How does someone without a college degree go about earning a CFA?

Question

I have a friend who is about to make a career change; he's leaving real estate and wants to go into capital management. However, he does not have an associates or bachelors degree and is unsure about his next step. There seem to be two choices: a bachelors degree in business, or a CFA certificate program. Which route should he take (understanding of course that at the end of it all he has to take the 3 levels of tests)?

Answer 1

You don't.

A bachelor's degree is required unless you are already working in the financial industry and have at least four years of experience.  The experience is a hard way to go since most places won't hire somone with only a high school diploma to be a financial manager.

Answer 2

CFA is a tough program and it's not "all he has to do...". The material covers a lot of topics and the exams are far from being easy. CFA, however, is becoming a standard in asset management.

Answer 3

The CFA is tough, you have take the exams with like a 2 year span I believe. I heard for Part 1, there about a 30% pass, while 70% fail. Getting into asset management is going to be tough unless he has some really good connects.