Jesus, if some of you had probs with the 7, it goes a long way to answering why most traders fail to turn a profit. My question would be how in the hell did you ever graduate from college ?
I got the book from STC. It was around 1,000 pages back then. Maybe more or less now, not sure. Studied around 3 months. Read the book 4 times. Did the practice exams and everything. Then I ordered test prep books from 4 other sources. Dearborn and 3 others. Read those books twice each. Did all the practice questions on all the various CDs. Went to a 4 wk training course and also listened to the audio CDs in the car on the way to work. I put in well over 1,000 hours into the studying and scored a 70. Had I changed just one question, the firm I was at would have fired me. I was very lucky considering I didn't really learn any of that stuff at Wharton. They don't really go into Munis that much in undergrad. Some people say I studied too much and I started pushing all the previous information out of my head. Like I would read chapter 8 and it would push out chapter 3 or something. Some said it was that all the training material is different and provide different answers and I got it all mixed up. But I think it's like Einstein. He failed math because he was too smart and couldn't bring himself down to that level.
Ha. I made that post up to scare you. Seriously though, I passed on my first shot. Studied 3 weeks but did go to a 2 day course. All through STC. Scored mid 80s. I bought the audio CDs but never used them. Complete waste of time and very boring. The trick to passing is to ace all the practice questions. Do them until you memorize everything about them. You'll get a question like... Rule XYJST is in regards to what: Answer: Bananna Pudding ------ So then when you get to the test and you see XYJST, you'll think what the hell is that? But then you'll see Bananna Pudding and will think, I remember them saying that and you'll select it! I know that sounds crazy but some of the questions just make no sense. But if you can make sense out of the answers, you'll be able to guess your way to the top! Become like a robot and just answer questions non-stop on the drill and practice CD. XYJST = Bananna Pudding. T+5 = regular way settlement. So they can spin the equation any way the want, regular way settlement = T+5. Remember answers are also questions. That's my advice to you. Good luck.
I have the Series 7 along with some other licenses. I took 2 weeks to study for it and passed it without difficulty. I studied while working 2 fulltime bartending jobs (about 70 hours of work a week). I studied finance and was motivated to join my first firm. People prepare for tests differently, so how long you need to study will depend on you.
It's a strange test really. Most of it is options, but once you get licensed as a stockbroker and work in a firm, you'll deal with options maybe 0.05% of the time. But, it's a piece of cake if you've got any actual trading experience, best training really. Then it's just a matter of brushing up on the regulations to pass the rest of the test. I studied for about 5 weeks and passed with +90% score.
I'm really sorry, and I don't want to appear rude, but you pretty much said it....the S7 is not that tough (think about it, every stockbroker passed it, LOL)...and if you're at all dedicated to your profession, you should be able to put a few hours aside to pass the darn thing. Don
What would be the underlying reasons for that sitting exam of S7 must be first sponsored by a firm? As an S7 student may be already working in the firm while sitting an exam, what would this kind of S7 students usualy do before passing an S7 exam ? Seems illogical!