b_sea93

in my opinion 100k with 8% interest plus lost wages over 2 year period is a small price to pay if you are going to get into a job with unlimited potential.

having said that, yes, its very obvious that one size does not fit all. but probably applies to a lot of people who are making <200k per year. My advice is to avoid doing a CFA unless you are a) young or b) really want to be an analyst.

CFA is not going to get a general purpose job. A lot of jobs out there prefer to hire an MBA.

One example :
Haliburton's WHEM President came on Mad Money show and said, his company is hiring 11k people in NA this year (2011) and that pool includes everyone from engineers to MBAs. I am sure they might require a few analysts too, but MBA is very general purpose and has lot more application in the real world. CFA is very specific, and I think its worth repeating, unless you are interested in a career that specifically values CFA, no point spending your limited time pursuing it. And I think those careers are investment or portfolio analysts, or maybe risk analysts & financial planners. Again with financial planners, the job is very iffy and has a low success rate and relies heavily on commissions.