CFA Level 1 Study Plan: A 24-Week Roadmap for Working Candidates

6 min read ยท 2026-10-13

A good cfa level 1 study plan for someone with a job runs about 24 weeks. It has a steady weekly routine, a topic order where each subject builds on the one before, and a final month of timed practice. The official Level I exam page from CFA Institute (checked October 2026) says successful candidates report spending over 300 hours on average preparing for each level. Spread over 24 weeks, that comes to about 12 to 13 hours a week.

This roadmap is built around what is specific to CFA Level 1. That means the topic sequence, the approved calculator, ethics and the exam's timing. It also covers the hardest part for most candidates: fitting all of this around work. Every phase ends with a milestone you can check.

The roadmap at a glance

Goal: Sit CFA Level 1 having covered every topic in the curriculum, practiced under real exam timing and reviewed every mistake. Duration: 24 weeks, about 12 to 13 hours per week

  1. Setup and Baseline (Weeks 1-2)

    Lock the date, the materials and the tools before you study any content.

    • Register for your exam window and plan backward from that date.
    • Open the official Level I topic outline for your exam year and list every topic. The names change between years. For 2027 exams, CFA Institute lists 10 topic areas.
    • Pick your calculator now. The official page allows only the Texas Instruments BA II Plus or the Hewlett Packard 12C.
    • Block fixed study slots in your calendar and mark your known busy periods at work.
    • Skim the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct once to learn the vocabulary.

    Milestone: Exam window booked, calculator in hand, weekly slots and work busy periods in your calendar.

  2. Foundations: Quantitative Methods, Economics, Corporate Finance (Weeks 3-7)

    Build the tools that the later topics reuse.

    • Learn time value of money and statistics in Quantitative Methods.
    • Do every calculation on your exam calculator, never on a phone or spreadsheet.
    • Work through Economics, then Corporate Finance.
    • Finish each reading with its end-of-chapter questions.

    Milestone: You can run time value of money problems on your calculator without notes.

  3. Core: Financial Statement Analysis and Equities (Weeks 8-12)

    Learn the accounting that valuation and credit analysis depend on.

    • Study the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement until you can link all three.
    • Practice ratio analysis and how accounting choices change the ratios.
    • Move on to Equities once the statements feel familiar.
    • Do one mixed quiz each weekend from every topic studied so far.

    Milestone: You can build a cash flow statement from the other two statements without help.

  4. Markets: Fixed Income, Derivatives and Risk Management, Alternative Investments, Portfolio Construction (Weeks 13-17)

    Finish the curriculum with the topics that use your quant and accounting skills.

    • Learn bond pricing, yield measures and duration in Fixed Income.
    • Cover Derivatives and Risk Management, then Alternative Investments.
    • End with Portfolio Construction, which ties several earlier topics together.

    Milestone: Every topic in the outline covered once, with end-of-chapter questions done.

  5. Ethics Deep Pass and Targeted Review (Weeks 18-20)

    Give ethics its second, full pass and fix your weakest topics.

    • Reread the Standards and work through every example case.
    • Do ethics questions in small daily batches rather than one long session.
    • Rank your topics by quiz scores and plan extra sessions for the bottom three.

    Milestone: Ethics questions done in batches with steady scores, and a review session held for each weak topic.

  6. Timed Practice and Final Polish (Weeks 21-24)

    Train for the real exam format: two 135-minute sessions of 90 questions each, as listed on the official page.

    • Take full mock exams under real timing, ideally one per week.
    • Pace yourself at about 90 seconds per question, the figure CFA Institute gives.
    • Stop new material in the last week and review formulas and ethics.
    • Confirm your ID, test center, travel time and calculator.

    Milestone: Several full timed mocks done and reviewed, and a one-page formula sheet you know well.

Why This Topic Order Works for CFA Level 1

The official outline lists topics in a fixed sequence, but you do not have to study them in that order. This roadmap puts Quantitative Methods first because time value of money and statistics come back in Fixed Income, Equities, Derivatives and Portfolio Construction. Each later topic then works as built-in revision.

Financial Statement Analysis comes before the market topics for the same reason. Valuation in Equities and credit analysis in Fixed Income both assume you can read a balance sheet. Portfolio Construction comes last because it pulls several earlier topics together.

Ethics is the exception. You skim it in week one and study it in depth in weeks 18 to 20, so it is fresh on exam day.

Master the Calculator Before the Content Gets Heavy

Only two calculators are allowed: the BA II Plus and the HP 12C. They work very differently, so choose one in week one and never switch. Many candidates lose time in the exam because they relearn keystrokes they should have learned months earlier.

Practice these functions during the Quantitative Methods phase. A simple rule: if a question involves a calculation, do it on the exam calculator, even when a spreadsheet would be faster.

  • Time value of money: present value, future value, payments and rates.
  • Cash flow worksheet: net present value and internal rate of return.
  • Clearing memory and checking settings like decimal places and payments per year.
  • Basic statistics functions for mean and standard deviation.

Why Ethics Needs Two Passes

Ethics questions test judgment, not formulas. Many of them describe a situation and ask whether a standard was broken. The wording is subtle, so reading the Standards once is rarely enough. You need to see many cases until the reasoning feels automatic.

That is why ethics appears twice in this plan. The first skim in week one gives you the terms. The deep pass in weeks 18 to 20 builds the judgment and keeps it fresh for exam day. During the deep pass, short daily batches work better than one long weekend session.

Planning Around a Full-Time Job

A plan that ignores your work calendar will break by week six. Before you start, mark the weeks you already know will be hard, such as quarter closes, audits, product launches or travel. Make those weeks lighter in the plan instead of hoping to keep up.

If work wipes out a week anyway, do not cram the next weekend. Move the plan back one week and take the time out of the final phase, where four weeks of mocks can become three.

For a general method that works for any exam, see our guide on how to build a study plan. The habits are the same, like logging your errors and reviewing after each mock. This roadmap only adds what is specific to CFA.

  • Weekday sessions: new readings and end-of-chapter questions.
  • Weekend sessions: harder readings, mixed quizzes and reviewing your mistakes.
  • Commute or lunch: calculator keystrokes, formulas and short ethics cases.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Booking no exam window, so the plan slips week by week. Register in week one.
  • Switching calculators, or learning yours late. Pick one on day one and drill it during Quantitative Methods.
  • Studying from an old topic outline. Check the official page for your exam year.
  • Leaving ethics until the final days. Skim it early and do a full pass before the mocks.
  • Ignoring busy periods at work. Mark them in advance and make those weeks lighter.
  • Taking mocks without reviewing them. Spend the next day on every miss and every guess.

Frequently asked questions

How many hours do you need for CFA Level 1?

CFA Institute's Level I exam page says successful candidates report spending over 300 hours on average preparing for each level. As an example, 300 hours over 24 weeks is about 12 to 13 hours a week. Over 16 weeks, it would be about 19 hours a week.

Which CFA Level 1 topic should I study first?

Start with Quantitative Methods. Time value of money and statistics come back in several later topics. Skim ethics in week one so the terms feel familiar.

Which calculator can I use for CFA Level 1?

The official page lists only the Texas Instruments BA II Plus and the Hewlett Packard 12C. Pick one at the start and do all your practice on it.

Can I pass CFA Level 1 while working full time?

Yes, and this roadmap is built for that. Plan fixed weekly slots, make known busy periods at work lighter, and leave spare room in the final phase.

What should I do in the last week before the exam?

Stop learning new material. Review your formulas, your mistakes and the ethics cases, and keep your sessions short. Confirm your ID, test center and calculator.

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