Balancing work and study as a mid-career investment professional
Juggling your day-to-day work with a commitment to professional education can be a daunting task, but the right mindset can reveal some surprising additional benefits.
One of the biggest challenges for a mid-career professional who is considering embarking on an educational program is balancing the demands of study with the obligations of a full-time job. By this point in a career, it will be common to be in a senior role that may involve long hours, stressful situations, or business travel — even before considering any family commitments away from work.
For many, the effort is worth it because of the hard-won result, whether that is the CFA® designation or another type of qualification. After all, upskilling in the investment industry is more important than ever today, given the evolution of technology and client requirements.
Having the right mindset can reveal not only the most effective ways to accommodate study into your work life, but also unexpected benefits that can make your existing work easier even as you study. You may find that professional education does not involve the sacrifices you thought it might.
First, be organized
The pre-requisite for successful mid-career study is organization. Making learning a small but regular habit will be more productive than being over-ambitious and then failing to keep up. And as uncomfortable as it might be, ruthlessly examining exactly how you spend your time can reveal opportunities for study that you didn’t realize you had.
“Open an Excel sheet and list out how you spent your time over the last 24 hours and you will see how much time you are wasting,” said Zap Cheng, CFA, Senior Business Technology Specialist, FIS. “Then you can think about how to use it more wisely. Even if you can spend a little time on study every day, it will make a big difference after six months or a year.”
Thinking in this way about learning as a continual process rather than an isolated instance is a critical part of effective mid-career learning, since it will establish sustainable learning habits that you build into your normal routine.
“Some people think that learning is a phase of your life, but it has to be a continuous part of your life and your job, especially in today’s world,” said Oliver Arribas, CFA, a financial consultant who pursued an MBA while studying for the CFA Program. “You have to create a schedule and stick to it, but it’s also very important to schedule time to relax.”
There’s often no need to compromise
One worry can be that allowing space for a focus on development must mean making sacrifices somewhere else in your working life. But according to Eleonore Dachicourt, CFA, Managing Director, Head of Sustainable Investments, Wealth Management, Asia, BNP Paribas, it will often be possible to make time rather than give things up.
“You know what they say, ‘if you want something done, give it to the busiest person’ — I think it’s the same for upskilling,” she said. “You always make time if you can see the endgame. It’s an investment in the short term, but it will open doors and lead to other things.”
This way of thinking paid off for Jim Pyke, CFA, Managing Director, TCB Advisors, when he was studying for Level III of the CFA Program. He asked himself where he was “leaking time” that he could fix.
“When I was doing the prep, I was travelling a fair bit, so I dedicated airplane time to reviewing notes and reading paper copies, because you can always do that,” he said. “I would probably have just frittered away a decent portion of that time.”
Study brings benefits even before it’s over
Another way to look at learning and development from a cost/benefit perspective is to reflect on how it can lead to changes in approach and increased efficiency — which can in turn free up time, as well as equipping you with the scope to act and think more strategically.
Berry Schrijen, CFA, Group Chief Financial Officer, Alliance Nutrition Group, said that financial education allows the development of deeper insights into value and risk, which then impact how you approach decision-making and long-term planning.
“Studying allows you to immerse yourself, think differently, and see patterns you might otherwise miss,” he said. “Upskilling lets you work smarter, not harder, and that efficiency gives you back hours to focus on what really matters — strategy, people, and ideas.”
The discipline of having to make time to study can also result in other long-term advantages to working practices, such as being more comfortable with delegation during times of forced absence.
“Attending a full-time program leaves you with little choice but to delegate, so you learn how to do away with some of the redundancy in your job or in your department,” added Schrijen. “As a result, you can gain more time.”
Work out where to put your focus
Even if you are maximizing efficiency, there is still a limit to the time available for study and development. That makes it important to prioritize carefully where you should place your efforts. Making a distinction between different levels of required learning across different topics will pay off.
“You can maybe just focus on a strategic understanding of some things, as opposed to frustrating yourself with the need to develop deep-dive expertise,” said Dan Whitehead, Founder and Career Coach, City Career LAB. “If you are able to understand at a strategic level how new concepts and new skills impact your industry and your work, that can be far more useful.”
Finally, don’t underestimate the power of interacting with fellow learners. Even the most committed mid-career student will sometimes find their discipline tested by other pressures of life, but ensuring you surround yourself with positive influences will help.
Seeking out networks of people studying the same course, or making the effort to show up to related events, can make a difference. For instance, many CFA Program candidates choose to become members of CFA Institute while they are still studying in order to benefit from additional networking and learning support opportunities.
“To get over inertia, I would tell people to get better friends,” said Lucy Standing, an occupational psychologist and Founder of Brave Starts, an online community and structured coaching platform for experienced professionals. “If we think about nudge psychology, the biggest lever I have to change other people's behavior is to change their context — it’s not to worry too much about their personality.
“If you want to be more open-minded to learning and doing new things, then be in a group of other people who are learning and doing new things.”
Curious about the latest mid-career trends, challenges, and opportunities? Explore more in our series designed for finance professionals navigating their mid-career journey.
Essential interpersonal skills for senior finance professionals
The value of lifelong learning — and strategies for making it work
Staying relevant in the AI era: A guide for mid-career investment professionals
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