[Samuel J]

...is the REAL demand? I fear that doing all the work required to get a chartered financial analyst designation simlply does not pay off in terms of job opportunities. Is this true?

[short shrimp]

In my opinion, and I'm sure many will agree with me, the shortage of workers is in the skilled trades. With the baby boomer working force rapidly reaching retirement age, there will be a great demand for workers within the trades sector. They make a very good wage, and with the shortage looming, you may see that go up dramatically. I went from banking administration to a skilled trade and am making way more money than I ever would have had I stayed where I was.

[BosCFA]

Having a charter won't guarantee that you will get a job, but in many cases, not having one will guarantee that you won't. It's become the standard, and if you're competing against people who have done the work and passed the exams and gotten the required work experience and been awarded the charter, you'll lose out if you haven't.