Congrats.  I am sure that Put Trader…er…Home Officer will weigh in and tell you that you are not a real broker.  Maybe not, but you are closer that he will ever be to being a real broker.  Now pass the 63 (or 66) and get you some OJT.

Good Luck. 

Hopefully your career will be better than 71% of what you are hoping it will be.

BTW, get ready for a slew of flames from the "professionals" on this Board.

[quote=menotellname]Congrats.  I am sure that Put
Trader…er…Home Officer will weigh in and tell you that you are not
a real broker.  Maybe not, but you are closer that he will ever be
to being a real broker.  Now pass the 63 (or 66) and get you some
OJT.[/quote]



ive got the Blue Sky next, then insurance, then CFP

I really dont care about getting flamed.   I’ve been moving
and trying to find a new house, doing a lot of other things besides
just studying.  I know how hard it’s been and how much work
I  ha d to put in at odd hours. 

[quote=MikeTampa]I really dont care about getting flamed.   I’ve been moving
and trying to find a new house, doing a lot of other things besides
just studying.  I know how hard it’s been and how much work
I  ha d to put in at odd hours. 

[/quote]



Congrats!  I know how hard it is…took the 66 last month, and
studying for the 24 while my kids and I are living in temporary housing
while waiting for the new house…it’s tough to stay focussed.



Those ‘professionals’ who might flame you are largely gone from the board, I rather suspect.

[quote=MikeTampa]I really dont care about getting flamed.   I've been moving and trying to find a new house, doing a lot of other things besides just studying.  I know how hard it's been and how much work I  ha d to put in at odd hours.  [/quote]

It didn't matter, haven't you read that studying is not important anyway?

Serious question.  When you walked in there did you figure you would pass?

Honestly, I thought I  would pass.  I was in far better shape
to take the test 3  weeks ago, until my landlord called and told
me that he had sold my house to a development company who was giving me
one week to find a new house.  So after finding  a new place
and moving out (with nothing packed) in two days and living on my
buddys couch and at my girlfriends for 3 weeks, i felt that the minimal
studying I had done hopefully allowed me to retain enough from a few
weeks prior to take the test. 



So, to answer your question, yes, I thought I would pass.  It was not a shot in the dark.  

[quote=MikeTampa]Honestly, I thought I  would pass.  I was in far better shape to take the test 3  weeks ago, until my landlord called and told me that he had sold my house to a development company who was giving me one week to find a new house.  So after finding  a new place and moving out (with nothing packed) in two days and living on my buddys couch and at my girlfriends for 3 weeks, i felt that the minimal studying I had done hopefully allowed me to retain enough from a few weeks prior to take the test. 

So, to answer your question, yes, I thought I would pass.  It was not a shot in the dark.   [/quote]

Readers should learn something from this.

In Mike we have a guy who believes he was going to pass, who barely did.  Had he missed two or three more questions than he did he would have failed.  The margin was razor thin, yet he figured he would pass.

Going to take this test figuring you "might pass" is courting disaster.  It costs a couple of hundred dollars to take the test and you have to wait a month to take it again.  If you have a job with a real brokerage firm you usually don't get a second chance.

Is it worth blowing time, money, and possibly your career?

One good way to determine if you have a joke of a job instead of a true career is to know if you're going to be fired if you do not pass.

If the answer is that you have a one time shot at the test the odds are about 99% that you actually work for a brokerage firm instead of a chop shop.

If, on the other hand, you're told that you have as many chances as you need, and that the average guy took it more than once, you're working in a chop shop and will be stealing money from people rather than investing for them.

Just another harsh reality for you to understand.

MikeTampa:

Trust me on this one.  There is no predictive ability concerning test results and career success.  Good luck.

[quote=dashampersand]

MikeTampa:

Trust me on this one.  There is no predictive ability concerning test results and career success.  Good luck.

[/quote]

Actually that is about 180 degrees out of synch with reality.  There are exceptions, guys who barely pass who end up makiing it in the long run, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

As post mortums are done regarding why somebody failed it is far more common to find that they barely passed the exams than that they were the "geeks" who scored very well but could not communicate.

When it comes to offering advice people like geeks.  That, of course, is not true for the chop shops where so many of the guys who contribute to this forum work.  That environement is much like the old adage, "In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king."

There are college graduates who, somehow, end up signing on with a chop shop.  Why they would accept a job at a place where the manager actually bragged that college didn't matter escapes logical thinking adults, but they do.

The reality of life in a real brokerage house is this.  If you're a dumb-ass, and you know if you are or are not, at age 25 you are going to be a dumb-ass at age 40.  Oh, in your mind you will be oh so mature and so forth--but the only way you would have caught up with the non-dumb-ass guy who was also 25 and sat next to you would be if he never learned anything new from that point forward.

See what I'm saying?  The 25 year old smart guy is going to be an even smarter 40 year old smart guy--while the 25 year old dumb-ass will be a smarter 40 year old, but still a dumb-ass by comparison.

Investors are, on balance, not dumb-asses.  People with huge rollovers to be managed are going to know the dumb-ass is a dumb-ass no matter how old they are.

Well, seeing as I was supposed to take the test earlier and canceled
once because I didnt feel as though I was ready, I think that  I
was confident enought to take the exame this time.



In term of whether my job is a joke, I dont think that I would have had
a second chance to pass.  I work for a small, private asset
management firm who really doesnt have the cash to be allocating to
multiple test for me.  I was also getting pressure to finally take
the exam after over a month of studying.  I, however, ran into
things that were outside my control that drastically curtailed the
quality study time I could have put in.



It was at the point where I just needed to take it and get it done already…and I did.  

As far as being someone for whom the idea that college doesnt matter,
I’ll risk getting flamed again like I did a few weeks  ago by
telling you that I have a degree and an MBA, so college does matter to
me and I think  its very important. 

[quote=MikeTampa]Well, seeing as I was supposed to take the test earlier and canceled once because I didnt feel as though I was ready, I think that  I was confident enought to take the exame this time.

In term of whether my job is a joke, I dont think that I would have had a second chance to pass.  I work for a small, private asset management firm who really doesnt have the cash to be allocating to multiple test for me.  I was also getting pressure to finally take the exam after over a month of studying.  I, however, ran into things that were outside my control that drastically curtailed the quality study time I could have put in.

It was at the point where I just needed to take it and get it done already.......and I did.   [/quote]

Mike, nobody knows who you are so what is being said is generic rather than specific.  I'd like to engage you in a dialog for the benefit of those who are reading this.

Do you think that the owner of your firm feels that "getting it done already" meant barely pass?  Or do you think that he or she has formed an opinion of you based on that 71?

I've been around for more than thirty years.  I have found myself saying things like "A 70 is as good as a 90" to somebody who just reported getting a 70, but I assure you that I was not impressed.

If you were showing up to take a blind date out, and she was unimpressive for whatever reason, are you going to say something like, "Hi, I'm Mike--it's great to meet you and you sure look pretty tonight."

Well, the  way I look at it is that I passed and that’s whats
important.  I have a lot to learn, yes, but I have two great
managers to learn from.  Im sure I’ll make some mistakes, but we
all do.  The point is that I found a way to get through it. 
Both my managers don’t really care that I got a 71, they know that I
haven’t been sleeping much lately, with all the extra stuff going on
around me.  They know what I’m capable of and what I can bring to
them.  I’ve been interning here doing asset plans and portfolio’s
since February when I was finishing my MBA. 

Congrats!!  A 71 is a good job. Sure a 95 would be nice, but lets be realistic. This is a Sales Job, not a spelling BEE. I know fellow trainees that scored in the high 90’s that did not even have a high school diploma. Do you think they are still in the biz today? Give it your best and good luck!

Fantastic Mike!!! It is tough when you are balancing a family.  Don’t let up for the 66 it can be tough.  Which firm are you with?

[quote=MikeTampa]Well, the  way I look at it is that I passed and that’s whats
important.  I have a lot to learn, yes, but I have two great
managers to learn from.  Im sure I’ll make some mistakes, but we
all do.  The point is that I found a way to get through it. 
Both my managers don’t really care that I got a 71, they know that I
haven’t been sleeping much lately, with all the extra stuff going on
around me.  They know what I’m capable of and what I can bring to
them.  I’ve been interning here doing asset plans and portfolio’s
since February when I was finishing my MBA. 

[/quote]



Congrats.  All that really counts is that you passed, and nobody
will care  later in your career what you scored on the 7.



I find it ironic that Harsh Reality is trying to be your buddy by
warning you how so many of us will try to ‘flame you’, and then at the
same time he is somewhat dismissive of the fact that you passed because
you ‘barely’ passed.



All that matters is that you passed.  Keep moving forward!

Thanks guys!! Dont have a family yet, i’m just single, but its still
tough.  I’m going for my 63 next and I’m a rep for Compass Wealth
Management, a boutique private asset management firm in Miami. 

[quote=Cruiser]Congrats!!  A 71 is a good job. Sure a 95 would be nice, but lets be realistic. This is a Sales Job, not a spelling BEE. I know fellow trainees that scored in the high 90's that did not even have a high school diploma. Do you think they are still in the biz today? Give it your best and good luck![/quote]

What is "the biz" if somebody without a high school diploma can be in it?