r/ActuaryIndia

I am a 2nd year btech student in the branch of electronics and computer engineering... initially I got into this college because I scored 99%ile in my cet exams and 99.86%ile in maths ....but tbh I am getting bored in second year...like coding is boring and difficult, electronics is shit....I got to know that my interest in maths is helpful for ACET ...

But I am thinking is it a good choice? to give ACET because I like maths like I scored 97 marks on my 10th boards and 92 marks in 12th board exams...

I’ve been working for almost 2 years now, but during this time I haven’t been able to clear any of my pending papers. It’s honestly taken a toll on me.

Now I’m confused about whether I should continue working and study alongside my job, or take a career break, focus completely on clearing my papers, and then return to the workforce.

My biggest concern is my CV. I was in a 2-year apprenticeship program, but I only completed around 1–1.5 years. Would taking a career break at this stage look bad to recruiters?

I’m also worried that a career break might make it seem like I’m not interested in working or building a career. I just feel that struggling with these papers for the past couple of years has really affected me, and I’m wondering if taking a break to finally clear them would be the better choice.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Would you recommend continuing the job while studying, or taking a break and clearing the papers first?

Any advice would really help.

Used GPT for better presentation.

I am new to this acturial field....i have read a few posts where people mention abbout colleges where we are given exemptions for a few exams . Is there any such clg in India as i don't wanna go abroad?

Whoever passed cm1 exam with new format (word ) ,please tell me steps how did you do that? Like what's important and what's not important ?

Those who have cleared all 4, can you rank them in order of their difficulty

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I'm 18 years old and currently in first-year BCom at a local college . I'm trying to make a serious decision about what to do with the next few years of my life, and I'm honestly very confused.

Here's my full background.

Academics

I scored:

\- 10th: 80%

\- 12th: 65%

\- Commerce with Maths in 11th/12th

After 12th, I gave CUET 2025 and scored 744/1000.

My subjects were Accountancy, English, Business Studies, Economics and Applied Maths. I don't count Maths in the 744 because for the BCom Hons options I was considering, Accountancy could replace Maths, and my Maths score wasn't good.

I was getting a mid-tier DU college but chose a local college in/near my city instead.

I then decided to take a partial/drop year and prepare for CUET 2026 from home because I wanted a much better DU college.

That year went badly.

I was severely sleep-deprived and under a lot of stress. I was also depressed for a significant period and had a period where I became extremely stressed and started interpreting random things as signs that something was wrong. I'm doing much better mentally now.

I also made some stupid academic decisions during that period. I didn't attend college properly, missed two important exams because I was out of town, and didn't give the KT exams either.

When I eventually went back for second-year classes, I was told that it was too late to give those KT exams and that I would have to repeat first year through a gap-year process. I didn't have to pay the first-year fees again, but I'm now back in first year.

So I'm already effectively a year behind my original batch.

CUET 2026

I gave CUET again in 2026.

This time I only took:

\- Accountancy

\- Business Studies

\- Economics

\- English

I scored 700/1000.

However, my preparation was poor again. I hadn't completed the Accountancy syllabus, had significant portions of other subjects pending close to the exam, and although I did Economics, I fully covered Macro but left several Micro chapters and essentially left Indian Economic Development until very late.

IED being part of the preparation this time also makes the 744 vs 700 comparison less straightforward.

So I don't know whether 700 means I'm simply not capable of improving much, or whether I haven't actually had one properly executed CUET preparation cycle.

Career options I've considered

I've considered FRM, but the total cost was too high for my family. Registration/coaching/etc. could get very expensive, and my father doesn't believe I have the calibre for extremely difficult professional exams.

I've also considered CA, CFA, CMA, etc., but I'm reluctant to spend several years going through those routes because one of my biggest goals is to eventually become financially independent and move away from my current city/home.

I recently bought an ACET preparation course and have started studying some Mathematics and Statistics.

I'm considering actuarial science because it gives me a specialized professional path that isn't entirely dependent on the reputation/placements of my BCom college.

My understanding is that I'd need to clear multiple actuarial papers before becoming employable, and I know this is not a guaranteed shortcut to a job.

My current college situation

My current BCom college is basically a local/tier-3 college.

The placement situation is extremely weak/negligible, so I don't want to fool myself into thinking that simply having a BCom degree from here will automatically give me a good career.

I can finish the degree, but I'd need to build employability separately through qualifications, skills, internships and off-campus applications.

Why I'm considering CUET 2027 again

This isn't ONLY about placements.

I strongly want to leave my current city.

I've had a lot of negative experiences here and feel that I've developed a very bad reputation. I feel like I've become a joke to many people and that I haven't set strong enough boundaries with people.

There have also been situations where I felt people were jealous and had actually tried to harm me.

I don't want to spend the next several years trapped in the same environment.

Part of me genuinely believes that moving to a completely different city, meeting new people and building a new social/professional identity could be extremely valuable.

Delhi is especially attractive to me because of the colleges, opportunities and the possibility of eventually living independently there.

I know a new city won't magically fix everything. I also know I need to improve myself, my boundaries, social life, discipline and decision-making regardless of where I live.

But I still think environment matters.

The problem with CUET 2027

If I give CUET again and get into a good DU college, I'd probably start a new UG degree around age 20.

That means I'd graduate roughly two years later than my original batch.

That's a huge opportunity cost.

On the other hand, if I stay where I am, I graduate earlier but remain in a college with very weak placement opportunities.

My teacher thinks I should seriously consider another CUET attempt. His argument is basically:

\- Taking another drop isn't automatically bad.

\- If I get into a genuinely good college, the improvement in opportunities can justify the extra year.

\- My 65% in 12th doesn't mean my entire profile is doomed.

\- Depending on CAT/MBA later isn't guaranteed because CAT is extremely competitive and MBA admissions can consider academics as well.

I've also considered the argument that a strong UG college could give me better internships, peers, networking and recruiting opportunities even if it doesn't literally erase my 12th marks.

What I'm struggling with

My friends aren't taking CUET again.

Sometimes I think I should just accept that I'm behind, finish my BCom, pursue actuarial science and start working as soon as possible.

Other times I think:

Why should I spend the next 3–4 years in a college/environment I hate when I have one more opportunity to completely change my trajectory?

I don't want to keep resetting my life forever.

If I take CUET 2027, I want it to be the final attempt. No CUET 2028, no endless drops.

I'm also around 6 ft tall and currently around 54 kg. I was previously around 45 kg and have improved my weight and energy since then. My health and sleep have also been issues in the past, so I know I need to take care of those rather than sacrificing them for academics again.

I currently don't have friends and I want to build a better social life as well.

What would you do if you were me?

Would you:

A) Take CUET 2027 one final time, aim for a genuinely strong DU college, and accept graduating \~2 years later?

B) Stay in the current BCom, take ACET seriously and pursue actuarial science?

C) Stay in BCom but forget actuarial/CUET and build skills/internships for an off-campus career?

D) Something else entirely?

I'm not looking for "follow your dreams" or generic motivation.

I want an honest assessment of whether sacrificing another year (and already being \~a year behind my original batch) is rational given my current college, career options, mental state, and desire to leave my city.

If you were in my exact position, what would you do and why?

Do you think pursuing exams from the soa is a much better decision than sitting for ifoa/iai exams?

Which coaching is best for acturial science? I have heard a lot about the academic junction, how is it?and coachings that I should definitely avoid?

the thing is that i am a biology student and the degree i am pursuing wont take my anywhere and tbh i dont wanna fall into the trap of government examinations soo i wanna try this (i have heard that freshers do get a decent 6-9lpa job after clearing 3-4 papers which takes 2yrs)

like i dont have much idea about it so i need someone to tell me about it

i am in my finel year of bsc currently and i just dont wanna pursue masters in this field. becz ill be left jobless even if i do a masters

and i didnt have maths in highschool, neigther in college. so i'll certainly be at disadvantage when it comes to this

Please tell which one is better (and why) ..consider these points as well along with faculty

1. Period of completion of syllabus before exam

2. Mocks credibility

Is 26 too late to start actuarial??

Background: Bachelor's in applied stats and certificate in quant finance and risk management from iiqf.

Previous work experience of 1.5 years in the quantitative analytics domain after that significant gap of 2.6 years till now for upsc(iss) prep. Facing issues during to gap period.

If it's possible to start again how many and which papers should I target for the next 1 year ?

Am I probably going to face any difficulty even after clearing first few papers?

I am 3rd year from a good college studying IT.I dont really like the unnecessary stress that comes with the IT job.

So I am looking to switch to a career which has either a better wlb or a better pay for a longer duration than IT.

I have loved mathematics from my JEE days and still do and have good programming knowledge in python and theoretical AI/ML stuffs including some statistics courses relevant to AIML

I want to know about the job oppurtunities in actuary.I would most probably get a job around my department median salary i.e 10lpa in my 4th year.

Should i gain some workex there and then look for actuarial jobs?How many exams should i target before my first job in actuary.

Also I heard the fresher market is cooked but experience is still in high demand,how do I best navigate the fresher market.

I have no problem studying hard in next 2 years cause the college coursework is not much.

Last time i gave cm1 and cb2 exams and failed in both the exams ,cb2 with 5 mark difference.I am going to give cm1 exam this attempt and i will complete cm1 within this month and will solve past year papers next month ,as i already have some knowledge about cb2 I can give cb2 this time right along with cm1?

Hey everyone

I am currently in Class 12 (Commerce + Maths) in India and I really enjoy maths. I'm thinking of becoming an actuary but I have a lot of doubts before committing to it.

I'd really appreciate it if anyone could answer some of these

- When should I start giving actuarial exams? During college or after graduation?

- What's the realistic salary progression in India?

- Are people without Fellowship (say 2–7 exams cleared) actually getting jobs these days?

- IFoA or IAI? Which one would you recommend and why?

- If actuarial science doesn't work out for me, what are some good backup career options?

- Which degree would go best with actuarial science?

- How is the job market for freshers right now? Is it getting harder to break into the field?

- If you were in my position would you still choose actuarial science?

-What is the best way to prepare for exams , like would self study be enough for an average person?

Thanks in advance

My cousin suggested it because it is said to have higher salaries and better opportunities as compared to ACCA, I have just completed my bachelors in commerce and I have completed nine exams of ACCA, I also don’t have much interest in mathematics, but I do have interest statistics. I haven’t taken mathematics in my 12th. I want to know difficulty level of exams

Guys I need your help 💥

I'm preparing for CM1 and I've studied cashflow discounting but I'm confused which chapter should I study next. I haven't bought the study material so I'm confused, as of now I'm watching lectures on YouTube from The ActurialGuy CM1 playlist.

If anyone has cleared CM1 please drop your advice it will be helpful 🙏🏻