SIE Exam prep advice

Hello Everyone. I am thinking of taking on the SIE exam. Can you help me with some queries?
1) Does the exam have any official curriculum or book? Or do we have to rely on third party-vendors like Kaplan/Knopman
2) If you have appeared for the exam, how did your prepare for it?
3) Also in practice, do students you usually take it themselves or wait to get a job and then have their employer sponsor it for them?

 
  1. FINRA's website has the exact topics and how many questions are in each section.
  2. I used STC's textbook and online mock tests. Read the book in a week, did all the mock tests until I hit 90% regularly (total study 2-3 weeks).
  3. My intership provided me with materials and wanted me to take it. If you don't want to buy the materials yourself you can wait, I found it to be a slight boost to candidacy.
 

Firm will provide resources for you -- I think the standard nowadays is Knopman.

1) FINRA posts a guide that has the topics and # of questions per section; you can also google around to find some PDFs of the major topics covered

2) I used Knopman -- it really babies you through the content. Strongly recommend not reading the book (way too many topics on SIE for you to go that deep). Watch videos on 1.5-2x speed, take some notes (review each day) and crank out Q bank (most important part of studying). Once you're in the 80s consistently you'll be good.

3) Most wait plus you save money with the sponsorship. If you want to beef up your app, maybe it would help but I can't speak to that

 

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