actuarial science

Hi! Can I ask you what kind of hours the actuaries work and do they seem happy in the job? Is it interesting and varied work? Thanks

Typically around 9:30-6, so very good hours. They all seem happy, some are weirdly over enthusiastic about their job, they just love it, even when they have more work to do. It is definitely interesting and varied, but it depends on which firm you go to, consultancies like Deloitte offer more varied work, spanning Life, GI, analytics etc. whereas the actuarial firms make you more specialised.

imo u shld apply lse, cass, manchester, soton, kent/heriotwatt. leicester only provides 1 exemption

Hi there
in your opinion between LSE , hw and cass which would be the better option in following context :

faculty
course content and teaching method
internship prospects in a good firm
job prospects post graduation
connecting with other students

i am an overseas student . Also if I have to choose between taking a one year industrial placement or doing my masters in actuarial management which one should I go for ?

Alright, now the lists of universities in UK providing such courses.

1. LSE
2. Heriot-Watt (HW)
3. City
4. Southampton (Soton)
5. Kent
6. Manchester
7. UEA
8. Keele
9. Swansea
10. Queen's Belfast (QBU)
11. Warwick
12. Kingston

Universities that grant 8 CT exemptions are..
HW, City, Soton, Kent, QBU.
Yes, as far as I am concerned, LSE doesn't get full exemptions.

http://www.actuaries.org.uk/students/pages/university-courses-and-exemptions

Brief description of each university.

1. LSE
- in London, higher living cost.
- tuition fee >12k.
- not sure about scholarship.
- Exempt all CT except CT2.

2. HW
- in Edinburgh, moderate living cost.
- tuition fee 9k+,
- possible 15% scholarship for international students.
- Exempt all 8 CTs.
- Do well in the National Student Survey.
- One of the most established AS course in UK I suppose.
- about 20% Malaysians there, I wonder if JPA sends them to there.
- 4 years degree, but not too hard to get 2nd year entry.
- Cold and rainy weathers
- option for 'a year in industry' or study abroad in Waterloo, Canada or Melbourne, Australia.

3. City
- in London, higher living cost.
- tuition fee ~11k.
- possible 25% reduction.
- Exempt 8 CTs.
- Established course I suppose.
- JPA students do go there.
- option for 'a year in industry'.
- IMO best school for actuarial science in UK

4. Soton
- in Southampton, a port, moderately low living cost.
- tuition fee 9k+
- 2 streams. One Maths, one Econs stream.
- Generous scholarship. 1 A of A-Level gets 1,000GBP discount - apply for Maths stream only.
- Exempts 8 CTs.
- Not specialised enough, IMHO, as they are called "Mathematics with Actuarial Science" or "Economics and Actuarial Science". Joint Honours if not mistaken.

5. Kent
- in Canterbury, small town, low living cost.
- tuition fee 10k+
- possible 5k scholarship but need to write an essay.
- Exempts 8 CTs.
- Established course I suppose.
- Do very well in the National Student Survey.
- Most number of Fellows in the teaching staffs.
- option for 'a year in industry'.

6. Manchester
- in Machester, moderately high living cost.
- tuition fee ~14k
- not sure about scholarship as I don't care when saw the sky-high tuition fee.
- Exempts some of the papers. Detail please check the link above.
- Not a very old course.
- Not much info as I don't research much.
- Manchester United and Manchester City are based in Manchester.

7. UEA
- in Norwich, moderate living cost.
- tuition fee ~10k
- possible 50% scholarship, for either being a Faculty of Science student, or international student.
- Not sure about exemptions. Reason see below.
- Relatively new course.
- compulsory 'a year in industry'.

8. Keele
- don't know where.
- Relatively new.
- not much info.

9. Swansea
- in Swansea, Wales, moderately low living cost.
- not sure about tuition fee but comes around 9k I suppose.
- not sure about scholarship, too.
- Exempts a few, not all. Check link above.
- Course has been there for some time already. Not sure why still can't get full exemptions.

10. QBU
- in Northern Ireland, moderate living cost.
- ~10k tuition fee.
- No scholarship as far as I am concerned. Got also 1,000GBP like that only I think.
- Exempt 8 CTs.
- Quite established.

11. Warwick
- in Warwick, moderate living cost.
- ~10k tuition fee.
- No generous scholarship.
- Course name is called MMORSE, Master of Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics, I think.
- 4 years undergraduate Master.
- Option for specialism in Actuarial Mathematics for the last two years.
- MORSE is Warwick's flagship course.
- Doesn't get full exemptions. Miss 1 or 2. Check link.
- Should be quite established due to Warwick's strength in social sciences and mathematics.

12. Kingston
- don't know where.
- don't bother to know much.
- not worth checking out I guess.

That's the brief discussions for each of the university.
Basically, the places worth going are..
HW, City, Southampton, Kent and perhaps LSE IMHO.

I am sorry that I don't have much info about some of the universities. But, info upon request. I will go and search them up.

Just in case you all do not know.
Exempting the 8 CTs do not make you a qualified actuary. Recently, the IA/FA adds in a CT9 that can only be passed by attending seminars.
Completing CTs, you become an 'actuarial trainee'.
You need to complete 3 papers of CA only you can become a qualified actuary. By that time, you are called as Associate of Institute of Actuaries (England) or Associate of Faculty of Actuaries (Scotland).
If you further up, you took 2 ST papers and 1 SA paper. Then, you become Fellow - Fellow of Institute of Actuaries, Fellow of Faculty of Actuaries.
You can use the title, AIA, AFA, FIA, FFA when you reach the stage. For instance, Tan Ah Kow FFA, Lee Ah Chao AIA.
So far, Malaysia has only about 50 Fellows, be it from IA, FA (UK), SOA, CAS (US), IAA (Aus) or CIA (Canada).

Hope this helps.