Finally!

Well you guys, I passed it!!!!  It's been about a week and still hasn't sunk in.  I slayed the monster!!!  For years I said I would never take the test.  I had a boss that would periodically ask me about it and my answer was always the same "No way, I don't need it and I won't pass it anyway, so why would I put myself through that?".  I honestly didn't think I would be able to pass it.  I know the way my brain works and it's been too long since I was at a point in my life where I had to seriously study.  Plus, I figured that if I took the exam and got the license, that would mean I was stuck in this industry with no chance of getting out.  Well, 13 years later, I've come to the realization that the simple fact that I've been in this industry so long pretty much means that I am indeed stuck!  I thought about it long and hard and realized that I needed to get the license in order to make better opportunities for myself.

A little background on it:  In my industry, it's the BIG one. Six hours long!  It covers all aspects of this business.  There's math, regulatory questions, legal questions, suitability / recommendation questions, client questions, etc.  Anything you can think of is on it.  With a twist.  The writers of the test want you to fail.  They word the questions with the intent of messing you up and getting you to pick the wrong answer.  It's FAMOUS for it.  I'm not just saying that because I found it difficult.  It's true!

Even getting to the point where you are sitting down to take the exam is a trying experience.  My test appointment was set for 7am.  I got there 30 minutes early, per the instructions (actually, I got there an hour early, cause that's how I roll).  I had to lock my car keys up in a locker and was only allowed to bring in my drivers license.  I even had to leave my watch in the car!  Keep in mind that if you are caught cheating on this exam, you are barred from the industry for life, so it's dumb to even try it.  I heard about a guy who got caught hiding a text book in the mens room, how dumb is that??!!???  So, once I put my keys in the locker, I had to go in, pull out the pockets of my jeans and hoodie, I had to pull the hood out so they could see that there wasn't a cheating device hidden in it, I had to push up my sleeves to show my arms were bare and nothing was there to help me cheat, I had to pull up my pant legs to show that nothing was strapped to my legs or in my socks to help me cheat and I had to get "wanded" so they could make sure that they didn't miss any electronic devices that may be strapped to my person to help me cheat.  If I wasn't nervous before, I was then (and this was my second license, so I'd already been through it a year ago).  After all that, I had to get my thumb scanned, my photo taken and sign in on a log sheet to confirm who I am and that the personal information they had is correct.  Once all that was done, I was given my driver's license back,  a basic calculator, two sheets of laminated paper, two crappy thin black markers and a laminated sheet with the number of my testing cubicle on it.  One I was escorted to the cubicle (that was wired for sound and had a camera on me), I had to start the test before I could write anything down on the crappy laminated paper (which kind of sucked since I had formulas, diagrams and charts I needed to copy down).  On the last licensing exam I took, I got a talking to for drawing three lines on the "paper" before I started the exam.  Three lines!!!!

I took 10 minutes to copy down all the stuff I needed to write down and then I took a few deep breaths and then dug in for the first three hour segment.  It wasn't too bad.  I'm sure I made careless mistakes, but I felt good going into the mandatory break.  When I got back 30 minutes later, it was a different story.  The second half was a KILLER.  Taxes!  Limited Partnerships!  Hedge Funds!  GAH!!!  Everything I was weak on in the study materials was on the second half of the exam.  Of COURSE it was!

When you're done, you have to click on "exit".  Then it asks "are you sure you want to exit?", you click on "yes", then it asks "you are about to exit the exam, is this was you want to do?", "YES!!!", then it says "you are exiting the exam, click on cancel if you do not wish to" (or something like that).  Are you serious?  You're asking me THREE times if I'm good with finishing this test?  So after you click to get out you have to sit there and wait for your results.  It's the LONGEST waiting period in your life.  You can almost see your heart beating in your chest.  When the notice came up that I passed, I just sat there, stunned.

I studied for this exam for an entire year and I took a week long class down in Orange County given by the best in the business.  Not counting the ast six weeks before the exam (which the study time was amped up by a zillion percent) I put in, on average, three hours a night during the week and 6 hours a day most weekends.  I even studied at Gallifrey this year before my friends woke up for the day.  I fucking earned this!!!!

Like I said above, it still hasn't sunk in though.  There are times that I feel guilty that I'm not studying!  I'm going to get one more license, but I heard that the one I want to get it isn't that hard.  Maybe after Christmas.  This will be my first Christmas in two years that I won't be studying for a licensing exam.