# I passed my Series 7 Exam this morning. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 19, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-my-series-7-exam-this-morning/600181 "2011-10-19T20:04:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-my-series-7-exam-this-morning/600181/1 "2011-10-19T20:04:46Z")
Ta Daa! I’m switching career paths, having decided that magazines and newspapers aren’t what anyone would call a growth industry. Got picked up (after 5 months of interviews) by a brokerage firm and have been studying for quite a bit. Today I went in for my Series 7. I did a 7 hour test in 2.5 hours (with 1/2 hour break) and passed. On to the Series 66! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-my-series-7-exam-this-morning/600181/2 "2011-10-19T20:23:27Z")
Nice. I got mine years ago, but let it lapse. The test wasn’t that hard, but I had had a great prep course. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-my-series-7-exam-this-morning/600181/3 "2011-10-19T20:28:34Z")
Me, too. Lot’s of online instruction and coaching. 34 of us in the class at the beginning. 27 made it to the final. I’ll find out Friday how many are still with us for the 66. ---
**Author:** ![Danger\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Danger\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danger_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-my-series-7-exam-this-morning/600181/4 "2011-10-19T21:40:33Z")
Good luck with whatever these exams are about 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-my-series-7-exam-this-morning/600181/5 "2011-10-19T22:05:48Z")
Congrats! Sending lucky thoughts your way for the next series. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-my-series-7-exam-this-morning/600181/6 "2011-10-19T22:30:37Z")
> [@Danger\_Man](#): > > Good luck with whatever these exams are about 😛 Sorry. The Series 7 is the General Securities Representative license examination. Stock and bonds for me, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Petrichord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Petrichord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrichord)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-my-series-7-exam-this-morning/600181/7 "2011-10-20T02:03:50Z")
Wow, congrats! I don’t ever plan to run that particular gauntlet myself, but I’ve had it described to me as as “the exam whereby FINRA tries their hardest to fail everyone.” 🙂 I’m sure the 66 will be a cinch in comparison. Good for you on the successful career switch! ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-my-series-7-exam-this-morning/600181/8 "2011-10-20T03:00:18Z")
I took the Series 6 and 63 exams a few years back and passed both. I didn’t find them all that difficult, but I knew better than to mess with the Series 7. **Danger Man** , the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) requires that people in the business of selling investment products take exams to prove that they know what the hell they’re doing. The Series 7 will allow Mr. Chance to sell stocks and bonds. The Series 6, which I took, allowed me to sell mutual funds and investment vehicles that are based on mutual funds, such as variable life insurance and annuities; educational savings accounts, such as [529 plans](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/529_plan) and [Coverdell accounts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coverdell_Education_Savings_Account); and retirement savings accounts, such as IRAs and 401(K) plans. There are other exams for people who work as options or commodities traders, supervisors/managers, and in other aspects of the financial services industry. Some of these exams are harder than others, obviously, so to pass the Series 6 is not that big a deal, but passing the Series 7 is pretty damn admirable. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-my-series-7-exam-this-morning/600181/9 "2011-10-20T14:00:15Z")
I’m blushing here, Rob. Seriously, I studied hard for the last six weeks with a good training department helping me back at the home office. But I was sure glad to see that score popped up ‘passed’ when I clicked the grade buttonm. That was a long ten seconds or so. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-my-series-7-exam-this-morning/600181/10 "2011-10-20T14:59:52Z")
Congrats!! ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-my-series-7-exam-this-morning/600181/11 "2011-10-20T15:05:03Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Sorry. The Series 7 is the General Securities Representative license examination. Stock and bonds for me, apparently. Congratulations. You are entering a field that is beginning to rival lawyers for unbridled hate. Whatever you do, don’t make too much money, people hate that, and God forbid you should ever take a bonus. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-my-series-7-exam-this-morning/600181/12 "2011-10-20T15:34:05Z")
ARe you kidding? The bonuses are programmed IN. HR even has a bonus calculator ont he timesheet! Hell, my first earnable bonus is in January and I haven’t moved a thing yet. And I vested in the profit sharing the first day I signed on. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-my-series-7-exam-this-morning/600181/13 "2011-10-20T15:45:31Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > ARe you kidding? The bonuses are programmed IN. HR even has a bonus calculator ont he timesheet! > > Hell, my first earnable bonus is in January and I haven’t moved a thing yet. And I vested in the profit sharing the first day I signed on. Well, now, everything in the world that goes wrong is now your fault, you greedy bum. OWS will be coming for you any day now. Sleep well. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-my-series-7-exam-this-morning/600181/14 "2011-10-20T16:05:25Z")
Congratulations! I remember taking that. It’s so not as hard as they make it out to be. I have no idea why they give 6 hours (that’s all I was given back in 1996). Yeah, I know it took me less than half that time. I scored in the high 80’s and everyone teased me for studying too hard as all you need is a 70.