r/actuary

Honestly I just can’t pass exams and I’m in search of another career. I’ve been getting 4’s and 5’s for YEARS now for two different exams. 5 YOE no credentials. I’ve looked into Risk Analyst, Data Analyst, DS.

Anyone out there with any advice? Whether you have transitioned out, or also considering any information will help.

Thanks!

I know a waiting room already exists for GH101 so I thought to create one for all exams.

2 days to go... how are we feeling?

https://preview.redd.it/2rrz1qrlrekh1.png?width=547&format=png&auto=webp&s=1703b3b8458ccf9888632efbe890bf13913aabb2

If you have any critiques at all, formatting, content, etc., I would really appreciate the feedback! Don't hold back.

Im honestly very worried about this coming sitting with declining pass rates, lack of transparency, and only a handful of released practice questions. I could use some advice on how to pass. My current strategy is to read all the source once, actually learned from RF videos, and do RF practice problems a few rounds as well as flashcards and past exam questions. I think I've exhausted the list on what i can do to prep, but those who passed prior sitting do you have any tips? If you failed prior to that, is there anything you did different.

It seems like the exam would be calculation based and easy, but that is never the case lol

I was wondering if there are any other actuaries out there who have taken the exams while dealing with hypothyroidism. For context, I am an ASA that is 2 exams away from my FSA. I have hypothyroidism and general anxiety disorder but I imagine the hypothyroidism contributes to the GAD. When I started studying for my first FSA exam the first time, my hypothyroidism got to the point I needed to go to the ER and I had to stop studying for a year. Next time I started studying I was able to get through it with only a 2 week period where I was impacted by symptoms. Im on medication currently to help, but wanted to know how other people in situation dealt with it and was it worth it? I want to get my FSA but if it is impacting my overall health Im not sure it is worth putting my body through it. Thank you!

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49332981

Hi all, I just got an offer for an entry-level actuarial role and would love some advice.

I’m a career switcher with 2 exams passed, so this would be a pay cut from my current job, but I’m willing to take it for the long-term career growth. The offer is $88k + 10% target bonus.

I passed FM in August and would start in September. They told me that even though my official FM result comes out in October, I won’t receive the FM salary increase because I took the exam before starting.

My bigger concern is that they’ve been very vague about the future exam salary increases, first-time pass bonuses, and current paid time off. They haven’t given me specific amounts or a compensation schedule.

Is this normal for actuarial programs? Should I ask them to provide the exam raise structure in writing before I sign? I don’t necessarily expect it to be in the offer letter, but I feel like I should know what the compensation progression and paid study time looks like before accepting.

Hi yall,

I need help!! I failed PA twice now...one time during the old format then i took a break and took it again in April and I failed against.

Frankly when i see the breakdown of my performance in April, i dont understand what I am doing wrong...so please I need help from someone who pass it and had a real strategy.

I am taking it in October...i started studying again last week...

Thank you all!

Does your employer increase salary for passing the PCPA project + exam? What about the 3 Discs?

If so, how much of a raise do you except?

Basically, I want out but I make too much money (world tiniest violin, I know). I can't see changing careers without taking a significant salary cut, which I really don't want to do? If you're reading this, you're probably still an actuary, but do you have an old coworker who successfully got out without taking a pay cut?

As I get closer to earning my ASA, I’ve started thinking more seriously about the possibility of working abroad (specifically in Spain). It’s always been a personal goal of mine to spend at least a couple of years living outside the U.S., and Spain is somewhere I’ve always wanted to experience.

I understand that the work visa situation can be complicated for a U.S. citizen, so I’m wondering if it would be more realistic to target multinational insurance/consulting firms that have offices in both the U.S. and Spain and potentially pursue an internal transfer.

- For those who have experience working internationally, particularly in Spain or Europe: How realistic is it for a U.S. trained actuary to find actuarial work in Spain?

- Does having an ASA provide much value/recognition in the Spanish or European actuarial market?

- Would working for a multinational company in the U.S. be the best path toward eventually transferring to Spain?

- How important would Spanish language proficiency be? I’m currently around B1-B2 spanish.

Any insights are greatly appreciated. This is only exploratory, but I’d love to start taking steps towards making it a reality.

Hi all,

I posted last month about struggling with my manager’s competency. While I still haven’t spoken up, I have since had more complaints made about her to my face and several of our closest collaborators express sympathy for the situation I’m in.

Now I have an exam scheduled for next week and my manager has been ignoring my study hours. We’ve talked for months about my study plans and she expressed no concern about the timing. Due to our current project dragging out, I’ve cut my planned study hours in half and skipped 90% of the ones I left on my schedule.

She has told me two weeks in a row that I can catch up once the project is done, which would’ve been fine if it’d been true. She’s used our weekly meetings to jump straight into immediate deliverables and hasn’t inquired about my studying for over a month. The one conversation that we had was brief and it felt like I was pulling teeth. She was ready to jump from the call to start her PTO and I don’t think she listened to a word.

This is on top of the fact that she always seems to let me work on less urgent tasks until 15 minutes before my scheduled study time begins… I have received an urgent request at the worst possible time nearly every day. If I didn’t know better, I would say it’s deliberate. She’s watched me work 20+ hours in the past couple weeks while marked as OOO and not once commented or asked. Feels like she’s exploiting my fear of advocating for myself.

I’m not even sure what advice I’m looking for, as I’m sure it will be to speak up and vouch for myself. I think I’m naturally oriented toward working with thoughtful, proactive people who stay on top of things like this. All of my managers before her were mindful of my schedule and I’ve always been sure to show the same respect to our interns and other analysts. This is infuriating. Thanks for reading my vent.

Edit: To preempt the question of why I didn’t speak up, I decided that it wasn’t my job as a pre-ASA to risk my nascent career at such a stressful time when any one of the experience actuaries who have complained about her could do it themselves.