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Actuarial Science chat

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Original post by shamika
I had CT2 and ST0. So I did CT1-8 (except CT2 obviously), CA1-3, ST8 and SA3 in 2.5 years.

If you fail papers (statistically most people fail at least once), then it's entirely possible you sit more than 6 sittings, although if you've got CT1-8 hopefully you do it in a shorter time period. CA1, one ST + CA2-3, second ST+SA means realistically the shortest you'll qualify in is 3 sittings after you get 8 exemptions.

Upwards feedback = managers ask the people they manage how they did. The grads should be honest because otherwise how will we know what you liked/didn't like? This is a general work thing, not exclusive to actuarial work.


Thank you very much for your response. So how many sittings can a person do in say an year's time?
Wow, you managed to do all those exams in suxh a short time, you must be brilliant.

Oh, so basically upwards feedback is when managers ask those they manage how well they managed them? Thanks, I was unaware of the fact that the concept is not exclusive to actuarial work.
Reply 101
Original post by sneha.vag
Thank you very much for your response. So how many sittings can a person do in say an year's time?
Wow, you managed to do all those exams in suxh a short time, you must be brilliant.

Oh, so basically upwards feedback is when managers ask those they manage how well they managed them? Thanks, I was unaware of the fact that the concept is not exclusive to actuarial work.


You can only sit exams twice a year. If you've got CT1-8, getting CA1 and an ST would be a very good outcome for the first year. Exceptional would be CA1, 2 STs and perhaps CA2, but don't think I know anyone who has actually managed that (because CA2 might be hard to timetable*)

*CA2 and CA3 are practical exams and are taken throughout the year.
Reply 102
Original post by shamika
Subbing to help answer questions. I think you guys have missed a trick by not putting this conversation in the other actuarial thread (http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1114685).

My advice for people applying for actuarial degrees is to think carefully about whether you're really sure you want to become an actuary. I'm not trying to put you off - in fact, I am one and rather like it - but it is a narrower degree than most others. Assuming you have decided you do want to become an actuary, then go to whichever university gives you the most exemptions. I would prefer Cass to LSE, because although Cass is 'less prestigious' (prestige is a stupid reason to choose a university), it gives you a CT2 exemption which the LSE course doesn't.

A few other things about university courses. Maths is a fantastic degree (although I would say that, I did one), and if you're at all unsure whether you want to become an actuary or not, maths might be a 'safer' option. (Having said that, getting into a decent university for maths is now pretty insane so you have to love the subject.) From a very unscientific poll, I would say mathmos tend to qualify faster than actuarial science students, because they are so used to having to answer completely random and unseen problems in their exams. Other quantitative subjects such as as Physics, Engineering and Economics are perfectly fine if you want to be an actuary.

As for the maths involved - you need to learn some stats (and learn it properly). You don't need to learn all of FP1-3 before you get to university, and in fact some of the stuff in FP1-3 isn't relevant for actuarial science. If universities aren't giving specific advice, from memory the things you don't need from Further maths are co-ordinate geometry / polar co-ordinates / conics (very occasionally you're asked to sketch a graph but its very rare), vectors, hyperbolic functions, complex numbers (beyond FP1).

Finally, and this is even more important than the above - make sure you understand what being an actuary actually means. Whoever was talking about 100% employment for actuaries is talking absolute nonsense - there are many companies who have made actuaries redundant in the last year. Whilst long term prospects continue to be good, the current economic environment will affect start to actuaries more and more, particularly with delays to Solvency II. Everyone knows everyone in the profession so you want to start making a good impression from your first internship.

Actually, one last thing - I won't be around for about a month (so pretty stupid time to sub actually), but will answer (sensible) questions if and when I get a chance.


Hi, would be grateful if you could answer some questions whenever you have time :smile:

1.

I was interested in the bit in bold - how does this happen?


2.

Do you work Saturdays/Sundays? I suppose it does depend on the firm and whether you're in consulting or insurance, but still I've seen a lot of varying accounts. Do weekends tend to lessen with seniority? And is there any scope for working at home?


3.

Like you did, I'm going to be studying maths at Imp. If I recall correctly you did the full 4 years - would you say the MSci is at all beneficial over the BSc for becoming an actuary? I'm registered for the MSci with a year in Europe, though I'm reconsidering it since it may not help my future career.


4.

And finally - how far into your degree were you when you became interested in, and then became certain, about becoming an actuary? Did you seriously consider any other careers prior to that? I'm going into my degree with little conviction of what to do afterwards (and during it for that matter, in terms of IB/Big 4/actuarial/software internships), so it'd be really useful to hear how much time others took to decide :smile:



Thanks for reading this!
Reply 103
Original post by scherzi
Hi, would be grateful if you could answer some questions whenever you have time :smile:

1.

I was interested in the bit in bold - how does this happen?


2.

Do you work Saturdays/Sundays? I suppose it does depend on the firm and whether you're in consulting or insurance, but still I've seen a lot of varying accounts. Do weekends tend to lessen with seniority? And is there any scope for working at home?


3.

Like you did, I'm going to be studying maths at Imp. If I recall correctly you did the full 4 years - would you say the MSci is at all beneficial over the BSc for becoming an actuary? I'm registered for the MSci with a year in Europe, though I'm reconsidering it since it may not help my future career.


4.

And finally - how far into your degree were you when you became interested in, and then became certain, about becoming an actuary? Did you seriously consider any other careers prior to that? I'm going into my degree with little conviction of what to do afterwards (and during it for that matter, in terms of IB/Big 4/actuarial/software internships), so it'd be really useful to hear how much time others took to decide :smile:



Thanks for reading this!


1. It's a really small profession, even today. If you work in general insurance at least, the culture is for everyone to get to know everyone else (traditionally, all of the insurance companies got together in the area that is now called Bank in London, to talk to each other and even today, do business face-to-face).

Pensions / investments are much less collaborative actually, and life insurance has more people spread outside of London, so actually I'm only really talking about general insurance when I say everyone knows each other.

2. Oh god, I've never worked on a weekend. I have done lots of late nights in my career though. I did a year long secondment and the hours there were mental - lots of working until 2am (although that was because they were going through a period of transition). Working longer tends to increase with seniority, although in my firm (a consultancy) there is lots of flexibility and people frequently work from home.

3. If all you're interested in is getting a decent job, do 3 years only. If you love maths and want to push yourself, do 4 years and push yourself to do the tougher MSc courses. In the third year, if you decide you do want to become an actuary, take the relevant stats courses which give you an exemption from actuarial exam CT4 - doing it as part of your degree will mean less exams! There is absolutely no benefit of doing four years in any finance job (unless you want to be a quant and you need the fourth year as a stepping stone to a PhD).

4. I heard about what an actuary was at a time when I was getting burned out, so didn't want to be an actuary when I left uni. I did internships in banking, tax, consultancy and actuarial (actuarial was a two week thing so not a real flavour), and though tax was the most interesting. Started off in consultancy, did a rotation in tax and then actuarial Pensions needed bodies so thought why not? The people there were so lovely I decided to stay. I essentially got headhunted into my new job as a GI consultant and have been here since. You don't need to know what you want to be, and it's fine to keep changing your mind :smile:
Reply 104
Original post by shamika
1. It's a really small profession, even today. If you work in general insurance at least, the culture is for everyone to get to know everyone else (traditionally, all of the insurance companies got together in the area that is now called Bank in London, to talk to each other and even today, do business face-to-face).

Pensions / investments are much less collaborative actually, and life insurance has more people spread outside of London, so actually I'm only really talking about general insurance when I say everyone knows each other.

2. Oh god, I've never worked on a weekend. I have done lots of late nights in my career though. I did a year long secondment and the hours there were mental - lots of working until 2am (although that was because they were going through a period of transition). Working longer tends to increase with seniority, although in my firm (a consultancy) there is lots of flexibility and people frequently work from home.

3. If all you're interested in is getting a decent job, do 3 years only. If you love maths and want to push yourself, do 4 years and push yourself to do the tougher MSc courses. In the third year, if you decide you do want to become an actuary, take the relevant stats courses which give you an exemption from actuarial exam CT4 - doing it as part of your degree will mean less exams! There is absolutely no benefit of doing four years in any finance job (unless you want to be a quant and you need the fourth year as a stepping stone to a PhD).

4. I heard about what an actuary was at a time when I was getting burned out, so didn't want to be an actuary when I left uni. I did internships in banking, tax, consultancy and actuarial (actuarial was a two week thing so not a real flavour), and though tax was the most interesting. Started off in consultancy, did a rotation in tax and then actuarial Pensions needed bodies so thought why not? The people there were so lovely I decided to stay. I essentially got headhunted into my new job as a GI consultant and have been here since. You don't need to know what you want to be, and it's fine to keep changing your mind :smile:


This is really great, thanks :smile:
Reply 105
Original post by SR18
Hey guys,

I'm new to this thread (and posting in general) but I thought it was about time I joined and helped others since I've benefitted hugely from trawling this site for the past 5 years!

A bit about me:
I actually graduated from the University of Kent where I studied actuarial science and have been working at a consultancy for the past year. I'll gladly help (to the best of my ability) anyone who thinks I might be of use to them!

Thanks!

SR18

Hey SR18, can i know what other universities your colleagues were from? Thanks in advance:smile:
Reply 106
Original post by Yenn
Hey SR18, can i know what other universities your colleagues were from? Thanks in advance:smile:


Hey Yenn,

If I'm honest I don't actually know what universities they all went to! It's not really something we bring up in conversation over lunch! However from what I recall in general where I work you get students from a wide range of universities and not just the top 10. It's not always about what university you are from if you can show you want the job and more passionate than the others!
Original post by shamika
Subbing to help answer questions. I think you guys have missed a trick by not putting this conversation in the other actuarial thread (http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1114685).

My advice for people applying for actuarial degrees is to think carefully about whether you're really sure you want to become an actuary. I'm not trying to put you off - in fact, I am one and rather like it - but it is a narrower degree than most others. Assuming you have decided you do want to become an actuary, then go to whichever university gives you the most exemptions. I would prefer Cass to LSE, because although Cass is 'less prestigious' (prestige is a stupid reason to choose a university), it gives you a CT2 exemption which the LSE course doesn't.

A few other things about university courses. Maths is a fantastic degree (although I would say that, I did one), and if you're at all unsure whether you want to become an actuary or not, maths might be a 'safer' option. (Having said that, getting into a decent university for maths is now pretty insane so you have to love the subject.) From a very unscientific poll, I would say mathmos tend to qualify faster than actuarial science students, because they are so used to having to answer completely random and unseen problems in their exams. Other quantitative subjects such as as Physics, Engineering and Economics are perfectly fine if you want to be an actuary.

As for the maths involved - you need to learn some stats (and learn it properly). You don't need to learn all of FP1-3 before you get to university, and in fact some of the stuff in FP1-3 isn't relevant for actuarial science. If universities aren't giving specific advice, from memory the things you don't need from Further maths are co-ordinate geometry / polar co-ordinates / conics (very occasionally you're asked to sketch a graph but its very rare), vectors, hyperbolic functions, complex numbers (beyond FP1).

Finally, and this is even more important than the above - make sure you understand what being an actuary actually means. Whoever was talking about 100% employment for actuaries is talking absolute nonsense - there are many companies who have made actuaries redundant in the last year. Whilst long term prospects continue to be good, the current economic environment will affect start to actuaries more and more, particularly with delays to Solvency II. Everyone knows everyone in the profession so you want to start making a good impression from your first internship.

Actually, one last thing - I won't be around for about a month (so pretty stupid time to sub actually), but will answer (sensible) questions if and when I get a chance.


Hey!

I see you've given some real useful advice, thanks!

I wanted to know if it would be a bad decision to study either BSc Computer Science or Finance instead of Mathematics, as a safe option? I know I would like to be an actuary now but since I'm most probably gonna be choosing an American uni, it will subsequently offer less exemptions from the tests and so I will really make the final choice after attempting a test or two but, regardless, I want to make the most out of it and study a degree that provides the best possible preparation and is broad at the same time. So, my question is if studying computer science or Finance will be broad in terms of keeping my options open to get in a finance field or I should just stick with Mathematics? I also hope it's not solely pure mathematics..
Reply 108
Has anyone got an offer from Kent for actuarial science without A level Pure Maths or A level Maths with AS FM?

Sadly due to gap year program I won't have time to also do the AS FM and I'm not sure whether to use one of my 5 choices if I have no chance...
Reply 109
Original post by n1mra
Hey!

I see you've given some real useful advice, thanks!

I wanted to know if it would be a bad decision to study either BSc Computer Science or Finance instead of Mathematics, as a safe option? I know I would like to be an actuary now but since I'm most probably gonna be choosing an American uni, it will subsequently offer less exemptions from the tests and so I will really make the final choice after attempting a test or two but, regardless, I want to make the most out of it and study a degree that provides the best possible preparation and is broad at the same time. So, my question is if studying computer science or Finance will be broad in terms of keeping my options open to get in a finance field or I should just stick with Mathematics? I also hope it's not solely pure mathematics..


Do whatever makes you happiest; all of those courses are sufficiently broad, rigorous and respected so that you will be able to apply to actuarial (or other financial) jobs when the time comes to apply.

For actuarial science, statistics is the most relevant but no one cares if you avoided all the stats at university (I mostly did pure at uni out of choice, not to further my employability)
Original post by shamika
Do whatever makes you happiest; all of those courses are sufficiently broad, rigorous and respected so that you will be able to apply to actuarial (or other financial) jobs when the time comes to apply.

For actuarial science, statistics is the most relevant but no one cares if you avoided all the stats at university (I mostly did pure at uni out of choice, not to further my employability)


Ahh thanks! Helped a lot. :smile:
I needed some help in choosing which university to enroll in for a foundation program in actuarial sciences. My options are:
University of Sussex
University of Kent
Newcastle
Leeds

Also a foundation program in mathematics can lead to a progression to Actuarial sciences or not?
Thanks for the help! :smile:
Reply 112
Original post by Kianimustafa
I needed some help in choosing which university to enroll in for a foundation program in actuarial sciences. My options are:
University of Sussex
University of Kent
Newcastle
Leeds

Also a foundation program in mathematics can lead to a progression to Actuarial sciences or not?
Thanks for the help! :smile:


City University London.

Also a foundation program in mathematics can lead to a progression to Actuarial sciences or not?
Yes, you can do a maths degree first then take the actuarial exams. (or doing some of those exams while you are studying your maths exam, then do the rest after graduate.)
Hi
What courses are similar to actuarial science and allow you to continue down the actuary route?
Living in Scotland only Heriot Watt offer Actuarial Science and I wonder if similar courses at Edinburgh or Glasgow such as Financial Mathematics or Maths and Stats would be relevant?
Reply 114
Original post by BttrLtThnNvr
Hi
What courses are similar to actuarial science and allow you to continue down the actuary route?
Living in Scotland only Heriot Watt offer Actuarial Science and I wonder if similar courses at Edinburgh or Glasgow such as Financial Mathematics or Maths and Stats would be relevant?


Anything maths-related as a degree is more or less suitable for a trainee actuary role. A degree in maths and statistics is probably the most relevant but I doubt any firm is going to look at a "straight" maths graduate much (if at all) differently. Heriot Watt actuarial science graduates are some of the most well respected in the actuarial profession in Scotland though so its not a bad route to go down.
Original post by qno2
Anything maths-related as a degree is more or less suitable for a trainee actuary role. A degree in maths and statistics is probably the most relevant but I doubt any firm is going to look at a "straight" maths graduate much (if at all) differently. Heriot Watt actuarial science graduates are some of the most well respected in the actuarial profession in Scotland though so its not a bad route to go down.


Thanks for reply

I will see what the other uni's have to offer (edin/ggow/strath) maths wise. I just wasn't really sure what route to go down with my other 4 UCAS choices. Will see what Maths and Stats I can find.
Hi everyone.

I wanted to become an Actuary until I heard some quite discouraging comments on it. Quite a few people say that once you pass your exams and become qualified, it's crazily hard to get a job because they want experience, and the standards are really high for entry-level Actuaries. Also, the exams you have to pass if you do get a job are really hard. Are these rumours true or do I just have to worry about passing the uni exams (then it's easy once I'm qualified)?

Also, is the Actuary profession somehow related to Physics (is it good to take Physics for this career at A-Level?)?

Sorry about all the questions, I usually just read through TSR threads, but once I heard these scary rumours I had to make an account.
Reply 117
Anyone applying for actuarial science for 2014? I'm waiting to hear back! Got an interview for Manchester in a few weeks!
Original post by Faye_m
Anyone applying for actuarial science for 2014? I'm waiting to hear back! Got an interview for Manchester in a few weeks!

I'll be enrolling in the actuarial program in Leeds September 2014. Where else have you applied?
Reply 119
Original post by Kianimustafa
I'll be enrolling in the actuarial program in Leeds September 2014. Where else have you applied?


Nice! You applying anywhere else?
I applied to City, kent, LSE (rejected coz didn't have minimum requirements due to switching from USA to uk), and Nottingham - maths

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