actuarial exams (seeking some tips)

[04im]

hey guys, i was wondering if anybody on ffr has taken the required actuarial exams for the SOA and CAS and have passed a few of them

i'm scheduled to take Exam Probability (P) & Exam Financial Mathematics (FM) in nov&dec but i've been having a hard time studying for Exam Models for Financial Economics (MFE)

i'm looking for some tips on how to handle studying for both the exams & schoolwork at the same time, and if there are any peeps in the actuarial field, how many did you complete before landing your first full-time gig? (also what'd ya major in besides actuarial science in undergrad??)

just looking for some personal advice cos actuarialoutpost doesn't have too many helpful guys that i can relate to

thanks in advance

[Arkuski]

You may have wanted to title this thread "Get in here Ark, I need some of your expert advice on actuarial junk". In all seriousness though I could write an essay about this stuff; just wait 10 hours until I get to a computer.

[xThai]

sup, i'm writing FM in august and P in september.

from my friends who passed both exam P and exam FM, most of them studied in the summer since they already took an intro to probability and financial math so it wasn't too bad for them. they referred to previous years exams and the recommended textbook and just did a bunch of questions since you dont need to know the theory, you just need to know how to do different types of questions lulz.

[04im]

thank u based thai & arksuk, awaiting your response l0l

gluck w/ fm+p babethai

[Arkuski]

Okay, here goes. Before you take any career advice, be aware of possible biases the adviser may have. I will try to make mine as obvious as possible.

I have always been extremely inclined to mathematics, although in the past I hadn't pursued that interest as arduously as I would have liked. You might say that my career path has, and unfortunately continues to be uncertain. However, I have had brief experiences in many fields; I enrolled as a freshman in the College of Pharmacy at my university and graduated as an applied math major/business minor. I'm doing pseudo-engineer work now and I'm starting grad school next year to pursue a PhD in pure mathematics. I'm still pretty undecided about what to do after grad school, if that comes as a surprise.

I left out my Actuarial journey from that prologue so I could describe it in more detail here. I took Exam P the summer after I graduated high school and Exam FM the summer after (passed both). The next summer I was an intern at a big insurance firm. I attempted to study for both the GRE and MFE in that period, but failed MFE since it wasn't my first priority.

So some exam tips are in order. I really liked studying for the exams during the summer and taking them in August. For the exams I passed, I really had nothing else to do and two and a half months of studying each was plenty. I used the ACTEX manuals (Sam Broverman) for P and FM and found that they over-prepared me for the exams. The practice exams included were really tough but they were very helpful and worked-out solutions were included. You can also find the PDFs on the SOA website with 200 practice problems. I studied around 2 hours/day for the majority of the time then beasted some 8 hour days in the last two weeks. I had a bad experience with MFE for a few reasons: 1. I didn't study enough 2. The ACTEX manual wasn't the best 3. MFE is much harder than the first two exams. Seriously, give yourself some more time to study for it than you normally would.

I unofficially left the profession because I found that it was much different from what the exams had me believe. A great emphasis was placed on computer programming, which I didn't mind, but there was also a strong focus on interpersonal skills, legal issues, business skills, etc. There seemed to be a lack of science or mathematics, at least at the company I worked for. I really enjoyed taking the exams but the work didn't interest me so much.

lolthatsaboutit

[04im]

good advices

by any chance could i know how much you studied for mfe & whether or not you had prior schoolwork related to mfe (like intro to finance, covering everything from interest rate models and valuation of derivate securities)

i'm not so much worried about FM/P since i'm a stats major but i havent taken upper division finance courses yet @ my school but i'm scheduled to take MFE in november as well, zzzz

anyways good luck with your phd !

[Arkuski]

lol I had no prior coursework on any of this stuff. If you're serious about being an actuary, definitely pick out some courses that cover similar material to the exam, because it's like a free 4 months of studying.

[04im]

in your honest opinion
for somebody with just one semester of finance (8 units) experience, do you think i would need the entire summer (3 months) to study & pass MFE if i studied 2 hours a day? (excluding weekends) or would i need more? i could always take early 2014 since i'm not in a hurry

most undergrads pursuing an actuarial career (from the upperclassmen i've talked to from the berkeley actuarial league) graduate with 2-4 exams depending how they studied

do you think 3 exams (P, F, MFE) is enough as a senior looking for an internship or do you think i should study for the last (exam c) in junior year summer?

[Arkuski]

Honestly depends on your finance courses. You could be completely prepared or totally unprepared. A whole summer in addition to 8 credits of solid finance courses sounds really reasonable though.

OMG totally forgot to mention this. If you're looking for an internship, you should pass NO MORE than 3 exams; reason being your employer will have to pay you more for exams passed, yet won't want to if you lack experience. If you pass at least one exam, you're already a decent candidate for the internship. The two interns I worked with hadn't passed any.

[04im]

oh wtf, i actually had no idea your employers would be required to pay you for your 4th exam and up

hmm that is kind of interesting, thanks for the heads up - i probably won't have enough time to study for exam C in senior year anyways

thanks dude, you're of great help hahaa

[Arkuski]

No problem dood. I was on my own when it came to pursuing a career as an actuary and I would have been much happier if I knew the stuff I knew now. Keep in contact with your friends who are in your same boat because they'll be a huge help to you.

[Wayward Vagabond]

nerds

[04im]

[SC_coolguy44]

Originally Posted by Wayward Vagabond

nerds

^This