Levi Pettit’s Journey to Becoming a Chartered Financial Analyst

Levi Pettit’s commitment to professional development is exemplified by his pursuit of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. This challenging journey demonstrates his dedication to continuous learning and improvement in his finance career.

“Nobody required it of me,” Pettit says of his decision to pursue the CFA designation. “It’s something I did on my own. It was a lot of evenings and weekends studying.”

The path to becoming a CFA charterholder is notoriously difficult, requiring candidates to pass three levels of exams. Pettit’s journey was not without setbacks. When his score for the second-level CFA exam came in just under the passing threshold, he faced a crucial decision.

“I wasn’t being asked to do this for work,” he recalls. “At [that] point, after Level I and Level II, [I’d] studied over 600 hours, and it was going to require me to study another 300. I could have just tossed in the towel and said, ‘I don’t really need to continue to pursue this.'”

However, Pettit’s determination prevailed. “But the day I found out I didn’t pass, less than 24 hours later, I was already signed up to take Level II again,” he says. This resilience paid off as Pettit passed the test on his second attempt and then successfully completed the Level III CFA exam on his first try.

Pettit’s CFA journey aligns with his belief in lifelong learning, an approach encouraged by his first boss: “She said to me, ‘I know that you just graduated, and you think that you have a college degree and know everything now; but that’s not the case — and you need to realize that you will need to continue learning for the rest of your career.'”

This experience not only enhanced Pettit’s financial expertise but also demonstrated his commitment to personal and professional growth, qualities that continue to drive his career in finance.

Levi Pettit’s commitment to professional development is exemplified by his pursuit of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. This challenging journey demonstrates his dedication to continuous learning and improvement in his finance career. “Nobody required it of me,” Pettit says of his decision to pursue the CFA designation. “It’s something I did on my own.…