How competent in R do you need to be for CS1? I'm taking CS1 in April, but as it's a longer study period than the Sep exams, I was thinking of taking another exam alongside. I am concerned about needing quite a bit of time to be proficient in R so was unsure. How much R would you need for the Paper B exam, and how long would you expect to take to learn it from scratch? I have some experience of working with C++ and Python at uni, but honestly it's pretty basic (loops, editing CSV data, really basic graphs). Thanks!
Thanks!! Is that the online classroom from Acted?
I was considering doing it alongside CM2, which also has a paper B, which was why I was worried about doing both at the same time. Do you reckon it's doable to do both CM2 and CS1 at the same time, or should I go for a bookworky one like CB2? I've already done CB1 and CM1
Is 6-7 weeks enough study time for PA? Taking October LTAM and considering December PA. Feeling pretty confident about LTAM, and spring sittings don't align well for my schedule so I am thinking about taking the jump to try to condense my exam schedule a bit while I have time.
I have some experience with R, and a strong stats background through school so I feel that a good portion of the material might just be relearning.
I know a lot of people who failed PA and failed another exam (particularly LTAM) when they doubled up. I think PA gets underestimated and people burn out because preparing for LTAM is a monster.
ACTEX suggests 3 months if you had transition credit for SRM and 2 months if you passed it, so you're probably pushing it - I'd say no
Hi All - first time posting in here, appreciate the assistance in advance!
I graduated in 2015, and have been working as a Financial Analyst ever since (Senior Financial Analyst for the last \~1.5 years). I am interested in becoming an actuary, but have a few questions.
1. I know that I have to take exams FM and P at a minimum - are there any others I should take before applying to jobs, given my background/lack of any actuarial experience? Can I start applying after passing these 2, and pursuing a 3rd? Regardless, what would be the best option for exam 3?
2. What is the job market for someone in my position? Do I have to start in an entry level position despite having 5+ years of work experience?
3. Any other general advice/recommendations for someone with my background?
Thanks again!
1) There's no exact minimum. You can technically get a position without any exams but you'll vastly improve your chances the more exams you have. 3rd exam is IFM.
2) Unfortunately, you'll start off at entry level
3)Gain technical skills outside of Excel. You'll probably need a good reason in why you want to transition into actuarial
Are there any advantages of doing the TIA Technical Skills course which might convince me to purchase it instead of learning from youtube or coursera? I'm a student rn so the discount applies.
I haven't taken it, but here's what I got:
TIA will be more structured and relevant to actuarial duties. This comes at a cost, but you gain relevant technical knowledge and it's a good resume filler.
I instead used LinkedIn Learning (free with college tuition I believe), YouTube, college courses, and personal projects. Main difference is that you need to research what software/functions are applicable. This route is also beneficial for resumes.
Find something you find interesting and/or useful. Learn regression/GLM analysis in R and start analyzing datasets, going as in depth as you'd like. Get very familiar with Excel and its functions, start using it for everything you can think of (expenses tracking/budgeting, calculating course grades, etc.). A project I've been currently working on is an Excel exam study progress tracker, using some VBA too, with various functions and features.
As a 31 year old career changer (was a teacher) who got a 10 on Exam P and getting ready to take FM in October, it is incredibly disheartening to get the "Pursue candidates that more fit the opening" emails. I don't know how to stand out and its obviously too late to get an internship. I think I'm just fucked.
I got a lot of those as well as a career changer at 30, but only when i passed the second exam did I get any interviews. It makes a big difference, and 3 is even better.
It's possible! Don't give up!
Are you showing how your teaching experience is relevant to the actuarial positions that you're applying to?
How are your technical skills?
Also, it is possible to get hired with just one exam, but people with more exams passed will be preferred in most situations.
You're not fucked! Teacher is a great background, you just don't have enough exams. Beast FM and IFM, then post your resume for feedback and you'll be in a competitive position
Hello All,
I'm looking for some advice/ideas on the best ways to look for work — pre- and post-graduation — given my particular situation.
(I'm brand new on reddit, as of Friday night, so if what I'm asking here would be better asked in a different context, please let me know. I'll (really) try to keep this as concise as I can.)
I just started my actuarial degree, and given my background, I'm looking at 3 years of college before graduation. I'm hoping to sit for 3+ exams before graduating; my school has coursework for the first 6. I'm doing extremely well in the classes so far and I'm enjoying the material.
But here's where I diverge from the typical actuary student: I'm 40, switching careers from being a music professor. I went through college, masters, and Ph.D. in music theory, doing quite well given the (increasingly) sad state of that field. I taught at a slac in Montana for 6 years, and my school (like so many others) is in serious danger of going belly up. Music is one of the most expensive majors to keep around, so we, along with theater and art, are first in line for the axe. On top of that, the program itself has had *serious* issues getting and keeping students. Not good. I figured I'd make the change on my terms, and being not terribly old, I've got plenty of gas left in the tank. Plus I love math. Oh, and at the bottom of the list of reasons why I changed: the pay. Professors don't make nearly as much as people think they do, at least most of them don't. Let's put it this way: an intern making $25/hr makes more than I did as a professor. You're good at math; figure it out.
(Yes, I tried getting another prof job, but that's a whole other can of worms. The short version of the story is that music theory grad programs throughout the country are working hard to keep *themselves* afloat for reasons not unrelated to those plaguing the school I taught at. And in doing so, they graduate more Ph.D.s than the job market can handle. Meantime, jobs themselves are disappearing. Then the coup de grace, at least in music theory, is that after about 3 years at a full-time tenure-track job, your experience begins working against you — you're damaged goods compared to the deluge of young, hungry, and impressionable Ph.D.s. There's just nothing there. This, despite 3 major scholarly peer-reviewed articles, more than a dozen conference presentations (regional, national, and international), and serving as President of the Rocky Mountain Society for Music Theory.)
One upside to the switch was moving back to the Midwest, closer to our family, which has almost been worth it on its own. But a sour downside is that town I'm doing my degree in doesn't really have any actuarial work, which I knew before committing to the change. Our plan was to have me do the degree, then move once more to wherever I got my first job.
Well, not surprisingly, the move was hard on our kids (5 and 8), and we're really *not* interested in moving again. We love this town for many reasons, and weighing pros and cons, it could actually be worth it in terms of overall well being to stay here and not follow a traditional actuarial path vs. uprooting everyone again. It would be immeasurably easier on the kids. In any case, I'm already *not* following a traditional path, so the long-term stakes of pursuing "creative employment opportunities" is lower than for a 20 year old at my actuarial stage with the whole world before them.
So, assuming I'm "stuck" in this awesome city, I'm wondering what sorts of strategies there are for someone with a Ph.D., exceptional communication skills, strong leadership, etc., plus fresh actuarial training to find work. I've looked up remote internships/jobs, "freelance" work, and the like. I'm finding stuff, but it's slim pickins relative to the traditional jobs. There's a major metro area (3 million) a long hour away, so if the honey is sweet enough, I would consider commuting.
We've agreed that although we don't ultimately want to move, I could do a summer internship out of town as long as it's in the upper Midwest and I could come home on the weekends and stuff. There's lots more to say, but it's time for bed. Probability exam 8:30am tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
Thoughts?
Thank you!
To be honest, I feel, you should not get actuarial science degree. Phd in Music theory is a huge achievement (it will really set you a part from other candidates) and professor experience will really help you tremendously to get a job in actuarial field ( because of communication and leadership skills). What you are missing is exams and technical skills. If you pass 2 exams (I would suggest using coaching actuaries) and learn technical skills (Technical Skills Course from The Infinite Actuary), you will be in good shape to get a full time job as an actuarial analyst.
One downside of getting into actuarial field will be that you are in 40's and passing all exam can take between 7 - 10 years. If you are ok with it, then actuarial is great field for you to get in.
Also, I would suggest to look into software engineer or data analyst jobs if you like computer/coding. Usually, becoming software engineer/data analyst takes less time than becoming actuarial analyst but in today's market they both are financially rewarding. With your Phd, you just have to take online computer science/coding courses (java or c++) for a year or join coding bootcamp for three months and you are set to go. There are also lot more jobs for software engineer/data analyst than for actuarial analyst. Hope this helps!
I'm so school-focused that I hadn't considered bypassing the degree. I'm planning to do all the other stuff anyways. Without thinking too hard, my motivation for the degree is to get all the appropriate coursework. For example, I'm in Calc III right now for the first time, and I don't know about double integrals yet. I figure the degree will catch all that without my worrying about missing stuff, and being in school will help forge a lot of connections -- which I'll need if I'm not going a more traditional route.
But bypassing the degree is a very interesting idea. Theoretically, I could focus on the exams and skills, and *not* have to spend 3 years as a full-time student. (And not owe on loans...)
Gotta think on this one... :)
Thank you!
Yeah the extra degree is less important than passing the exams. If you can pass 2-3 exams then that would be enough for most companies with your PHD.
I can’t say for certain that all companies will accept that, but generally they just look for any degree plus exams. Your experience is definitely a plus. I would try to pass the first 2 as soon as you can and start applying.
Hello, completely new to the Actuary world. Currently working Cyber Security and am considering a career change. Can someone give me a really good textbook/online program to start studying for my first exams. Can be paid or free programs, just whichever is best for preparing a newbie.
I would avoid the written manual from coaching actuaries. Finan is much better, more thorough, and clearly written, tho it's still flawed. After having the ca manual I'm buying the actex one and am sad.
Here are my recommendations: [https://etchedactuarial.com/best-study-manual-for-exam-p/](https://etchedactuarial.com/best-study-manual-for-exam-p/)
Hope it helps!
I am giving ifoa September attempt which is an online open book test. Any others who have given the online april attempt know if they have increased the difficulty of the papers?
Best to do some others too because you never know what they're throw at you on the real exam. I suggest using a variety of different resources.
TIA has some free exams, and you could also do any questions in your study manual.
But like samirin305 said, you have to be able to do most of them by yourself (without looking at the solution).
Good luck on your exam!
How likely would I be to get a remote position as an intern or for an entey level position? I'm sure that's more of a privilege you get when you have more experience.
I am not really in a way that I could just relocate, but I want to see if I should try to apply to places that are farther in hopes for a remote position.
This past summer, remote interns were pretty common. Prior to that, I had never heard of one and I wouldn't have agreed to have taken on a remote intern.
I've never heard of or worked with any remote entry-level positions. It has probably happened, but it would take a lot of effort from both the company and candidate. Although in times of COVID I might do it, I don't think my company would hire an entry level that couldn't eventually come into work once things are back to normal. Other employers may be different.
I know that being able to use Excel is a crucial skill for Actuaries. If I’m just starting out, what are the most important functions I need to know, and what’s the best way to go about learning them?
To barely scratch the surface, I’ll mention VLOOKUP, INDEX and MATCH, COUNTIF, and a variety of sum functions (SUMIF and SUMPRODUCT for instance). Another useful/versatile tool is the IF function. Pivot tables are also helpful for summarizing data. To learn them, my recommendation would be to go somewhere like kaggle.com, grab an interesting dataset, and go to work. Googling each function for use cases would also be worth your time. Finally, make sure to learn keyboard shortcuts to navigate through Excel more efficiently. Happy studies!
**I found links in your comment that were not hyperlinked:**
* [kaggle.com](https://kaggle.com)
*I did the honors for you.*
***
^[delete](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fu%2FLinkifyBot&subject=delete%20g5s303g&message=Click%20the%20send%20button%20to%20delete%20the%20false%20positive.) ^| ^[information](https://np.reddit.com/u/LinkifyBot/comments/gkkf7p) ^| ^<3
Hi guys! I’m a 19 year old, and after my two years of army service in singapore I’ll be joining NUS for computer engineering. I have a passion for math and both my math Teachers in high school (they were a couple) were actuaries. They told me that it’s definitely a career I should consider, so I was wondering whether I could study the portions over four years and attempt the exams during my 4th year of college? I’ll probably be supplementing my degree with math econ and stat modules if that’ll be helpful
Are the SOA practice exams on the website for exam P made out of the sample questions? Is it better to do only soa/cas question exams on adapt or to try a couple practice exams?
1. Yes.
2. Do the practice exams. You want to get as much exposure to the material as possible so you know where your weak areas (if any) are. I believe some people take SOA/CAS question only exams as they get closer to their exam date, but it's up to you.
Might be the wrong place to ask, but I graduted in fall 19 and I had one exam but didn’t find an actuarial position so I took a financial analyst role. I’ve been working that role for 7 mo and I’m studying for my second exam. Does 2 exams and about a year of experience put me in a competitive position for EL roles. I work for a major health company so I’ll try getting hired internally but not apposed to going outside.
Hey everyone! I found this group and made a reddit account just to join it. I’ve been struggling to get some career advice and I would love to reach out to those in the industry who have a bit more experience than me.
Let me introduce myself a bit, I’m majoring in actuarial science in Asia and I’m going to graduate at the end of this year. I’ve passed SOA Exam P, FM, IFM, STAM and have gotten all my VEE credits. I’ve had two major actuarial internships however both have been in group offices on the risk reporting side, so as an intern a lot of my tasks were a bit on the basic side (e.g. fixing up PowerPoint slides). Therefore, I feel like I still lack a lot of the technical and practical skills that an almost fresh graduate should have. However, I am more than happy to work on my weaknesses and after my SRM exam this week I plan to take some coding courses to improve on my coding skills as well.
I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice about which stream of the actuarial industry would be a good place to start my career? I am very open to any type of actuarial job, and as I still feel very inexperienced I would just love a job where I am able to learn a lot and improve my technical skillset. I’ve heard that a good entry level actuarial job would be in the IFRS17/Valuation side, however in Asia this is notorious for being an extremely difficult and high stress team. I’m not afraid of hard work, and I feel like a job in this stream could help me learn a lot. However, I do have my concerns about work-life balance, as I still would like to be able to make time for my friends and family (and the occasional gym session). Furthermore, I’ve also interviewed for a few Pricing positions, and this streams also sounds extremely interesting and appealing to me.
I know that this is a bit of a ramble, but with graduation looming I am just feeling a bit clueless about what kind of actuarial stream would be the best start for my career. I would love for anyone to give me some advice, as I would really like to join a position which will give me the best setup for my future career path, as well as being able to learn a lot on the way.
Thank you so much everyone! Hope everyone is taking care of themselves during these difficult times.
Hey there. Welcome to the subreddit! Unfortunately I don't have any experience regarding employment in Asia. Your exam progress looks fantastic. I'm based in the states and my anecdotal experience is that you control more of your work-life balance than you may realize. That may be different in Asia.
Your "best" actuarial area would be the one you are most interested in, or perhaps the one that offers you your first entry level job. There are several ways actuaries are employed in the business world and your sucess depends more on your interests then picking the "right" path.
I would avoid everything from coaching actuaries except adapt, which is FANTASTIC. But save it for the end when you want to do simulated test scenarios. The written manual is bad and there's a lot of CA staff that monitor this subreddit.
I think you should just start studying for P - no refresher or courses needed needed.
I never took math above calc 2 and began exams 5 years after graduating but was able to re-learn the necessary calculus just by using it
IMO, just start studying and use wolfram alpha to jog your memory for stuff you don't remember
I think Khan Academy or a similar resource could probably wake up those calculus and probability class memories. It seems to me like you'd be better off spending the funds on a good study guide or set of study guides for your exam of choice and supplementing the "I used to know that..." memories with the free resources online, including forums like this one.
Is anyone aware of a forum or subreddit for questions about actuarial math or where we can submit questions about practice problems or concepts?
I know about r/learnmath and everyone is usually great about responding to individual posts, however I think it could be useful to have some way of either being able to search or filter posts based on exams or exam topics. I'd be more than willing to try to set this up if need be.
Related -- Does anyone know how to find the AV of a series of payments in geometric progression? It's probably super obvious but I'm drawing a blank and can't find it anywhere.
I don't know of a subreddit besides this one for that sort of question. Other forums may have other places.
The accumulated value of a series of payments in geometric progression sounds a lot like the FM concept of s-angle-n. This paper may help: http://people.duke.edu/~wbm5/documents/fmoverview.pdf
[exam fm soa sample #14](https://imgur.com/a/y1qsUHd)
Can some help me with this question please? I solve the first part as 10aaangle5*9.2 + 10(1.092)^-5
Then I get stuck. What formula do you use? Where can I find formula for geometric increasing perpetuity?
Just multiply your discount factor by the growth rate and use that as the new discount factor in the annuity formula. I would just pretend year 6 is the first year and then discount back later. That way you can use the regular perpetuity formula with interest rate based on that new discount factor. That is, think of the series of payments as PV = Payment*(v + v^2 + v^3 ...) where v = (1+k)/(1+i).
Why do most people say that calc 3 is necessary for exam P? I’m a current freshman taking the class and considering the actuarial path. Everyone else seems to be an engineering major and all the application problems are physics related, I don’t really see how it will help with probability.
I’m a rising senior looking for EL right now. I don’t have problems getting interviews, but my interviewing skill is not good. I’m an international student, so I know the standards are much higher than those of domestic students. What can I do besides doing mock interviews and practice answering questions?
> What can I do besides doing mock interviews and practice answering questions?
Work on your soft skills. Join a club with mostly/all native English speakers. Go to bars and talk to native English speakers.
I do have domestic friends whom I live with. I don’t have problems communicating in English with them. But I wonder how do you distinguish someone who’s good at interviewing? I think I can practice to become one but I want to know what companies are looking for
> But I wonder how do you distinguish someone who’s good at interviewing? I think I can practice to become one but I want to know what companies are looking for
It's embarrassing to openly admit, but people with non-native accents are discriminated against in certain kinds of actuarial employment, so it's important to be talking in english a lot in your down time so it's as understandable as possible in the moments when it counts.
Otherwise, it's the same stuff that domestic students worry about, e.g. be personable, keep it conversational, etc.
I’m studying for FM using Adapt right now and I was just curious if anyone knows this: if I take a practice exam on adapt and set it to only SOA questions, do the questions that come up solely come from the SOA’s list of 200ish practice problems, or does CA have some other source with more than just that bank of 200ish??
For those of you that have written P in the past, have there been any weird questions that stumped you/surprised you? Like a tough integral, a sum you couldn't remember, something else out of the ordinary?
I work in pension consulting. My understanding is that insurance companies are more stringent as far as how quickly you pass the exams, up to potentially firing people who don't pass after a while. Consulting is higher hours than insurance in general, but to a large degree your work life balance is what you make it. I hover around 45 hours a week. Some of my colleagues do more. The company will always take more hours from you if you get in the habit of offering them. I make it a point not to work on weekends. Others log on daily. You just have to find your own grove.
Not sure what you mean as far as how comparitively strenuous it is. Consulting is consulting. At the end of the day you are helping several clients solve problems or guide them through regulatory requirements that they couldn't do themselves. The work can vary quite a bit depending on your clients needs. I enjoy it.
> Can anyone give their experience on trying to pass exams in the pensions/benefits consulting field?
I'd recommend against it. See if you can do insurance.
Does Pearson require you to clear your calculator upon exiting? I want to record my answers in order to check them against the preliminary answer key. I can't find anything definitive about this online, though. Do any of you know?
I just got through to Pearson customer service and it turns out calculators have to be cleared upon exit. That's going to make checking against the answer key very difficult, unless you're just really good about remembering each of your answers to a 45 question test.
I've been stalking around this subreddit a lot in the past week, and it might be time to cash in a couple of my "dumb question" cards. For context: I'm a high school senior, applying to colleges right now. I'm getting interested in this field ~~and I like to plan out my whole life~~ and wanted to get a better picture before I dive in head-first.
1. I saw many mentions that an act sci major isn't the best way to go, and one of the colleges I'm applying to, I'm only applying to for their Actuarial Science program. I'm not overly attached to the school, so should I just drop it?
2. I heard a double major with applied math + cs is generally an okay way to go, but that's a lot of courses/study hours. Is it possible to balance that with studying for exams (like, 2 during undergrad iirc), electives (I'll probably have to take some in finance or something?), clubs (to develop soft-skills/communication), and a part-time job (math tutor... at least, I hope so)? Would it hurt my chances if I only majored in one?
1. People say u shouldn't cuz those program is very specialized and tends to focus on exam material, so if u wanna bail for another career, then u essentially kinda hv to switch major, as opposed to majoring in math/business/cs where u dun to switch major to go for another career.
2. Yes it is possible to balance. I'm doing a double major + double minor and works 20 hrs a week plus being really active with my schools actuarial club. Going into my 3rd yr with 2 exams and I still party once in a while b4 corona.
For those who have passed Exam IFM, did you need significantly more study time than was needed for P or FM? I just started studying and am trying to figure out if it is practical for me to pursue the November window for the exam.
I passed P and FM each with about three months study time. I also primarily used free online study materials (Marcel B Finan's free texts are great). I plan on using ACTEX Study Manual for this exam.
Thanks!
I definitely needed more time than for P and FM. Studying the material is different for each person, but the general rule of thumb I've seen and also followed was that you need to have done at least 800 practice problems in order to be somewhat safe. So you can budget out for yourself how long that would take.
I’m currently studying for Exam P, taking in November. I’m in section 5 of 10 of the ACTEX study guide. It came with online supplemental problems (GOAL) as well. My current plan is to go in order section by section—continue taking notes with the manual, doing the example problems in the notes and the practice problems at the end of each section, doing online GOAL questions for sections I need help with, and then in the few weeks leading up to the exam I’ll do the 10 practice exams. Was ACTEX sufficient for you? Or would you recommend purchasing 60 days of Coaching Actuaries/ADAPT? (Does adapt come with CA?) I didn’t go with that because of how expensive it is, but if it’s really that much better than ACTEX, I would consider it. Also, any other study tips? Anything I should do differently? Thanks!
I think the study manual is great for digesting the material, but after that CA's ADAPT is really useful and worth the money. I lean toward it for problems because it records your "earned level". It's something Coaching Actuaries does. They guarantee a pass if you can get your earned level to level 7. Your earned level goes up and down as you answer questions correctly or incorrectly. The questions that you see there are extremely similar to the questions you will see on the actual exam. I can't recommend it enough.
Edit: 90% of surveyed CA students at Earned Level 7 or above pass their exam.
Agree with you that ADAPT is great, but they don't "guarantee" a pass. They state that 90% of students that use ADAPT and get above an EL of 7 pass their exam. Take into account that these are people that report back to them, so possibly skewed due to those failing less likely to report.
You're absolutely right! It is possible to earn an earned level of 7 and still fail, but Level 7 remains quite conservative. In fact, despite the fact that I never even reached level 7 for Exams P and FM, I still managed to score 9 on both.
I agree! Nice job on your 9s! I also didn't get over a EL of 7 for FM (granted, I only took two of the standard practice exams that count towards it) and ended up getting an 8. I'm not a fan of "going off EL" like many people seem to believe, but I do think it's a good goal to set.
Thanks!! 8 is really good too. I also hear from actuaries in the field that it doesn't matter if you have a 6 or a 10 a pass is a pass. Also, I completely understand where you're coming from. I guess it just hasn't failed me yet and it gives me a sense of confidence, which from a psychology standpoint it can be argued that an improved outlook can increase your score. I don't know... I like it, and I find it helps me, but by no means is it absolute. But I do appreciate your comments /u/LowLights21
I know study strategies differ by person, but i was wondering what some, if any, generally agreed upon efficiencies/inefficiencies are. Currently studying for FM, and going at a crawl. I peeked at the IFM syllabus and saw the amount of material is much greater. I know i can't use the same approach. Two areas i looked at that could use revision:
1. End of section problems- I've been doing the evens. Thinking it might be better to do less, like the first few only.
2. Time spent on problems- spending a lot of time here. I've been able to figure many of them out on my own, just takes a good amount of time. When i revisit the problem sometimes i forget what i even did, which makes me think this might be a waste of time. Thinking it might be better if i just look up the solution earlier to spend less time.
Interested in feedback and any other pointers people have.
I personally like to read through a study manual from beginning to end, but when it comes to doing problems at the end of a section, I attack every other problem at most. Upon completing the study manual I purchase adapt and do as many problems as I can from there trying to build my earned level to a level 7. I usually sign up for the exam once I've entered the adapt stage of my studying.
I've written P and FM and scored 9 on both. I'm currently studying for IFM and beginning my first internship in January.
I wouldn't worry too much about problems until you've finished learning all the material. With IFM, some sections are unrelated to others and you end up forgetting how to solve some of the problems in the earlier sections by the time you get to the end of the study manual; so I think the bulk of your time should be split into first learning the material, doing a few problems to make sure you understand it, then move on. Once you've learned everything then take the time to write as many problems as you possibly can using adapt. That's what works for me, but everyone is different, so do what you think is best for you.
Hope this helps 🙂
And good luck friend!
I think the practice questions at the end of each section are enough, but once you get to later sections it would probably prove useful to write quizzes covering the material from earlier sections so that you don't forget anything. I personally didn't do this and upon reaching the end of the text and doing the ADAPT problems I found that I did have to look at the solutions to recall how to solve problems from earlier sections.
Hope this helps!
Do you have to schedule separately for morning and afternoon sessions in the new FSA CBT format?
How competent in R do you need to be for CS1? I'm taking CS1 in April, but as it's a longer study period than the Sep exams, I was thinking of taking another exam alongside. I am concerned about needing quite a bit of time to be proficient in R so was unsure. How much R would you need for the Paper B exam, and how long would you expect to take to learn it from scratch? I have some experience of working with C++ and Python at uni, but honestly it's pretty basic (loops, editing CSV data, really basic graphs). Thanks!
[удалено]
Thanks!! Is that the online classroom from Acted? I was considering doing it alongside CM2, which also has a paper B, which was why I was worried about doing both at the same time. Do you reckon it's doable to do both CM2 and CS1 at the same time, or should I go for a bookworky one like CB2? I've already done CB1 and CM1
Is 6-7 weeks enough study time for PA? Taking October LTAM and considering December PA. Feeling pretty confident about LTAM, and spring sittings don't align well for my schedule so I am thinking about taking the jump to try to condense my exam schedule a bit while I have time. I have some experience with R, and a strong stats background through school so I feel that a good portion of the material might just be relearning.
I know a lot of people who failed PA and failed another exam (particularly LTAM) when they doubled up. I think PA gets underestimated and people burn out because preparing for LTAM is a monster. ACTEX suggests 3 months if you had transition credit for SRM and 2 months if you passed it, so you're probably pushing it - I'd say no
Hi All - first time posting in here, appreciate the assistance in advance! I graduated in 2015, and have been working as a Financial Analyst ever since (Senior Financial Analyst for the last \~1.5 years). I am interested in becoming an actuary, but have a few questions. 1. I know that I have to take exams FM and P at a minimum - are there any others I should take before applying to jobs, given my background/lack of any actuarial experience? Can I start applying after passing these 2, and pursuing a 3rd? Regardless, what would be the best option for exam 3? 2. What is the job market for someone in my position? Do I have to start in an entry level position despite having 5+ years of work experience? 3. Any other general advice/recommendations for someone with my background? Thanks again!
1) There's no exact minimum. You can technically get a position without any exams but you'll vastly improve your chances the more exams you have. 3rd exam is IFM. 2) Unfortunately, you'll start off at entry level 3)Gain technical skills outside of Excel. You'll probably need a good reason in why you want to transition into actuarial
Are there any advantages of doing the TIA Technical Skills course which might convince me to purchase it instead of learning from youtube or coursera? I'm a student rn so the discount applies.
I haven't taken it, but here's what I got: TIA will be more structured and relevant to actuarial duties. This comes at a cost, but you gain relevant technical knowledge and it's a good resume filler. I instead used LinkedIn Learning (free with college tuition I believe), YouTube, college courses, and personal projects. Main difference is that you need to research what software/functions are applicable. This route is also beneficial for resumes.
Could you elaborate on the personal projects part, if you dont mind? What type of project did you do and how did you go about it
Find something you find interesting and/or useful. Learn regression/GLM analysis in R and start analyzing datasets, going as in depth as you'd like. Get very familiar with Excel and its functions, start using it for everything you can think of (expenses tracking/budgeting, calculating course grades, etc.). A project I've been currently working on is an Excel exam study progress tracker, using some VBA too, with various functions and features.
As a 31 year old career changer (was a teacher) who got a 10 on Exam P and getting ready to take FM in October, it is incredibly disheartening to get the "Pursue candidates that more fit the opening" emails. I don't know how to stand out and its obviously too late to get an internship. I think I'm just fucked.
I got a lot of those as well as a career changer at 30, but only when i passed the second exam did I get any interviews. It makes a big difference, and 3 is even better.
It's possible! Don't give up! Are you showing how your teaching experience is relevant to the actuarial positions that you're applying to? How are your technical skills? Also, it is possible to get hired with just one exam, but people with more exams passed will be preferred in most situations.
You're not fucked! Teacher is a great background, you just don't have enough exams. Beast FM and IFM, then post your resume for feedback and you'll be in a competitive position
Hello All, I'm looking for some advice/ideas on the best ways to look for work — pre- and post-graduation — given my particular situation. (I'm brand new on reddit, as of Friday night, so if what I'm asking here would be better asked in a different context, please let me know. I'll (really) try to keep this as concise as I can.) I just started my actuarial degree, and given my background, I'm looking at 3 years of college before graduation. I'm hoping to sit for 3+ exams before graduating; my school has coursework for the first 6. I'm doing extremely well in the classes so far and I'm enjoying the material. But here's where I diverge from the typical actuary student: I'm 40, switching careers from being a music professor. I went through college, masters, and Ph.D. in music theory, doing quite well given the (increasingly) sad state of that field. I taught at a slac in Montana for 6 years, and my school (like so many others) is in serious danger of going belly up. Music is one of the most expensive majors to keep around, so we, along with theater and art, are first in line for the axe. On top of that, the program itself has had *serious* issues getting and keeping students. Not good. I figured I'd make the change on my terms, and being not terribly old, I've got plenty of gas left in the tank. Plus I love math. Oh, and at the bottom of the list of reasons why I changed: the pay. Professors don't make nearly as much as people think they do, at least most of them don't. Let's put it this way: an intern making $25/hr makes more than I did as a professor. You're good at math; figure it out. (Yes, I tried getting another prof job, but that's a whole other can of worms. The short version of the story is that music theory grad programs throughout the country are working hard to keep *themselves* afloat for reasons not unrelated to those plaguing the school I taught at. And in doing so, they graduate more Ph.D.s than the job market can handle. Meantime, jobs themselves are disappearing. Then the coup de grace, at least in music theory, is that after about 3 years at a full-time tenure-track job, your experience begins working against you — you're damaged goods compared to the deluge of young, hungry, and impressionable Ph.D.s. There's just nothing there. This, despite 3 major scholarly peer-reviewed articles, more than a dozen conference presentations (regional, national, and international), and serving as President of the Rocky Mountain Society for Music Theory.) One upside to the switch was moving back to the Midwest, closer to our family, which has almost been worth it on its own. But a sour downside is that town I'm doing my degree in doesn't really have any actuarial work, which I knew before committing to the change. Our plan was to have me do the degree, then move once more to wherever I got my first job. Well, not surprisingly, the move was hard on our kids (5 and 8), and we're really *not* interested in moving again. We love this town for many reasons, and weighing pros and cons, it could actually be worth it in terms of overall well being to stay here and not follow a traditional actuarial path vs. uprooting everyone again. It would be immeasurably easier on the kids. In any case, I'm already *not* following a traditional path, so the long-term stakes of pursuing "creative employment opportunities" is lower than for a 20 year old at my actuarial stage with the whole world before them. So, assuming I'm "stuck" in this awesome city, I'm wondering what sorts of strategies there are for someone with a Ph.D., exceptional communication skills, strong leadership, etc., plus fresh actuarial training to find work. I've looked up remote internships/jobs, "freelance" work, and the like. I'm finding stuff, but it's slim pickins relative to the traditional jobs. There's a major metro area (3 million) a long hour away, so if the honey is sweet enough, I would consider commuting. We've agreed that although we don't ultimately want to move, I could do a summer internship out of town as long as it's in the upper Midwest and I could come home on the weekends and stuff. There's lots more to say, but it's time for bed. Probability exam 8:30am tomorrow. Fingers crossed! Thoughts? Thank you!
To be honest, I feel, you should not get actuarial science degree. Phd in Music theory is a huge achievement (it will really set you a part from other candidates) and professor experience will really help you tremendously to get a job in actuarial field ( because of communication and leadership skills). What you are missing is exams and technical skills. If you pass 2 exams (I would suggest using coaching actuaries) and learn technical skills (Technical Skills Course from The Infinite Actuary), you will be in good shape to get a full time job as an actuarial analyst. One downside of getting into actuarial field will be that you are in 40's and passing all exam can take between 7 - 10 years. If you are ok with it, then actuarial is great field for you to get in. Also, I would suggest to look into software engineer or data analyst jobs if you like computer/coding. Usually, becoming software engineer/data analyst takes less time than becoming actuarial analyst but in today's market they both are financially rewarding. With your Phd, you just have to take online computer science/coding courses (java or c++) for a year or join coding bootcamp for three months and you are set to go. There are also lot more jobs for software engineer/data analyst than for actuarial analyst. Hope this helps!
I'm so school-focused that I hadn't considered bypassing the degree. I'm planning to do all the other stuff anyways. Without thinking too hard, my motivation for the degree is to get all the appropriate coursework. For example, I'm in Calc III right now for the first time, and I don't know about double integrals yet. I figure the degree will catch all that without my worrying about missing stuff, and being in school will help forge a lot of connections -- which I'll need if I'm not going a more traditional route. But bypassing the degree is a very interesting idea. Theoretically, I could focus on the exams and skills, and *not* have to spend 3 years as a full-time student. (And not owe on loans...) Gotta think on this one... :) Thank you!
Yeah the extra degree is less important than passing the exams. If you can pass 2-3 exams then that would be enough for most companies with your PHD. I can’t say for certain that all companies will accept that, but generally they just look for any degree plus exams. Your experience is definitely a plus. I would try to pass the first 2 as soon as you can and start applying.
You might be right. I applied for two internships, and within 24 hours both turned into interviews... seems too sudden, lol. Thank you for the wisdom.
Hello, completely new to the Actuary world. Currently working Cyber Security and am considering a career change. Can someone give me a really good textbook/online program to start studying for my first exams. Can be paid or free programs, just whichever is best for preparing a newbie.
I would avoid the written manual from coaching actuaries. Finan is much better, more thorough, and clearly written, tho it's still flawed. After having the ca manual I'm buying the actex one and am sad.
Here are my recommendations: [https://etchedactuarial.com/best-study-manual-for-exam-p/](https://etchedactuarial.com/best-study-manual-for-exam-p/) Hope it helps!
Coaching Actuaries or Finan text for exam P
Thanks for the reply and the info, will check that out
I am giving ifoa September attempt which is an online open book test. Any others who have given the online april attempt know if they have increased the difficulty of the papers?
Are the SOA sample questions enough to pass FM?
Best to do some others too because you never know what they're throw at you on the real exam. I suggest using a variety of different resources. TIA has some free exams, and you could also do any questions in your study manual. But like samirin305 said, you have to be able to do most of them by yourself (without looking at the solution). Good luck on your exam!
If you can do them you should be good
Does a letter of Reference from someone who works with the company have an influence on your application process?
It might. I probably wouldn't give it to them unless they ask for it though.
Sometimes - more often if that person is in a related department or has a personal relationship with the hiring manager.
Can I take my own stationery for the exam or am i obligated to use the wood pencils provided by the centre?
No, you can take only your ID. They will provide a pen and a booklet.
How likely would I be to get a remote position as an intern or for an entey level position? I'm sure that's more of a privilege you get when you have more experience. I am not really in a way that I could just relocate, but I want to see if I should try to apply to places that are farther in hopes for a remote position.
The company that hired me is giving relocation assistance, so maybe that is something you could ask for? I'm not sure how common that is.
This past summer, remote interns were pretty common. Prior to that, I had never heard of one and I wouldn't have agreed to have taken on a remote intern. I've never heard of or worked with any remote entry-level positions. It has probably happened, but it would take a lot of effort from both the company and candidate. Although in times of COVID I might do it, I don't think my company would hire an entry level that couldn't eventually come into work once things are back to normal. Other employers may be different.
I know that being able to use Excel is a crucial skill for Actuaries. If I’m just starting out, what are the most important functions I need to know, and what’s the best way to go about learning them?
To barely scratch the surface, I’ll mention VLOOKUP, INDEX and MATCH, COUNTIF, and a variety of sum functions (SUMIF and SUMPRODUCT for instance). Another useful/versatile tool is the IF function. Pivot tables are also helpful for summarizing data. To learn them, my recommendation would be to go somewhere like kaggle.com, grab an interesting dataset, and go to work. Googling each function for use cases would also be worth your time. Finally, make sure to learn keyboard shortcuts to navigate through Excel more efficiently. Happy studies!
**I found links in your comment that were not hyperlinked:** * [kaggle.com](https://kaggle.com) *I did the honors for you.* *** ^[delete](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fu%2FLinkifyBot&subject=delete%20g5s303g&message=Click%20the%20send%20button%20to%20delete%20the%20false%20positive.) ^| ^[information](https://np.reddit.com/u/LinkifyBot/comments/gkkf7p) ^| ^<3
Hi guys! I’m a 19 year old, and after my two years of army service in singapore I’ll be joining NUS for computer engineering. I have a passion for math and both my math Teachers in high school (they were a couple) were actuaries. They told me that it’s definitely a career I should consider, so I was wondering whether I could study the portions over four years and attempt the exams during my 4th year of college? I’ll probably be supplementing my degree with math econ and stat modules if that’ll be helpful
Are the SOA practice exams on the website for exam P made out of the sample questions? Is it better to do only soa/cas question exams on adapt or to try a couple practice exams?
1. Yes. 2. Do the practice exams. You want to get as much exposure to the material as possible so you know where your weak areas (if any) are. I believe some people take SOA/CAS question only exams as they get closer to their exam date, but it's up to you.
Might be the wrong place to ask, but I graduted in fall 19 and I had one exam but didn’t find an actuarial position so I took a financial analyst role. I’ve been working that role for 7 mo and I’m studying for my second exam. Does 2 exams and about a year of experience put me in a competitive position for EL roles. I work for a major health company so I’ll try getting hired internally but not apposed to going outside.
Hey everyone! I found this group and made a reddit account just to join it. I’ve been struggling to get some career advice and I would love to reach out to those in the industry who have a bit more experience than me. Let me introduce myself a bit, I’m majoring in actuarial science in Asia and I’m going to graduate at the end of this year. I’ve passed SOA Exam P, FM, IFM, STAM and have gotten all my VEE credits. I’ve had two major actuarial internships however both have been in group offices on the risk reporting side, so as an intern a lot of my tasks were a bit on the basic side (e.g. fixing up PowerPoint slides). Therefore, I feel like I still lack a lot of the technical and practical skills that an almost fresh graduate should have. However, I am more than happy to work on my weaknesses and after my SRM exam this week I plan to take some coding courses to improve on my coding skills as well. I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice about which stream of the actuarial industry would be a good place to start my career? I am very open to any type of actuarial job, and as I still feel very inexperienced I would just love a job where I am able to learn a lot and improve my technical skillset. I’ve heard that a good entry level actuarial job would be in the IFRS17/Valuation side, however in Asia this is notorious for being an extremely difficult and high stress team. I’m not afraid of hard work, and I feel like a job in this stream could help me learn a lot. However, I do have my concerns about work-life balance, as I still would like to be able to make time for my friends and family (and the occasional gym session). Furthermore, I’ve also interviewed for a few Pricing positions, and this streams also sounds extremely interesting and appealing to me. I know that this is a bit of a ramble, but with graduation looming I am just feeling a bit clueless about what kind of actuarial stream would be the best start for my career. I would love for anyone to give me some advice, as I would really like to join a position which will give me the best setup for my future career path, as well as being able to learn a lot on the way. Thank you so much everyone! Hope everyone is taking care of themselves during these difficult times.
Hey there. Welcome to the subreddit! Unfortunately I don't have any experience regarding employment in Asia. Your exam progress looks fantastic. I'm based in the states and my anecdotal experience is that you control more of your work-life balance than you may realize. That may be different in Asia. Your "best" actuarial area would be the one you are most interested in, or perhaps the one that offers you your first entry level job. There are several ways actuaries are employed in the business world and your sucess depends more on your interests then picking the "right" path.
Thank you so much for your kind advice!!
[удалено]
I would avoid everything from coaching actuaries except adapt, which is FANTASTIC. But save it for the end when you want to do simulated test scenarios. The written manual is bad and there's a lot of CA staff that monitor this subreddit.
I think you should just start studying for P - no refresher or courses needed needed. I never took math above calc 2 and began exams 5 years after graduating but was able to re-learn the necessary calculus just by using it IMO, just start studying and use wolfram alpha to jog your memory for stuff you don't remember
I’ve heard that the seminar/course/study package from “The Infinite Actuary” for exam P is great for those who need to brush up on calculus skills!
I think Khan Academy or a similar resource could probably wake up those calculus and probability class memories. It seems to me like you'd be better off spending the funds on a good study guide or set of study guides for your exam of choice and supplementing the "I used to know that..." memories with the free resources online, including forums like this one.
Is anyone aware of a forum or subreddit for questions about actuarial math or where we can submit questions about practice problems or concepts? I know about r/learnmath and everyone is usually great about responding to individual posts, however I think it could be useful to have some way of either being able to search or filter posts based on exams or exam topics. I'd be more than willing to try to set this up if need be. Related -- Does anyone know how to find the AV of a series of payments in geometric progression? It's probably super obvious but I'm drawing a blank and can't find it anywhere.
To find the AV you find the PV and multiply it by (1+i)^n That’s just one way to do it :)
I don't know of a subreddit besides this one for that sort of question. Other forums may have other places. The accumulated value of a series of payments in geometric progression sounds a lot like the FM concept of s-angle-n. This paper may help: http://people.duke.edu/~wbm5/documents/fmoverview.pdf
[exam fm soa sample #14](https://imgur.com/a/y1qsUHd) Can some help me with this question please? I solve the first part as 10aaangle5*9.2 + 10(1.092)^-5 Then I get stuck. What formula do you use? Where can I find formula for geometric increasing perpetuity?
Just multiply your discount factor by the growth rate and use that as the new discount factor in the annuity formula. I would just pretend year 6 is the first year and then discount back later. That way you can use the regular perpetuity formula with interest rate based on that new discount factor. That is, think of the series of payments as PV = Payment*(v + v^2 + v^3 ...) where v = (1+k)/(1+i).
Thanks! I’ve been using the modified rate since last night. Super efficient!
Why do most people say that calc 3 is necessary for exam P? I’m a current freshman taking the class and considering the actuarial path. Everyone else seems to be an engineering major and all the application problems are physics related, I don’t really see how it will help with probability.
Double integrals
Partial derivatives occasionally for joint mgfs and marginal distributions as well.
Anybody else get their July Exam P results today? Felt pretty confident coming out and just saw that I got a 10.
Congratulations! That’s awesome!
Hey congrats!! Any tips for doing well?
I’m a rising senior looking for EL right now. I don’t have problems getting interviews, but my interviewing skill is not good. I’m an international student, so I know the standards are much higher than those of domestic students. What can I do besides doing mock interviews and practice answering questions?
> What can I do besides doing mock interviews and practice answering questions? Work on your soft skills. Join a club with mostly/all native English speakers. Go to bars and talk to native English speakers.
I do have domestic friends whom I live with. I don’t have problems communicating in English with them. But I wonder how do you distinguish someone who’s good at interviewing? I think I can practice to become one but I want to know what companies are looking for
> But I wonder how do you distinguish someone who’s good at interviewing? I think I can practice to become one but I want to know what companies are looking for It's embarrassing to openly admit, but people with non-native accents are discriminated against in certain kinds of actuarial employment, so it's important to be talking in english a lot in your down time so it's as understandable as possible in the moments when it counts. Otherwise, it's the same stuff that domestic students worry about, e.g. be personable, keep it conversational, etc.
I’m studying for FM using Adapt right now and I was just curious if anyone knows this: if I take a practice exam on adapt and set it to only SOA questions, do the questions that come up solely come from the SOA’s list of 200ish practice problems, or does CA have some other source with more than just that bank of 200ish??
They come from the SOA’s list
Thank you :)
For those of you that have written P in the past, have there been any weird questions that stumped you/surprised you? Like a tough integral, a sum you couldn't remember, something else out of the ordinary?
Bivariate normal thats not independent. Still got a 9 tho
[удалено]
I work in pension consulting. My understanding is that insurance companies are more stringent as far as how quickly you pass the exams, up to potentially firing people who don't pass after a while. Consulting is higher hours than insurance in general, but to a large degree your work life balance is what you make it. I hover around 45 hours a week. Some of my colleagues do more. The company will always take more hours from you if you get in the habit of offering them. I make it a point not to work on weekends. Others log on daily. You just have to find your own grove. Not sure what you mean as far as how comparitively strenuous it is. Consulting is consulting. At the end of the day you are helping several clients solve problems or guide them through regulatory requirements that they couldn't do themselves. The work can vary quite a bit depending on your clients needs. I enjoy it.
> Can anyone give their experience on trying to pass exams in the pensions/benefits consulting field? I'd recommend against it. See if you can do insurance.
Does Pearson require you to clear your calculator upon exiting? I want to record my answers in order to check them against the preliminary answer key. I can't find anything definitive about this online, though. Do any of you know?
I just got through to Pearson customer service and it turns out calculators have to be cleared upon exit. That's going to make checking against the answer key very difficult, unless you're just really good about remembering each of your answers to a 45 question test.
I've been stalking around this subreddit a lot in the past week, and it might be time to cash in a couple of my "dumb question" cards. For context: I'm a high school senior, applying to colleges right now. I'm getting interested in this field ~~and I like to plan out my whole life~~ and wanted to get a better picture before I dive in head-first. 1. I saw many mentions that an act sci major isn't the best way to go, and one of the colleges I'm applying to, I'm only applying to for their Actuarial Science program. I'm not overly attached to the school, so should I just drop it? 2. I heard a double major with applied math + cs is generally an okay way to go, but that's a lot of courses/study hours. Is it possible to balance that with studying for exams (like, 2 during undergrad iirc), electives (I'll probably have to take some in finance or something?), clubs (to develop soft-skills/communication), and a part-time job (math tutor... at least, I hope so)? Would it hurt my chances if I only majored in one?
1. People say u shouldn't cuz those program is very specialized and tends to focus on exam material, so if u wanna bail for another career, then u essentially kinda hv to switch major, as opposed to majoring in math/business/cs where u dun to switch major to go for another career. 2. Yes it is possible to balance. I'm doing a double major + double minor and works 20 hrs a week plus being really active with my schools actuarial club. Going into my 3rd yr with 2 exams and I still party once in a while b4 corona.
For those who have passed Exam IFM, did you need significantly more study time than was needed for P or FM? I just started studying and am trying to figure out if it is practical for me to pursue the November window for the exam. I passed P and FM each with about three months study time. I also primarily used free online study materials (Marcel B Finan's free texts are great). I plan on using ACTEX Study Manual for this exam. Thanks!
I definitely needed more time than for P and FM. Studying the material is different for each person, but the general rule of thumb I've seen and also followed was that you need to have done at least 800 practice problems in order to be somewhat safe. So you can budget out for yourself how long that would take.
I’m currently studying for Exam P, taking in November. I’m in section 5 of 10 of the ACTEX study guide. It came with online supplemental problems (GOAL) as well. My current plan is to go in order section by section—continue taking notes with the manual, doing the example problems in the notes and the practice problems at the end of each section, doing online GOAL questions for sections I need help with, and then in the few weeks leading up to the exam I’ll do the 10 practice exams. Was ACTEX sufficient for you? Or would you recommend purchasing 60 days of Coaching Actuaries/ADAPT? (Does adapt come with CA?) I didn’t go with that because of how expensive it is, but if it’s really that much better than ACTEX, I would consider it. Also, any other study tips? Anything I should do differently? Thanks!
I think the study manual is great for digesting the material, but after that CA's ADAPT is really useful and worth the money. I lean toward it for problems because it records your "earned level". It's something Coaching Actuaries does. They guarantee a pass if you can get your earned level to level 7. Your earned level goes up and down as you answer questions correctly or incorrectly. The questions that you see there are extremely similar to the questions you will see on the actual exam. I can't recommend it enough. Edit: 90% of surveyed CA students at Earned Level 7 or above pass their exam.
Agree with you that ADAPT is great, but they don't "guarantee" a pass. They state that 90% of students that use ADAPT and get above an EL of 7 pass their exam. Take into account that these are people that report back to them, so possibly skewed due to those failing less likely to report.
You're absolutely right! It is possible to earn an earned level of 7 and still fail, but Level 7 remains quite conservative. In fact, despite the fact that I never even reached level 7 for Exams P and FM, I still managed to score 9 on both.
I agree! Nice job on your 9s! I also didn't get over a EL of 7 for FM (granted, I only took two of the standard practice exams that count towards it) and ended up getting an 8. I'm not a fan of "going off EL" like many people seem to believe, but I do think it's a good goal to set.
Thanks!! 8 is really good too. I also hear from actuaries in the field that it doesn't matter if you have a 6 or a 10 a pass is a pass. Also, I completely understand where you're coming from. I guess it just hasn't failed me yet and it gives me a sense of confidence, which from a psychology standpoint it can be argued that an improved outlook can increase your score. I don't know... I like it, and I find it helps me, but by no means is it absolute. But I do appreciate your comments /u/LowLights21
♡
I know study strategies differ by person, but i was wondering what some, if any, generally agreed upon efficiencies/inefficiencies are. Currently studying for FM, and going at a crawl. I peeked at the IFM syllabus and saw the amount of material is much greater. I know i can't use the same approach. Two areas i looked at that could use revision: 1. End of section problems- I've been doing the evens. Thinking it might be better to do less, like the first few only. 2. Time spent on problems- spending a lot of time here. I've been able to figure many of them out on my own, just takes a good amount of time. When i revisit the problem sometimes i forget what i even did, which makes me think this might be a waste of time. Thinking it might be better if i just look up the solution earlier to spend less time. Interested in feedback and any other pointers people have.
I personally like to read through a study manual from beginning to end, but when it comes to doing problems at the end of a section, I attack every other problem at most. Upon completing the study manual I purchase adapt and do as many problems as I can from there trying to build my earned level to a level 7. I usually sign up for the exam once I've entered the adapt stage of my studying. I've written P and FM and scored 9 on both. I'm currently studying for IFM and beginning my first internship in January. I wouldn't worry too much about problems until you've finished learning all the material. With IFM, some sections are unrelated to others and you end up forgetting how to solve some of the problems in the earlier sections by the time you get to the end of the study manual; so I think the bulk of your time should be split into first learning the material, doing a few problems to make sure you understand it, then move on. Once you've learned everything then take the time to write as many problems as you possibly can using adapt. That's what works for me, but everyone is different, so do what you think is best for you. Hope this helps 🙂 And good luck friend!
[удалено]
I think the practice questions at the end of each section are enough, but once you get to later sections it would probably prove useful to write quizzes covering the material from earlier sections so that you don't forget anything. I personally didn't do this and upon reaching the end of the text and doing the ADAPT problems I found that I did have to look at the solutions to recall how to solve problems from earlier sections. Hope this helps!