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is it possible to give cm1 and cs1 in one attempt? (In case I don't give the September attempt I have a longer time to prepare for the April attempt, so in 7-8 months can I study for both and clear it?) Initially I was planning to club CB papers with CS and CM papers for each attempt. But if I skip the September attempt then could I do cm1 and cs1 in April???
Some of us might be feeling excited - some scared - some nervous, and some may not even be feeling anything! And all of ours' feelings are valid! With the results tomorrow, I figured we can share some encouragement and motivation, to ease the tensions!
Our result will reflect the efforts we took! Let's tell ourselves that! All the best everyone! Drop your best motivation/story/joke to lighten the mood!
I have a query which I wonder if anyone can enlighten me on 🧍♂️
I know use of R is permitted for CS2A - but does anyone know if pasting of R Code into a Paper A script can be used as evidence of workings?
Does anyone know the answer / has anecdotal evidence?
It just feels like if I am already learning how to do Markov Chain questions (for example) in R for Paper B, can I not apply this learning for Paper A too where appropriate?
For example:
Let’s say the question might involve finding some 3 step probability in the future for a simple Markov Chain - can I solve in R and paste code? Or would that lose all of the working marks.
Dumb question but thanks in advance
Hi all.
I’m a recent graduate from the university of Warwick with a 2:1 in maths and physics. I’ve been interested in becoming an actuary for a couple of years, but have had no luck with applications. I graduated in January this year, and got to some assessment centres last October, but was rejected. I’ve little formal work experience and am struggling to get retail experience at the minute, and have no coding ability. I have a couple of months before actuarial schemes open again. What would my time be best spent doing? Should I pay out of pocket (ask my parents for financial help) to pay for an exam and try to pass it in the September sitting, and develop Python/R skills, or would my time be better spent trying to get any work experience I can get my hands on?
There is very high chance that my Bachelor's exams and the actuarial exam of CB2 which I would give in Sept, could be on same day and even slightly same time frame. Is there anyway that if such thing happens I can have slightly 1 or 2 hour shift in exams? Currently my exams form are only open but as of asking teachers it seems to have high chances.
Does anyone has faced similar problem?
Curious about capital modelling as a career option and struggle with anxiety.
I was pretty unserious in first year and didn’t really look into spring weeks/internships properly. Started taking it seriously in 2nd year and applied quite heavily.
Got to 4 ACs (only 1 actuarial) but no offers.
Since then I’ve done the SOA actuarial science competition (Society of Actuaries) and my team made it to the semi-finals, which was a really good experience. But at the same time I know it probably doesn’t compare towards an internship.
I’ve also picked up a few random part-time jobs (tutoring, security etc.) to build some experience alongside uni.
Now I’m trying to figure out how to maximise my chances for grad roles because without an internship I feel like I’m cooked next year.
I’m not sure if someone has already asked this question before but does anyone know how the exams are marked?
Are they quite strict when marking?
Let’s say you messed up somewhere in your answer (I.e. using the wrong value due to time pressure) but you explained everything through but you got the wrong answer, how many marks would they deduct?
For my case, I forgot to lock the cells on my excel paper B (because of time pressure, I dragged the formula down without locking the cells) thus my answer wasn’t correct but it is clear what I wanted to do because of my layout and explanation.
Hi guys, I’m an aspiring actuary entering my final year of uni studying mathematics. I’m at a fairly well known uni, we typically get good placements in the finance industry.
I’ve been struggling to get interviews for intern roles and when I did I got a technical interview where they expected quite good knowledge of excel.
I was told these companies expect to train you on the job and don’t expect much experience but every time I apply somewhere it seems to be a problem.
I’ve been told doing actuarial projects would be useless for the CV so not really sure what else I can do to improve my chances.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
For my CS2 exam some concepts seemed very abstract to me, like K-Means Clustering and yk like how do Markov Chains stablise or even how do things tend to Normality as n->inf and so to visualise them I started to develop simulations.
I built a small interactive simulator where you can watch the algorithms run step by step. For ex. In K-Means you can drag centroids around mid-simulation, and see how the clusters reform:
jenishestmoizavut.github.io/simulating-statistics
It helped the concept properly click for CS2, and I think some of it overlaps with CS1 too. There are a few other simulations on the site (random walks, Markov chains, survival curves, law of large numbers, central limit theorem, etc.) which might useful for other parts of the stats papers.
Happy to take requests if there's a concept people find hard to visualize; might build a simulations for it :))
I see in the latest email they gave a link to the exam venues. The Dublin venue has changed for next sitting so just a reminder to double check the venues before booking!
The last 2 sittings my result came at different times, and I'm not sure if DST is being followed by IFoA, so could anyone give the official time if they know? Thank you
How long has cs2 taken people to fully prepare? Is it still doable for the September sitting?
I’m a mathematics student going into my second year. Should I do an actuary exam at university to increase my ‘ value ‘ to an employer and if so what exam/exams should I take and when. Thank you.
Hi, I’ve just finished my final year in an integrated master’s course in biochemistry and will be graduating with a first. I also did maths and further maths at A level and got A\*s in both. I’m thinking of going into actuarial science. I’ve been looking at graduate schemes but I’m under the impression that perhaps my degree isn’t numerate enough and apprenticeships might be a more suitable option for me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I received a warning letter from the IFoA- for all students sitting online exams please note. Of course I will have to practice silence on my end as part of the 300+ hours of prep- a small (but significant) matter that seems to have escaped my notice under pressure.
Hi everyone,
I've been reading this sub for a while and thought I'd finally post and introduce myself, both to ask for advice and to put myself out there.
A bit about me:
I have four years of experience working as a senior actuarial analyst (promoted earlier this year) in Europe, primarily in defined benefit pensions, covering valuations, multi-GAAP reporting, implementation projects, and process automation.
My experience is mainly in German scheme valuations, with additional exposure to UK schemes as well. I started an MSc in Actuarial Science but dropped out before completing it, and I'm now pursuing my IFoA qualification from scratch, with CM1 as my first sitting coming up. Multilingual (English, French, Arabic) and have worked in a large, international consultancy environment throughout my career.
What I'm looking for:
I'm actively looking to transition into the UK actuarial market, open to pensions, life, or general insurance, though DB pensions is naturally where my experience is strongest. I'm targeting both consultancies and in-house roles. Relocation to the UK is something I'm prepared for and actively planning around.
My questions for the community:
1-For those who made the move into UK actuarial from abroad, what was your experience like? Any practical advice on breaking in?
2-Are there particular firms or routes (consultancy vs in-house, London vs regional) that tend to be more open to candidates coming from European markets?
3-Any view on how unqualified candidates with solid hands-on pensions experience are being received in the current market?
And a direct ask:
If anyone is currently working at a firm that's hiring, whether a big consultancy, a boutique, or in-house, and would be open to a referral conversation or just pointing me in the right direction, I'd genuinely appreciate it. Happy to share my CV directly.
Thanks in advance! This community seems like a good one.
So I'll be sitting for cs 1 this september and haven't started the syllabus yet
Although I have studied basics till hypothesis testing as I am pursuing economics major in my college
So will I be able to complete my syllabus with proper revision and practice by september 15th ?
I am 15 looking into being an actuary and whenever I tell anyone they ask how easy it is to be take over by AI. So I’m wondering how vulnerable it actually is. Also as a side note would a degree in maths be the best direction to go or would another course be better? Thanks in advance.
Just wondering how you’re all doing…
Can we try something a little different?
Every exam results day the subreddit fills with (understandably) emotional posts, people celebrating, people disappointed, people criticising the IFoA, and people defending it.
Rather than another thread that turns into the same arguments, I’d genuinely be interested in seeing some actual data from this sitting.
