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Actuary Thread General

Anonymous Wed 19 Feb 17:24:53 2020 No.11399298 View Reply Original Report

Quoted By: >>11399655 >>11400012

This thread is for all things related to actuarial science, specifically preliminary examinations (P, FM, IFM, etc...) and open-source materials useful for preparing to take them.

ACTEX or IA?
What degree plans best prepare an aspiring actuary for preliminary examinations?
R or Python (or Julia)?
Is actuarial work the peak of applied mathematical performance?
What is the probability that an actuary would survive an impending communist revolution?

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 19 Feb 2020 19:43:48 No.11399655 Report

Quoted By:

>>11399298
>actuarial science
As much of a science as accounting is.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 19 Feb 2020 21:07:07 No.11399888 Report

Quoted By: >>11399966

Can you work as an actuary with an Industrial Engineering degree? I heard they make some nice money with a relative non stressful job. I also heard it mostly involves math and software which is great because I disliked all of my Physics classes but greatly enjoyed my Math ones

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 19 Feb 2020 21:24:19 No.11399953 Report

Quoted By: >>11399991 >>11400035

>maths/CS degree
>2 years out of an undergrad
>little to show for it otherwise
>taking exams P/FM in a few months
How do you like my chances for a job after that? Can I do anything else to help my chances? Should I space the two exams out more? I'm very much not worried about P, given my background, but I'll need to learn the content for FM. I'm using ASM study manuals rn, but are there better (maybe introductory) books?

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 19 Feb 2020 21:27:40 No.11399966 Report

Quoted By: >>11400124

>>11399888
It will depend on how much you focus your undergraduate on probability and statistics. Nearly any degree with an intensive focus on mathematics can provide the requisite material to tackle the preliminary exams, but certain degrees generally prepare you for them better. I would say that if you're completing/have completed an industrial engineering degree it's going to be important to really hammer out courses on probability and stochastic mathematics.

Generally the best degrees for actuarial exams/jobs are considered to be applied mathematics, physics, electrical engineering, statistics and economics..

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 19 Feb 2020 21:35:35 No.11399991 Report

Quoted By: >>11400185

>>11399953
Your educational background sounds really great for the field, and two years out of school with little to show for it can be explained away with "I had to independently study for exams". As far as your chances for getting a job, I would focus on trying to do well on the exams and maybe practice programming a little bit (Python, R, Julia, SQL, SAS, etc. just pick one and use it for a year building random shit.) Most of the associate positions that you'll apply for will be happy to train someone with the discipline necessary to finish a mathematically intensive course AND knock out the exams independently.

It surprises me that you're less worried about P than FM because most people think that P is far harder and requires a far more extensive knowledge base than FM. It's common for people who score 8 or 9 on FM to barely pass P.

The book I use for P is ACTEX in conjunction with Probability for Risk Management, 2nd ed. by Hasset and Steward. The ACTEX manual is really fucking confusing without the in-depth overview of the material offered in the text book. I'm not sure what books are usually recommended for FM, but I strongly advise that you find at least one text book to aid in your study of the ASM manual.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 19 Feb 2020 21:43:00 No.11400012 Report

Quoted By:

>>11399298
>R or Python (or Julia)?
there are only two types of actuaries
excel monkeys and management

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 19 Feb 2020 21:52:26 No.11400035 Report

Quoted By:

>>11399953
A math bachelor's should be able to do them simultaneously without too much struggle. P is a complete freebie for anyone who's taken a decent undergrad probability/statistics sequence in uni. The only reason it's ever claimed to be "hard" is because the average mathematical level of a
>hurf i wan be actoory cuz itz gud career
neophyte is usually pathetically bad.
You honestly shouldn't even need to waste your time reading a manual; I found the big list of published problems sufficient to get a 10 with time to spare, and if you really need more just do the manual problems for weak spots.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 19 Feb 2020 22:14:57 No.11400124 Report

Quoted By: >>11400259

>>11399966
I'm finishing my EE degree, and I'm seriously considering a career in the actuarial sciences. How come EE is considered one of the best? I only had one very small finance course (and it was optative). Of course, probabilty and statistics and analysis were very intesnive, especially in SP. How hard will it be to make it without any finance/economy background?

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 19 Feb 2020 22:26:57 No.11400185 Report

Quoted By:

>>11399991
Thanks bruh. I'm not worried about P, since it covers topics I learned in my undergrad. Still, I'm gonna study up on it. I heard that the study manuals wouldn't be very comprehensive, and the FM manual just seems to confirm that. I'll check out Hasset and Steward, but it'll be back burnered since FM is coming up much sooner.
Guess I should start looking for jobs now.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 19 Feb 2020 22:39:36 No.11400259 Report

Quoted By:

>>11400124
Because EE is mathematically rigorous and frequently exposes graduates to industry standard coding (C, C++, JS). Actuarial work focuses on mathematical models first and foremost and the subject to which those models is applied is interchangeable. That's the beauty of mathematics: it's generalizeable. For this reason, it would be safe to assume that you could learn the necessary economics over the course of your examination processes to earn associate status. It's also worth noting that certain specializations don't require nearly the depth of understanding economics and finance as other specializations.

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