FinQuiz Editorial Additions (2026 Update)
This section is written by FinQuiz editors. The guest post below started life as a LinkedIn forum title from the
paper-exam era—its “6-hour monster in June” dates it—and answers the question every candidate
with a family eventually asks. His answer, integrate rather than sacrifice, is still the one that works. The exam
calendar has since been rebuilt around exactly that idea.
His best line needed no update: “Families are forever, the CFA exams are only
three years.” What did change is who controls the calendar. The single June exam that forced every family to
plan around one immovable date is gone—all levels are computer-based with multiple windows per year, so you can
pick a window that avoids your family’s busiest season and start the 4–5-month clock on your terms. The
juggle he describes is real; the schedule is finally negotiable.
What has changed since this post was written
- The “6-hour monster” slimmed down: Level I is now 180 questions in two 135-minute sessions, Levels II and III run two 132-minute sessions each—computer-based at Prometric test centers. Exam day is easier on the household; the roughly 300 hours of preparation per level is still the standard guidance and still the real family negotiation.
- “Only three years” is now a choice, not a treadmill: with multiple windows per year, some candidates move faster than his era allowed and many deliberately go slower around family life. Build slack into the plan—about half of candidates fail any given level, and a retake no longer costs a full year.
- His lunchtime flash-card tip has modern descendants: a one-page formula sheet for stolen minutes, and free video lectures for commutes and waiting rooms—study that coexists with a family schedule instead of competing with it.
- The companion post: for the smaller time-thieves—phones, forums, snack breaks—his study-distractions piece is restored at Getting Side Tracked on Your Way to the CFA.
- Housekeeping: four product links that had been inserted into the guest text over the years have been removed so his words stand as written.
Original Guest Post (Text Unchanged)
Disclosure: The guest author does not endorse FinQuiz products. The content below is displayed with
no edits, no paraphrasing, and no reordering. Four product links that had been inserted into the
guest text have been removed—the words they wrapped are unchanged—and no links have been added. The post
dates from the paper-exam era of a single June exam—see the editorial update above for today’s calendar.
The title above is the title from a recent forum post on the LinkedIn group. While the underlying subject of juggling a personal life and family with the CFA exams is a constant topic, I thought the title was interesting and brought back memories of managing my own social life with exam preparation. I thought the forum title was interesting because it is how many candidates feel about studying for the CFA exams and…well, everything else. It seems that preparing for that 6-hour monster in June puts you at odds with everything else; your family, your friends, anything you previously enjoyed. It’s tough to get in the necessary study time, for everyone but even more so for those with families. I was married while studying for the exams but was able to finish before we had any kids.
The problem is, when you start to think of studying for the exams as, “this and nothing else,” you set yourself up for questioning whether it is worth it and end up postponing the designation. Studying for the CFA exams shouldn’t be a this-or-that scenario but just needs to be integrated into your daily routine. Hundreds of thousands of candidates have done it and you can as well. It is just a matter of making time where there was none before: Lunchtime study – This doesn’t necessarily have to be cloistering yourself off to some remote part of the building and avoiding co-workers. A quick run through your flash cards while talking to co-workers can be a little less intrusive and still help you get some extra points. It will be tough but will also be worth it.
Not only will you be able to use one of the most respected and professional designations in the industry but you will also be able to say that you were able to complete something that few others could. Families are forever, the CFA exams are only three years.
Stay strong and push through it.
‘til next time,happy studyin’
Written by Joseph Hogue, CFA
FAQ (Global candidates)
Is the CFA still a three-year commitment?
His “only three years” was the classic straight-through timeline of the one-exam-per-year era. Today all
levels are computer-based with multiple windows per year, so the pace is far more in your control—some
candidates compress the journey, many stretch it around life. Two planning realities to build into the family
conversation: roughly 300 hours of preparation per level is still the standard guidance, and about half of
candidates fail any given level (2025 averages were roughly 44% at Level I, 42% at Level II, 50% at Level III), so
leave slack in the plan rather than promising the household an exact finish date.
How do I study for the CFA exams with a family?
His answer is still the right one: integrate, don’t isolate. Treating the exams as “this and nothing
else” is what leads to postponing; folding study into the existing day—lunch breaks, commutes, early
mornings—is what gets candidates with families through. The modern calendar helps: pick an exam window that
avoids your family’s busiest season, count 4–5 months back, and share the schedule with the household so
protected study blocks and protected family time are both on the calendar. Our posts on
study distractions and on
how many hours to study for CFA Level 1
turn this into a concrete weekly plan.
How long are the exams now compared to his 6-hour monster?
Shorter, and no longer chained to June. Level I is 180 questions in two 135-minute sessions with an optional break
of about 30 minutes; Level II is 88 item-set questions across two 132-minute sessions; Level III mixes item sets and
constructed response across two 132-minute sessions. For a family, the bigger change is scheduling: exam day is now
one day you choose from multiple windows per year, which makes the childcare-and-calendar logistics of his era
considerably easier.
What study materials work best for stolen minutes?
The kind he describes: small, portable, and instantly resumable. A one-page formula sheet is the modern version of
his lunchtime flash cards—ten minutes of recall between meetings. Free video lectures turn a commute or the
school-pickup wait into curriculum time. And when you do get a rare full morning to yourself, spend it well: one
free full-length FinQuiz mock exam (180 questions, two 90-question sessions) comes with any account and tells you
exactly where the fragmented hours are and aren’t landing.
