Am I The Only One Here Without A College Degree? success, getting, however, college

LBriscoe

So here's my dirty secret: I never graduated from college. There, I said it.

I can also honestly say it's never once negatively affected my life - none of my employers has ever cared, and none of my clients has ever complained. I've had a pretty decent run of professional success since then, and now that I'm 38 years old and fairly well established, I have zero desire whatsoever to go back and finish the 12 credits I still owe.

I am getting little worried, however, that the CFA might be the first time that I actually do experience a problem. The Charter and CFA promotional materials seem to be a little vaguer than I remember on the requirement - the web site doesn't seem to mention it all, and other official CFA materials I've seen mention it only it passing, with a note that a degree or its "equivalent" is required to even start the testing process.

So that's my question... Am I the only one out there without a diploma? Is there anyone else who's been through this and was either approved or denied for membership? I easily meet all the work experience criteria (15+ years in the financial industry, 6+ years directly managing assets and portfolios for high net worth individuals with over $200 million in AUM), and assuming I pass Level III and all the other requirements, will my lack of a bachelor's degree really keep me out? I can't imagine they'd turn away someone who passed all the tests and meets all the other criteria, but I don't know that for sure, and I'm wondering if anyone else here does...

And just for the record, here's a fun list of people who never finished college: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Paris Hilton, Albert Einstein, Mark Zuckerberg, Kirk Kerkorian, Richard Branson, the Wright Brothers, Michael Dell, Walt Disney, Julia Roberts, John Glenn, Frank Lloyd Wright, Barry Diller, Colonel Sanders and George Washington (one of 8 US Presidents who never went to college).

former

You can get a CFA charter without a college degree if you have "equivalent education or work experience."

lcai

tknofetish Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So here's my dirty secret: I never graduated from
> college. There, I said it.
>
> I can also honestly say it's never once negatively
> affected my life - none of my employers has ever
> cared, and none of my clients has ever complained.
> I've had a pretty decent run of professional
> success since then, and now that I'm 38 years old
> and fairly well established, I have zero desire
> whatsoever to go back and finish the 12 credits I
> still owe.
>
> I am getting little worried, however, that the CFA
> might be the first time that I actually do
> experience a problem. The Charter and CFA
> promotional materials seem to be a little vaguer
> than I remember on the requirement - the web site
> doesn't seem to mention it all, and other official
> CFA materials I've seen mention it only it
> passing, with a note that a degree or its
> "equivalent" is required to even start the testing
> process.
>
> So that's my question... Am I the only one out
> there without a diploma? Is there anyone else
> who's been through this and was either approved or
> denied for membership? I easily meet all the work
> experience criteria (15+ years in the financial
> industry, 6+ years directly managing assets and
> portfolios for high net worth individuals with
> over $200 million in AUM), and assuming I pass
> Level III and all the other requirements, will my
> lack of a bachelor's degree really keep me out? I
> can't imagine they'd turn away someone who passed
> all the tests and meets all the other criteria,
> but I don't know that for sure, and I'm wondering
> if anyone else here does...
>
> And just for the record, here's a fun list of
> people who never finished college: Bill Gates,
> Steve Jobs, Paris Hilton, Albert Einstein, Mark
> Zuckerberg, Kirk Kerkorian, Richard Branson, the
> Wright Brothers, Michael Dell, Walt Disney, Julia
> Roberts, John Glenn, Frank Lloyd Wright, Barry
> Diller, Colonel Sanders and George Washington (one
> of 8 US Presidents who never went to college).



aaaah the misuse of stats ..................heres one ..............pick a fed prison most of the guests there havent finished colleges either what does this mean when contrasted against ur example................absolutely nothing ..............its the fallacy of correlation thats all......................sorry im just cranky ..............yeah u dont need a degree to get cfa ...........they are equal opportunity when it comes to money..........

pennyless

Bill Gates/Google guys/Zuckerberg and others are the opposite of what we're talking about though. These guys all dropped out of school because they found extraordinary opportunities elsewhere. It generally doesn't work the other way around.

Windjam

Your telling me u can't find time to finish 12 credits??? Univ of Phoenix man. At this point wher u get it doesn't seem to matter as much as just being able to check the Bach degree box. Even if they don't take it finish up the last 12 at an easy institution. Good luck an I wouldn't be too concerned until u write L3.

thommo77

I think the CFA is a meritocracy. If you can pass and you hav ethe work experience you get your charter. That being said, I am in the same field with the same type of client base and I would think it would be hard to market yourself without a college degree since so much emphasis is placed on it. So, kudos to you for beating the system.