Series 7 is for sales people. It is mainly about rules/regs and not trading. If you are not going into sales there is no reason to take the exam unless the firm/exchange requires it. I took it about forty years ago when paper/pen was used. It has been useless even though I was a RR for several years.
There's probably a 70% pass rate first time. The test is not "hard" but you must put in the necessary study hours. Knowing HOW to take the exam is important since using the process of elimination is the key. A firm must sponsor you for the exam and firms are not going to unless you are going to work there. "Parking" licenses is a no no.
Isnt "parking" when you already have a license, and are worried about it expiring (2 years from last day of employment/affiliation with a firm)? THe idea is you become affiliated with a firm in the short term, in order to reset the clock, but really arent involved with trading/investin/working in the field. DO firms allow this, and if they do, do they charge a modest fee?
Took the exam today and passed. Totally agreed with statement that you should take the practice exams. I was using STC, reading the book and taking the quick quizzes at the end of the chapters. Only started to take the practice exams like a week before the exam day. Now I think it would have been more effective if I had started to do the practice exams sooner. You get a better feel for what may actually be on the exam, like the repeated questions on options and munis. The comments about IT and the having Series 7. If you are working in the financial industry at all, you should definitely take the Series 7. It has a lot of fundamental financial knowledge that you might not get while programming, even if you are in the industry!! For instance, I do a lot of reporting for prime brokerage. Much of the information on customer accounts and margin requirements are quite applicable to the reports I create. The study info on SMA, DR, LMV, etc were very succinct which is not always spelled out at work.
Does Anyone have any study material for the series 7 they are not using and wouldn't mind selling or donating? Please let me know I have an ebay and paypal account and could do the transfer over either of these, Thank you feel free to contact me at Croa@mail.usf.edu
I would recommend using any CD that contains multiple exams and keep plugging away at the exams until your scoring in the high 80's.
I've done the Series 3 and 65 and CFA I & II... Curious: Anybody's thoughts on how they compare to the 7?
This is odd - I think I spent a few hours in preparation for any of these and passed with flying colors. The last one I took was series 24 and series 4, another pain in the ass as you are climbing up the corporate ladder. Pretty sure all of my registrations are lapsed by now, thank god you don't need any of that crap in a hedge fund. Ps we had an over/under pool going for all incoming analysts, but I always felt that ideal score was something from 80 to 85. A score in the 70s means you cutting it too close, while too much above 80 means you wasted too much time on the stupid thing.