Ask anyone familiar with financial investment, and they will typically pose two questions: how and where to invest.
Well, if you're considering a professional finance career in Canada, simply asking these two questions isn't enough. You need a solid foundation of knowledge and a professional qualification, such as the Canadian Securities Course, to establish credibility.
In this article, we will look at five techniques to master the Canadian Securities Course:
- Mastering the exam format and scope of CSC
- Utilizing the learning materials of CSC
- Implementing a studying timeline for CSC
- Attempting many practice questions and mock exams
- Learning from an experienced private tutor
#1: Get An Overview of The Exam Structure & Topics
There are two exams under this course, where candidates will be tested on 17 topics, each with a different weightage.
Candidates need to answer 100 multiple-choice questions, and the test will last 2 hours. The passing grade for both exams is 60%, and each candidate is given three attempts to take the exam during their course enrolment period. You can choose between the paper test option or the computer-based test option.
The suggested hours for the overall exam preparation study range from 135 hours to 200 hours, depending on your learning pace and needs. This is a rough estimate to help ensure that candidates are well-prepared in each chapter and have the necessary financial knowledge before sitting for the two exam papers.
Once you have registered to sit for this course via the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI) official portal, you can experience unlimited access to the online learning materials for a year. Candidates can extend the learning period for this course for another year as long as they have not exceeded the number of attempts for each exam.
Throughout the exam, candidates will be proctored in person (at a specified test centre) or remotely. The official results will be available within 24 hours.
Here are the nine tested topics for Exam 1:
For Exam 2, candidates will be tested on these eight different topics:
Under each topic, there could be sub-chapters and relevant study guide materials provided.
#2: Gather The Official Study Materials from CSI
Your CSC exam preparation will be incomplete without effective learning resources and study tools such as study notes for each chapter, video tutorials, practice exams, or chapter quizzes.
Depending on your budget and learning style, you can choose either printed course materials (like CS workbook, and textbook) or electronic course materials from the CSI official portal that are aligned with the official CSC curriculum.
The video tutorials cover 120 video explanations with relevant real-life examples to give you a comprehensive review of all the chapters that will be tested for Exam 1 and Exam 2.
Additionally, you can access and purchase several of these core study tools revolving around topics from CSI such as:
- Financial Investment Calculations
- Financial Statements and Ratios
- Macro and Microeconomics
- Financial Planning Calculations
Incorporating a mixture of physical and digital learning resources will enhance your revision journey, especially in terms of concept memorization, the application of mathematical formulae and calculation operations as well as various finance, and investment analyses.
You can refer to the latest cost of the study tools and enrolment fees for this test via their CSI website.
#3: Set A Feasible Learning Timeline & Studying Schedule
After getting the relevant CSC study tools, it's important to allocate a few months up to a year to study based on your foundational knowledge in this field and also available time.
If you carefully review the CSC, you'll notice that they offer a study planner for different durations (3-month, 6-month, 9-month, 12-month). Once you have committed to a specific timeline, you can start breaking down the chapters according to weeks and come out with your own deadline to complete each of them.
A key point to keep in mind is that the CSC course can only be taken three times upon enrolment. If candidates do not pass the papers after the third attempt, they must re-enrol in the entire course, which can take a toll on both time and finances. Whether you are a fresh graduate in finance or someone who is looking for a new career change, you want to ensure your efforts are not wasted.
When it comes to setting your studying schedule, it's pivotal to be specific with the hours of study and your studying goals for each week. For instance, you should dedicate 3 to 4 hours a week and focus on two topics.
After studying the notes thoroughly, it's time to put everything you have learnt into practice by doing lots of sample questions and mock examinations.
#4: Diversify Revision Routine with Practice Questions & Mock Exams
Practice questions and mock exams are must-haves when you're preparing for any examination. Not only does it test whether you truly grasp what you have learnt, but it also helps candidates to be familiar with the actual exam format and test duration.
In the beginning, you can incorporate topical practice questions consistently as you review the topic and go full force after you have revised all the topics for each paper.
Even though the tests consist of multiple-choice questions, it's important to realistically evaluate your score for each round based on the 100 questions. From there, you can effectively identify your weaker areas and work on them later.
For example, you may realise that you tend to make more mistakes when it comes to calculations or mathematical formulae-based questions, you can do further revision on that component.
Time management plays a crucial factor in every test. Make sure to attempt the mock exam questions within 2 hours. Through multiple experiences, you will soon learn how to pace yourself and adjust your question-answering strategy according to the difficulty level of the questions.
You can find various study tips and sample questions from those who have passed the Canadian Securities Test on YouTube or their websites. Listening to success stories and the experiences of others can also boost your confidence as you prepare for these exams.
#5: Take Lessons From An Experienced Private Finance Tutor
We understand that self-studying isn't a one-size-fits-all studying approach. For those who are tackling these finance-related topics for the first time or after a very long time, it's best to learn from someone who is experienced and well-versed with the CSC exam syllabus.
We highly recommend you to find an experienced finance tutor through a reliable tutoring platform like Superprof to kickstart your learning journey.
At Superprof, you can learn from the best finance tutors from all across Canada. Additionally, you get to choose to take face-to-face lessons or online lessons, depending on your learning preferences.
Private tutoring offers you a flexible and dynamic learning experience. That's because you get to focus specifically on preparing for this exam alone under the guidance of your tutor. It also gives you peace of mind when it comes to getting gaining an overview of the CSC, and having enough practice in terms of questions and feedback based on what you have studied.
Having someone to guide you along the way sets you on the right track too, as the preparation for these two papers can be quite challenging, in terms of academic rigor and mental stress.
Having said that, it is also more convenient to schedule your lessons and affordable if you opt for online lessons in the long run. Do you know that most Superprof tutors offer their first lesson for free?
As you browse through the tutors' profiles, you can review the qualifications, teaching experience, teaching methodology and review of former students at a glance before deciding on your finance tutor selection. Be rest assured that all the information posted on the profiles has been verified by the Superprof team.
All you need to do is just head to the Superprof Canada homepage and indicate your desired subject and current location. From there, you can continue to refine your search by indicating your learning level and also the maximum budget for the hourly rates.
Once you have chosen a maximum budget (for example, 50 Canadian Dollars per hour), the system will only direct you to a selection of tutors who offer finance tutoring within that range.
After checking through the basic information and hourly rate for the tutor, you can contact your desired tutor via the messaging feature on their respective profile. You will then receive a reply from them within the indicated response time. Trust us, you'll never regret investing in a private tutor!
We hope you have gained some insights from these exam tips through this article and ace your way through the CSC!
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
-Benjamin Franklin
Did you like this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
