Becoming an Actuary

X

XabiAlonso

Guest
Hi
I am considering becoming an actuary and was wondering was it possible to get an actuarial position even if you dont have any actuarial exams passed. Would having a certain amount of experience in an Area - Reinsurance for example, be seen as being as important as having exams passed. Would companies be willing to take on students with no exams at all and train them up.
On that note what is the best way to register for exams? I know that it is a lot easier to apply for an actuarial position if you have only 1 exam passed. Where can these courses be done - is it a distant learning course? I assume that it is the UK exams that Irish students do and not US exams.

Thanks in advance
Xabi
 
Hi Xabi (Great white hope in the 'pool midfield next season....?)

The company I work for has a bunch of trainee actuaries working for them. They are employed in the following areas (aside from some of the usual):

  • Actuarial reporting
  • Pricing
  • Other miscellaneous actuarial operations that I cannot think of now!
To be honest, a lot of them are invloved in quite a bit of non-scientific type number crunching, and I don't think it's that hard to pick up. I would imagine that most employers would request a Maths/Finance degree as a basic enyry requirement for someone who wants to go on to be an actuary.

Hope this helps, and best of luck.
 

Hi Xabi,

Yes it is possible, but obviously more difficult. If you have some sort of relevant experience that is a big help. Some companies would value the experience more than having an exam or two as long as they can see you are committed.

To register for exams you would need to contact the actuarial Institute: www.actuaries.org.uk
 
Hola Xabi,

por favor no deje liverpool para convertirse en un actuario. Sé que había una mala temporada el año pasado pero las cosas será mejor la próxima temporada cuando usted gana la liga con liverpool.
 
Xabi

What degree level do you have? You really would need a maths heavy degree 2.1 minimum. And we would also look at Leaving Cert ( or equivalent) results. Again at least a B in honours English and Maths, but most canditates would have the A for Maths.

Your experience would count for you. But be prepared to set aside the next 7 years for studying!

On the exams - they are the UK ones that Irish students sit. Home study mostly though some face to face tutorials can be arranged, but more of going through exam questions etc - they assume you have the course covered.

For more details on the exams etc - www.actuaries.org.uk - and look at the student section. Also www.acted.co.uk is the site for where you get the study material.

D
 
The original post is dated 2005 so I guess he may actually be an actuary by now!
 
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