CMT disillusioned with MTA membership

[Trader13]

I just ran across this post (2014) by a former MTA (Market Technicians Association) member. I always wondered about the Chartered Market Technician (CMT) certification and this inside perspective gave me some new insights. I'm sure many CMT's will disagree with her points but it's an interesting read so I'm sharing.

http://www.followingthetrend.com/2014/08/why-im-not-renewing-my-mta-membership

 

[globalarbtrader]

Andreas is a man GAT

 

[Al_Bundy]

Makes valid points, can't disagree with Andreas.

 

[eden]

It's a marketing scheme under the guise of education--- I am surprised it took you this long to catch on...

I don't know much, but does the CMT hold any weight at all in this business?

 

[Frederick Foresight]

I don't know much, but does the CMT hold any weight at all in this business?

I would imagine it has about as much weight as a homeopathy certification does in the medical field.

 

[Elite_Master]

I passed the CTM, held it for a few years then stopped paying dues. I went through the program to learn TA and it was good for that, but the yearly dues are too much for a credential that adds no value. The CMT yearly fee is more than the CFA charges. That said, I am seeing the CMT more and more in the industry.

 

[Trader13]

I passed the CTM, held it for a few years then stopped paying dues. I went through the program to learn TA and it was good for that, but the yearly dues are too much for a credential that adds no value. The CMT yearly fee is more than the CFA charges. That said, I am seeing the CMT more and more in the industry.

Does the CMT curriculum focus solely on hindsight analysis of historical data? (TA is very good for characterizing what already happened.) Or does the curriculum also teach predictive methods for price forecasting and trading?

 

[Elite_Master]

Here is the curriculum .. covers both types you mentioned.

 

[Frederick Foresight]

I passed the CTM, held it for a few years then stopped paying dues. I went through the program to learn TA and it was good for that, but the yearly dues are too much for a credential that adds no value. The CMT yearly fee is more than the CFA charges. That said, I am seeing the CMT more and more in the industry.

Apart from the most basic elements of TA, which I have found to be valid and can be covered in a single book and plenty of screen time, did you get any incremental value? I imagine the worthwhile theoretical stuff could have been covered in a single morning before the first coffee break, and certainly by no later than lunchtime.

 

[Elite_Master]

It was all self-study, no classroom. A lot of time was wasted on useless material, but I would not have known what was useful and what was not if I had not studied it all. I find that I learn and retain material far better when there is structure, a curriculum, assigned readings and tests vs. just trying to pick it up from a book.