Is anyone here on actuary?

Chani

Thu, Oct 25 2007, 8:35 pm

I think exam 1 is different now than it was back in the dark ages when I took it. (It used to be calculus for exam 1). Nonetheless, for all the exams I used the Actex prep manuals (plus all the required reading, of course) and got in the 8-9 range, even when doubling up on exams.

amother

Thu, Oct 25 2007, 9:25 pm

I am an actuary, and I kick myself every day for going into this profession. I took exams 1 and 2 before I got married (about 5 and 3 years ago). I am not sure what the exam 1 is like now, they keep changing the exam structure. If you would ask my opinion (which you didn't Rolling Eyes

) I can't tell you enough that I don't think it's a good profession for a frum married woman.....unless you are exceptionally brilliant and just pass these exams on your first try every time. But even then, you still need to study A LOT, and I mean A LOT. (can you tell it's a sore subject). For now I stopped taking exams - I only have 1 baby but I leave the house at 730 and get home at 6, and I am lucky. There is almost no possibility of working part-time, unless you either have your FSA or a lot of experience.

Let me know if you have any specific questions. Hatzlacha rabbah, if you decide to stick it out I certainly hope it will be much easier for you than it is for me.....

chavamom

Thu, Oct 25 2007, 11:09 pm

That's interesting b/c my sister has a PT job with a consulting firm - very high power company - and she has a GREAT set up. First she got hired in a work-study program, so for the first few years she got paid to study x number of hours a week. The great part about it now is that the job is so flexible. She and her dh (also an actuary, but for another firm) both work "flex time" so she goes in early, he takes the kids to day care between 9-10 and then she is finished for the day at 2, so she picks them up then. She also has had no problem working PT at points (she decided it was not worth it, b/c she found that they really still expect at least 3/4 work for PT), without a ton of experience. And the pay is very good. She highly recommends it, thinks it's a great job for mothers. Maybe the amother above needs move here and work for her company Wink

.

Oh and dh looked into taking exam 1 recently and it's still all calculus.

nicole81

Thu, Oct 25 2007, 11:25 pm

I have a related question... my friend who is an actuary said that if you pass the first exam, you're basically guaranteed a job and you don't need anything else (experience, grades, etc.) is this true? it seems that a lot more people would be going into the field if it is.

also, do you think with a strong background in calculus (regular and multivariable) and linear algebra, I could teach myself enough statistics to pass the exam if I had the time?

chavamom

Thu, Oct 25 2007, 11:29 pm

nicole81 wrote:

According to my sister, yes. Hence dh looking into taking the first exam (with intent to apply for a work/study program). My sister says she works with all kinds of people who were trained in other fields. One guy was an opera singer!

nicole81

Thu, Oct 25 2007, 11:37 pm

wow! sounds promising... might be an idea for me if I don't get into the grad program that I applied to.

amother who hates the profession- did you ever consider going into education? a lot of cities have wonderful alternative certification programs for career changers where they pay your tuition and you start working right away. mathematics is always a high need area, so you would definitely have a job, plus the hours are great. but it's a lot more challenging than sitting in an office all day of course.

Chani

Fri, Oct 26 2007, 7:19 am

Most (but not all) have math undergrads, because the exams are hard (I even had math grad school and still found them quite difficult.) I do think it is an excellent career for somebody frum. Depending on the company you work for and the area you're interested in, you may or may not need to finish your FCAS. For example my company, which is a top 3 auto insurer: for reserving the group definitely is on the exam path, which makes sense b/c of the legal requirements around reserving. But in pricing / product management, I only know of 1 person with FCAS, and probably only 20% (if that) have any exams at all - the rest have math/engineering degrees typically with a "pedigreed" MBA - mostly Harvard, Sloan, Chicago. If you're in the right company it can be a great job. I know people who work part time. I'm managing a region (6 states) now for product and pricing on their commercial products (yes, left the law department to make more moolah), and although I have travel, I also have a lot of flexibility with my schedule, ability to work from home, etc. And, to be totally frank, you can make a very nice parnassah over time.

What the exams give you, especially with out an undergrad in math, etc., is credibility. When I hire an entry-level analyst, I have to have a person who is truly an analytic thinker, and if somebody is in front of me with a history major and no exams, how can they prove that they have that ability compared with the next candidate who does have exams or the third candidate with a masters in statistics?

Anyhow, that's my $.02 on the matter.

small bean

Fri, Oct 26 2007, 9:41 am

I actuallly have very storng math skills and I heard it's a great job for married women after you take a number of tests. Test 1 - from the books I'm studying (the actex) is basic calc. and probability. do you know if it's hard to find a job? I dont want to start working in the feild until I have passed 3 tests.

Chani

Fri, Oct 26 2007, 9:47 am

Depends. If you have a math major from a good quality university (not necessarily Ivy but say top 25), then even with 1 exam it should be easy. If you have 3 exams, then I can't imagine you having any problems regardless of where you went to school or what you majored in.

bashinda

Fri, Oct 26 2007, 10:56 am

DH is an actuary. Btw there are different areas (life, casualty, pension, etc.) and things will vary between companies and specializations.

Also you can practice but not necessarily be an actuary.

In pension for instance you can become a pension administrator through ASPPA and it's much easier. You make less than an actuary but the majority of the people at DH's firm are PAs not EAs.

Those tests are crazy though. DH is so close to getting his ASA but B"H the kid situation took over a bit and that's been put on hold.

The tests from the Society of Actuaries seem to have little connection with the actual work DH does but then again I'm not the actuary, DH is.

For him the biggest stress time is maybe two weeks in October which would make Sukkos more stressful but I don't know the stressful dates for other areas. I only know stuff about pension.

Chani

Fri, Oct 26 2007, 2:23 pm

Let's put it this way: I studied for the bar in FL for 6 weeks. Later I studied for the TN bar for 2 days. For each of the actuarial exams I put in around 500 hours of study time. I did do well on all of the exams, B'H, but they are much more difficult than the bar exam!

40% pass rate sounds right.

chavamom

Mon, Oct 29 2007, 3:03 pm

small bean wrote:

Do you find the material hard - or just that it is a lot of material. im not finding it to dificult. I keep thinking im missing something because everyone says it's so hard.

I think they may be talking about the other exams. I have not heard anyone with a good math background say such a thing about the first exam.