trust me), where classmates and professors form their long-term view of your potential and create a list of skills that they may be able to sell to an employer if requested. I think Level 1 would help with getting a good foot-hold on the information used in the MBA. After that, I would hold off on Level 2 until you can commit the time it deserves. This is also in the best interest for completing your MBA in a spectacular manner that everyone remembers.

Thanks @Mattunderwood! I think that’s great advice 🙂

I also have my MBA and are currently embarking on my CFA journey. I believe it gave me a great foundation for many of the topics covered in the CFA curriculum. Despite the fact that I have good underlying knowledge of the CFA topics I am still finding it more intense and demanding than my MBA. I really cant imagine doing both at the same time. @kirtyz, are you working full time or a student full time? If you are a full time MBA student I could see doing them both simultaneously but be forewarned that your friends and family might forget what you look like! But if you are a really determined, really disciplined person then I think you can pull it off.

I think that if you are doing a part-time MBA and working full time, for most MBA programs the subjects you cover in the first year can be very similar to the contents of the Level 1 exam. Because of these synergies, it might be a waste of opportunity not to take advantage of this. Another question is whether one should try Level 2 and then Level 3 while still in an MBA program; the upshot is you’d get out of your MBA with a CFA in the pocket at the same time… Has anyone done something like this?

If you are in a full-time MBA program, but not working, this reasoning applies in a similar way, except that full-time MBAs are more intense and they only last 2 years. So it may be harder to do CFA during the studies.