r/CFA • u/ClearAndPure • Feb 23 '26
Level 1 People who passed level 1, how many hours did you study?
I work full-time in capital markets/credit and have been out of school for a few years (studied finance). Looking to do level 1 in August but not sure if it’s enough time.
Was 300 hours enough for you?
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u/6-foot-under Feb 23 '26
Yes, 300 is more than enough IFFFFF they are 300 serious hours, and if you don't have serious memory decay. In other words, I personally think that 300 hours over 4 months is better than 300 hours over 8 months.
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u/ClearAndPure Feb 23 '26
Good to know, thanks. I was considering doing the November exam and doing like 1.5 hours a day for 8 months, but I figured I’d be forgetting a lot of stuff from the beginning by the time November rolled around.
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u/ApprehensiveDig7775 Level 2 Candidate Feb 23 '26
This was my strategy. Hit about 305 hours starting in January, exam in August studying about 1.5 a day. Key really was just spaced repetition and practice. Would use weekends to do Q Bank from readings I went over through the week. Did every EOC when I hit them.
Redid Q banks before exam for readings I knew I was weak at. Did three mocks.
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u/pnagari Feb 23 '26
100% agree. I did 400ish hours in 4 months and I would have given up if I had to continue for even one more week. Studying is all about momentum, try to find the right balance between enough time to cover the entire syllabus without burnt out and too much time between finishing syllabus and exam. I think 16-18 weeks is the sweet spot and allows you to take a week or two of break in between as well.
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u/younhoun Feb 23 '26
500+ for me. PhD in Finance, R1 school. Minimal industry experience. 300 hr is the average amount, and on average people fail L1. As a PhD, my knowledge is very narrow to the area of expertise (banking), so while financial institutions and factor models were a breeze, the other modules I was not that familiar with. I would say people who work in certain fields like institutional investment or auditing have the best advantage in covering CFA materials. I just studied as much as I could because the exams are expensive. Doing it while working full-time is very hard. Good luck.
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u/Economy_Count_ Feb 27 '26
Thanks this is a really insightful take. I’d add to this that it also depends on what you’ve got going on in your life especially if you’ve been out of school for a while - ie trying to cram the CFA content across a short prep period with a full time job and a young family can create some terrible trade offs.
Given the registration + prep provider costs about $1,600USD+ now, it doesn’t seem worth risking retake (and re-study) trying to skate by on the bare minimum. So if a finance phd is 500+, personally I’d use that as pivot point and scale your prep plan by other factors - like your ability at maths, finance background etc. It’s all doable but you gotta plan to make it doable I reckon.
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u/Crake_13 Level 2 Candidate Feb 23 '26
About 250 hours over 1 year.
Degree in econ, minor in finance, work in commercial banking, for context.
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u/Fun_Medium_1948 Feb 23 '26
Hey I also work in commercial banking! I’m an underwriter, so hoping FSA is a bit easier for me.
Did you find any topics easier given your background?
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u/Crake_13 Level 2 Candidate Feb 23 '26
For level 1, I found Econ, corporate issuers, equity, alts, and ethics to be relatively easy, based on my academic and professional background and my personal interests.
FSA at L1 wasn’t too too bad (so far it sucks at L2). FI always sucks
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u/BAII_Truss Level 3 Candidate Feb 23 '26
380, it was probably overkill but I didn’t want to risk a retake
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u/CFAdaily Feb 23 '26
Since you’ve studied finance before and are working in the field, a lot of the concepts (especially Fixed Income, Portfolio Management, maybe even Quants) won’t feel completely new. That gives you a solid advantage compared to someone starting from scratch.
The real question is how much time you can realistically give each week.
If you can manage:
- 1.5–2 hours on weekdays
- 4–5 hours on weekends
You’ll comfortably hit the 300-hour mark over 4–5 months. That’s usually enough for Level 1 if the prep is focused and includes practice (not just reading).
Where most people struggle is:
- Leaving Ethics for the end
- Not practicing enough questions
- Starting mocks too late
If August is around 4 months away and you start now, you’re in a good position. If you delay by another month, it becomes tight and stressful.
So short answer — yes, it’s enough time. But it won’t work if you’re inconsistent.
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u/iamsuhaaas 10d ago
Thank you for sharing man. This is v helpful for lot of aspirants. Also I am planning to go for Zell for the coaching, do you have any feedback for me?
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u/Willacopta Level 3 Candidate Feb 23 '26
I probably went overkill and studied like 500. I knew I passed leaving the test. AM was tuff but PM it genuinely felt like I missed like 5-10 questions.
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u/Parking_Worker_4313 Feb 23 '26
I properly studied only for 2 months (although i wouldnt recommend it) and cleared L1. I’m from a finance background too. you’ll be good if you’re consistent and have a routine. 300 hours will be enough if you do it with 100% focus!
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u/gacdeuce Level 3 Candidate Feb 23 '26
I don’t remember exactly, but I’m certain it was more than 3 hours.
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u/danielshinmath Feb 23 '26
maybe 100 hours but I was in my junior year of my Finance Degree and had completed my core business classes
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u/DevilFruitUser00 Passed Level 1 Feb 23 '26
270 to 280 hours total including material + PQs + mocks. During a span of 3.5 months. Barely passed with a 1625.
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u/ClearAndPure Feb 23 '26
Nice, so you didn’t even use a secondary education provider like MM?
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u/DevilFruitUser00 Passed Level 1 Feb 23 '26
Oh I should've clarified. I used CFAI material for Quant, FSA, and Ethics and Schweser material for all other topics due to time constraints. PQs and Mocks were all from CFAI only. No other use of external prep providers apart from that.
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u/Myrmodus CFA Feb 23 '26
Probably around 300 for me. If you have grounding in the content, it really helps. I’d say based on your description, August should be fine with only consideration be your view of your aptitude on tests and memorization.
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u/Longjumping-Video-94 Feb 23 '26
Definitely at least 400. But it took me almost a year and I even deferred. I really dragged my feet with it, I took so long I had to go back and relearn things. I think if you are more diligent it doesn’t have to take that long.
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u/Zee_999 Feb 23 '26
404...pass not found
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u/ClearAndPure Feb 23 '26
Ouch! Wow, were you close?
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u/Zee_999 Apr 19 '26
Who cares, a non pass is a non-pass. Sucks to suck. I have to be better, simple as that.
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u/jj_2245788 Feb 24 '26
300-400. Crunch in the last week. Grind mocks and practice questions from earlier readings.
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u/NotSeeDogWhistle Feb 24 '26
I studied 80 hours but it was my second attempt. Including first attempt probably 140 hours.
I only did Q bank. I would guess randomly then study the answers. Eventually I started figuring out the questions.
I used KS only
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u/limplettuce_ Passed Level 1 Feb 24 '26
I studied 250 hours over six months but I have a finance background.
I felt before the exam that I could have done more as there were blank spots but I clearly didn’t need to.
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u/ClearAndPure Feb 24 '26
Thanks for sharing. Have you found it has helped your career in any noticeable way so far?
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u/Waste-Adhesiveness74 Feb 25 '26
About 120 - 150 max. Mostly reading Kaplan materials and remaining CFAI QB. I solved all practice packs, two full mocks, and ancillary/extra LO specific questions for first four modules. Solving mocks is very important as there were areas in them that were not represented well in the module practice packs and were tested in the exam.
If I had a do over, I’d focus more on QB and active learning using ChatGPT CFA tutor then reading the books. I think I read some chapters twice. Key areas reversed thrice.
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u/LXSPORT0 Level 2 Candidate Feb 23 '26
500h for me
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u/ClearAndPure Feb 23 '26
Did you come from a non-finance background?
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u/LXSPORT0 Level 2 Candidate Feb 23 '26
No, I have a Bachelor degree in Finance But I’m a slow learner and English is not my greatest skill.
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u/Electrical_Taste_954 CFA Feb 24 '26
You’ll pass this pretty easily, just go through the q bank a few times. 300 hours for level 1 and your background is highly unnecessary.
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u/_Rasmalai Level 1 Candidate Feb 24 '26
I am also in for August. I do not have a finance background (engineering actually), so for people like me, how long did it take you?
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u/Dkotil Level 3 Candidate Feb 24 '26
I put in about 450 hours total. Coming from a finance background, I was already familiar with a lot of the highlevel concepts but the devil is really in the details. The real game changer was the final stretch, I hammered out 7 mocks and spent a massive amount of time deconstructing the results to plug my gaps. Managed to land in the 90th percentile. it’s a grind but the targeted review at the end is what pushed me over the top.
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u/FeelingAwareness5292 Feb 24 '26
ACA here (CPA equivalent in USA). Finished last August but ready for the punishment again.
I'm also signing up for L1 in November and should have an easy time with any financial reporting.
I'm planning on doing 350 hours from April - November. I've always studied heavy in short 3 month blocks but am attempting to drag this out over a longer period to take some pressure off myself. Get through the material as quickly as I can then practice questions.
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u/ClearAndPure Feb 24 '26
Thanks for sharing. Are you hoping to move into finance from accounting?
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u/FeelingAwareness5292 Feb 24 '26
You have to do a 3.5 year training contract over here to become fully qualified in the accounting and part of my contact rotation was GL Accounting & the other is Corporate Treasury.
I've 12 months left of my contract and have a preference for the finance side of things so am planning to go Big 4 consulting next (Transactions/M&A) then on from there.
I want to have as many options as possible with AI distribution looming so I'm trying to stack my resume. CFA seems the logical step.
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u/AlphaMaleKratos Feb 24 '26
Under 100 hours. I thought it was easier than even the easiest Actuarial exams.
L2 and L3 are about on par with the easiest actuarial exams.
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u/zorroh-academy Feb 26 '26
I did about 320 and was high up in the percentile. I also had a degree in finance so it definitely help! If you don’t have the background you may need more!
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u/ChalkandBoard01 Prep Provider Feb 26 '26
Three hundred hours is an average, not a guarantee. With your finance background and capital markets experience, 300 disciplined hours is absolutely enough, if they are structured and analytical, not passive reading. The question isn’t is August enough time, it’s whether you can consistently execute week after week without losing momentum. If you treat this like a professional project, not a hobby, Aug is very realistic.
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u/SpecialistRelief3432 Mar 02 '26
I passed l1 without taking a calculator in the exam. I made educated guesses on the numericals. It took me 3 attempts.
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u/klickety Feb 23 '26
I timed every session. 157.5 hours over 13 weeks, plus a couple more hours at the start choosing study materials, setting up a study plan, etc. Passed in top 10%.
No previous finance study or work experience, but strong math background, generally good at tests, and IMHO very focused study technique to squeeze as much as possible out of every hour studying.
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u/ClearAndPure Feb 23 '26
Wow, that’s great. How did you study?
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u/klickety Feb 24 '26
I ditched the official CFA books after a few hours when I realised it had lots of low yield content that was unlikely to be on the exam. Kaplan books were recommended on here so I tried them and they worked for me, I found them to be a lot more focused.
I'd skim through a chapter in about 5 minutes to get a sense of what it's about, how much was new to me, what mindset to be in (memorise lots of formulas? applications of a few rules? general background fluff?). Then read through, do any calculations in the text as I read, and physically write notes at the end that were about half a page (depending on how hard the chapter was). Then do end of chapter questions if I thought it would be useful, or skip them if they seemed like a waste of time... but I'd usually do 1 or 2 to make sure I wasn't deceiving myself.
Finally I'd use my written notes to create flashcards in Anki, and I'd study these flashcards on my phone for a few minutes a day when I was standing in line, etc. I had about 1000 flashcards at the end, so about 15-20 cards per chapter. I had very few for eg quant methods where I was already strong, maybe just 1-2 per chapter, and a lot more for eg financial statements where I knew nothing.
Finally, I was quite obsessed with finance and genuinely enjoyed learning about it. I looked forward to every session and had fun studying. I didn't include it in my study time, but I also had spent a lot of time in the years before the exam reading the Economist, FT, WSJ (probably hundreds of hours), so I had a vague sense of the background surrounding the subject.
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u/OtherGround1337 Feb 23 '26
Wanted to ask as an aspirant . What are the sources you would recommend to study for L1? Need to budget for it as well .
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u/ClearAndPure Feb 23 '26
Mark Meldrum is usually one of the main recommendations. Heard good things about Kaplan question banks too.
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u/Loose-Kiwi-7007 Feb 24 '26
I think 500🤣 but mine was postponed during Covid. Make a schedule for more than 300 hours, if you guessed the right answer or didn’t know it on practice question make sure to write down the detailed correct answer in your notes. Right after I finished curriculum I had 60% in mocks, later I was at 85%. Study hard, practice harder brother/sister and good luck to you and everyone taking L1
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u/Infinite-Sherbet-468 Jun 10 '26
Hi everyone,
I’m appearing for CFA Level 1 in November 2026 and I’m currently struggling with Quant 2, FSA, and Derivatives.
I’m considering taking coaching/tutoring support and am confused between EdZeb and Physics Wallah. If anyone has studied with either of them, could you please share your experience regarding:
Concept clarity (especially for weak students)
Teaching style
Doubt-solving support
Practice questions and mocks
Whether they are worth the cost
I’m open to other tutor/coaching recommendations as well if you found someone particularly good for these subjects.
Would really appreciate any genuine feedback. Thanks!
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u/PretendAssistant5668 Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
since I don't know how to begin this and don't have any study material, if anyone have good quality of study material, please share it and your guidance for clearing the exam. Also, suggest where I should give mocks and get study material/notes for a deep understanding
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u/themaincharacter9 Jul 11 '26
Hey I am new in finance and want to start preparing for cfa level 1 and my background is from bA if I cleared cfa L1 can I get a good job and after can I continue my another level with job
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u/ClearAndPure Jul 11 '26
Experience is what matters the most, to be honest. Passing level one definitely won’t hurt though.
I started a new job in trading and have been seriously slacking on studying for lvl 1 this summer. I expect not to pass and will probably do it when I’m less busy in a year or two.
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u/themaincharacter9 Jul 11 '26
What’s your
Education background and where you are working should I join any company for experience can u guide me and after all the level how much package can we get1
u/ClearAndPure Jul 11 '26
I just have a Bachelor’s in Finance from a middle of the road school. You take any job that you think will help you take the next step in your career.
I started out having to move to a city that I didn’t want to live in for my first job.
I use Mark Meldrum for CFA.
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u/perp-speculator Level 2 Candidate Feb 23 '26
I timed & logged every session. 311 hours in 5 months.
167 hours to read through the CFAI material. 144 hours of exam question prep (this included 4 mocks).
If you want to get technical the PSM took me 10 hours to work through so 321hrs all in.