How I passed the SIE during winter break
James Drinkwater is a recent graduate from UCF and serves as the Director of Client Relationships at Drinkwater Wealth Management.
I took the SIE exam in December 2025 during my winter break from UCF. I knew I wanted to get into wealth management, so I figured it would be the perfect time to knock out my first FINRA exam before starting my career. I gave myself about two and a half weeks to study, and looking back, it was one of the best decisions I made.
At first, I underestimated the exam. There is a lot more information than I expected, and a lot of the topics seem very similar when you’re first learning them. I realized pretty quickly that memorizing terms wasn’t going to cut it. I had to understand why things worked the way they did.
The daily study routine that helped me pass
Since I only had a couple of weeks, I treated studying like it was my job. I’d spend a few hours every day working through the material, taking quizzes, and going back over the questions I missed. If I got something wrong, I wanted to know why, rather than just remembering the correct answer for the next practice test.
I used Achievable for all of my studying, and I honestly don’t think I would have been as prepared without it. The lessons were straightforward and easy to get through, and the quizzes after each section made it clear what I actually understood and what I needed to spend more time on. Everything built on itself, so by the time I was taking full practice exams, I felt like I had a solid grasp of the material.
Staying calm on exam day
I was definitely nervous walking into the testing center. I think everyone is. Once the exam started, though, I realized it wasn’t trying to trick me. It was testing whether I understood the concepts. I answered the questions I knew, flagged a few that I wasn’t sure about, and came back to them at the end. When I saw that I had passed, it was a huge relief.
That exam ended up being the start of everything. Since then, I’ve passed the Series 7 and the Series 66, and I’m now working toward earning my CFP® certification. Looking back, the SIE gave me the confidence to keep going.
How the SIE helps me in my job today
One thing I didn’t expect was how often I would use what I learned. I’m now working in wealth management, and a lot of the concepts from the SIE still come up. It gave me a foundation that I still rely on today, so it ended up being much more than just another test to pass.
If I could give one piece of advice, it would be to stay consistent. You don’t have to study for months if you have a plan and stick to it. Learn from the questions you get wrong, don’t rush through the material, and trust the work you’ve put in. If you do that, you’ll give yourself a great chance to pass.
