Accountancy Forum - actuarial sciences

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<blockquote id="quote">quote<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Mubashir
 Salaam everyone.
I have got a little confusion. Can anyone resolve this issue. As I am inclined in doing actuary, soa. Had passed my graduation, B.Com. Just wanna ask what masters field should I take on parallel to the actuary. I wanna go towards the finace and inventment side, with actuary also (not towards the insurance side). There are two options. Firstly to do MA. in economics. Secondly to do MBA (finance). What would be better in your opinion.
If there are any other fields to take on parallel to actuary in your view, please do mention it. And there scope.
Mubashir.

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I think both should be OK. A friend of mine did MSc. in Economics before embarking his professional actuarial career and he is doing a good job now, both at work and exams. On the other hand, there would be significant overlapping of finance courses if you were to do MBA (Finance) so it might be a good idea to do MBA (Finance).

In either case, the only way to get a good job would be to clear as quickly as possible those SOA exams.

Let me know what you think?

DT

Hi all,

Came across this forum recently whilst searching for actuarial firms in Pakistan. Been impressed with the knowledge on this site - particularly thankful to those who have given information about actuarial companies/actuaries in Pakistan. Its good to have a forum like this where aspiring Pakistani professionals both inside and outside the homeland can interact.

I am currently in the final year of my undergrad degree in the UK (BSc Maths, Operations Research, Stats and Econ at Warwick) , and am hoping to join the actuarial profession upon graduation. Although I am in the UK, I am considering whether to go via the SOA route and take one or two of their preliminary exams to start off with. Would be interested to hear the opinions of those studying for the SOA exams - from what I understand, they are multiple choice ( atleast the first few)? How do you guys find the difficulty/depth of material? For those in Pakistan, are you employed and taking these exams side by side, or just studying full time? If you are in employment, does the firm you are working with in Pak sponsor you to any extent (e.g. with exam fees or study material)?

Hi eveyone!

I'm a student about to do my GCSE exam. I'm stong at maths and also have great interest in business studies. Therefore is Actuary the right job for me?

I have chosen the following subjects for my A level Mathematics, Further Mathematics (AS only), Economics, Business Studies and Physics.

If i want to be an Actuary is the subjects above relevent? or should I take more Sciences subject to get into better Uni?

Hi Shinn,

Your chosen subjects are very good, and should put you in a strong position when it comes to applying for actuarial science or any other numerate degree discipline at Uni. I did the same subjects at A-level, except I did Economics instead of Business Studies.

Further Maths isn't a requirement for actuarial science programmes, but I'd suggest you see how it goes for the first year at AS and if you feel you can cope, do the full A-level in F.Maths,as it will make a strong impression on University admission tutors. Doing F.Maths will also enable you to cover a greater range of maths/stats topics, and this could give you a stronger base in techniques that will be relevant when it comes to actuarial studies, if that is the path you choose.

As you are just doing GCSE, you still have a year and a half to go before you have to make choices regarding University courses, so just see how things go and how your interests develop. Given your stated strengths and interests, an actuarial career is definitely something you should strongly consider, but keep an open mind and explore all options you find interesting. There are a few sites that have already been mentioned in this thread such as www.actuaries.org.uk and www.beanactuary.org that you could find useful.

All the best.

<blockquote id="quote">quote<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Paktuary
 Hi all,

Came across this forum recently whilst searching for actuarial firms in Pakistan. Been impressed with the knowledge on this site - particularly thankful to those who have given information about actuarial companies/actuaries in Pakistan. Its good to have a forum like this where aspiring Pakistani professionals both inside and outside the homeland can interact.

I am currently in the final year of my undergrad degree in the UK (BSc Maths, Operations Research, Stats and Econ at Warwick) , and am hoping to join the actuarial profession upon graduation. Although I am in the UK, I am considering whether to go via the SOA route and take one or two of their preliminary exams to start off with. Would be interested to hear the opinions of those studying for the SOA exams - from what I understand, they are multiple choice ( atleast the first few)? How do you guys find the difficulty/depth of material? For those in Pakistan, are you employed and taking these exams side by side, or just studying full time? If you are in employment, does the firm you are working with in Pak sponsor you to any extent (e.g. with exam fees or study material)?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I don't think there are many people on the forum working in a Pakistani actuarial firm. You might be interested in exploring a similar thread on Orkut, which is a lot more active especially for actuarial community.

Since you have studied at a premier institution of UK, have you considered applying for an actuarial role in the UK? Why have you decided to pursue the american system? Did you take any of the actuarial modules available within your degree and how did you do them?

DT

DT,

Yes I am currently thinking about applying for UK roles. Now that I am off for Easter holidays might get round to making some applications.

I am considering the American stream as something of a backup option incase I am unsuccessful here. There seems to be a differing attitude in UK and US employers judging on the research I've done. While US employers seem happy tp consider those who can pass the prelim exams, in the UK certain employers even prefer taking students with no exemptions - something to do with training the candidates with the "company ethos". Another factor I'm considering is how the US exams are structured and whether they would suit me more than the UK style of exams - at the end of the day, success in this profession is largely based on how quickly you pass through the exam papers.

As I'm on the three year variant of my course,I have only done two modules which could lead to possible exemptions - from the Economics paper and the Mathematical Statistics one ( although my mark in this paper would not enable me to any exemption!!). Uni exams are far more based on proving theoretical results, unlike the actuarial exams which seem more interesting given how they are based on solving practical problems.

How is your degree coming along DT - I gather you are in your final year as well? How is the job application procedure coming along?

<blockquote id="quote">quote<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Paktuary
 

There seems to be a differing attitude in UK and US employers judging on the research I've done. While US employers seem happy tp consider those who can pass the prelim exams, in the UK certain employers even prefer taking students with no exemptions - something to do with training the candidates with the "company ethos".

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Yeah I have also experienced that to some extent but I think largely having few exemptions doesn't affect much. I think employers don't welcome freely if you have exemptions beyond CT.

I don't know how you are placed with regards to Work Permit, i.e. do you need one to take up a position here. If you do then getting the actuarial job becomes very competitive as many employers are only looking for candidates who have no restriction to take up employment.

<blockquote id="quote">quote<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Shinn
 Hi eveyone!

I'm a student about to do my GCSE exam. I'm stong at maths and also have great interest in business studies. Therefore is Actuary the right job for me?

I have chosen the following subjects for my A level Mathematics, Further Mathematics (AS only), Economics, Business Studies and Physics.

If i want to be an Actuary is the subjects above relevent? or should I take more Sciences subject to get into better Uni?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

The more maths you do at A Level the more smoother the transition between college and university becomes. Therefore, it is worthwhile doing the A Level Further Mathematics. Business Study or Economics wouldn't make much of the difference but try to take as many Stats module in your Maths as possible. Actuarial Science is about Stats rather than Maths.

Doing Maths, F Maths and Economics as A Levels would keep your options open when you'll be applying for university - a good choice at your age.

Cheers! Paktuary for all the advice. I really appreciate it.

Unfortunately my school only offers further maths at AS level. However I'll look for books about statistic if i want to pursue a career in that area.

Btw, derivativetrader, LSE is one of my dream school. Is intake for actuarial science very competitive?

Again thanks for all your advices.

<blockquote id="quote">quote<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Shinn
 Unfortunately my school only offers further maths at AS level. However I'll look for books about statistic if i want to pursue a career in that area.

Btw, derivativetrader, LSE is one of my dream school. Is intake for actuarial science very competitive?

Again thanks for all your advices.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

My school wasn't able to offer FM either but I took some initiative and did the full A Level on self-study.

LSE is a good school and I would definately recommend applying for it. Some people say it that City is alot better for actuarial and the fact is it might be but who knows whether you'll enjoy actuarial science after 3 years. LSE is a great brand name all over the world and every year majority of its grads land jobs everywhere in the finance industry.

Competition is fierce. I think all most of fellow students have at least 3 A grades at A Levels. You may find some interesting facts at the following link

http//www.lse.ac.uk/resources/undergraduateProspectus2006/courses/Actuarial_Science/N321.htm

DT

Wow! 528 applicants and only 88 accepted that 1 in 6. I will be really proud if I can get in...

Can you tell me more about life as a student in London? (I live in Carlisle- a small boring City)Is LSE big? How is accomodation there?

<blockquote id="quote">quote<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by derivativetrader
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Yeah I have also experienced that to some extent but I think largely having few exemptions doesn't affect much. I think employers don't welcome freely if you have exemptions beyond CT.

I don't know how you are placed with regards to Work Permit, i.e. do you need one to take up a position here. If you do then getting the actuarial job becomes very competitive as many employers are only looking for candidates who have no restriction to take up employment.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

No problems with the work permit - I'm a dual national.

Derivative trader, out of interest, how has the content of your degree course been academically - in the sense that are your exam papers based more on solving applied problems or have they focussed more on the pure/theoretical side of things ( proofs of statistical theorems, derivations etc.) ? I quite enjoy doing applied maths/stats problems, but I've hated the style of some of my Uni modules, the focus of which has been on the nitty gritty hard theorem-proof stuff.

I have been offered conditional palce at cass bussiness school for acturial sciences programme. i it wort while doing acturial sciences from there. i have been rejected by LSE. and i would like to know that to what extent does Further Mathematics help me i prusing the said degree. i am appearing in further mathematics examinations in this session. and furthermore i would like to ask whether or not i should study Economics in Summer vacation or not.
lastly i would like to ask that is it a smart option to study acturial sciences and do a part-time job in order to pay your fees. and can someone guide me that how much can a student earn in a single year while doing a part time job during the semester and full time on holidays. i would be very thankful

Hi alphawerewolf,

Congrats on your offer. Cass Business School alongwith LSE, Heriot Watt,Kent, and Southampton are the only Unis to offer undergrad actuarial science programmes. If you do well enough on your courses you could be eligible for exemptions to up to all the CT-100 stage subjects of the IoA board so its definitely worth it.

Further Maths will definitely help towards your studies in actuarial science. More statistics mdoules wil obviously give you an advantage as you would be familiar with the major statistical distributions being used before even starting your degree. Even the further pure maths modules, if not always directly relevant in terms of syllabus content to actuarial work, will help develop the skills required for the challenging course e.g. through working out complex integrals you strengthen your concentration/problem solving skills.

University courses in economics generally don't assume prior knowledge of the subject, although they will cover the material very quickly so those that have studied economics before are usually at an advantage. You don't have to have studied economics in detail beforehand, but if you have some sort of basic understanding of the subject it definitely helps.

Regarding, part-time work it depends on how well you can juggle your committments. Obviously being an international student in London will be expensive.I'd imagine your degree would be quite demanding, so it will really be up to you to see whether you have the time and energy outside of that to do part-time work. As a guideline, doing a typical part-time job ( e.g. at a checkout till at some store) could earn you around Â£5-Â£6 an hour - although in London this could be higher. Say for instance you work 3 times a week, for 4hrs - you could get Â£60-Â£70 a week during term-time, and during holidays you can work out for yourself how much you can work, and what the corresponding earnings will be.

Hope that helps. All the best.

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