What do you think makes a move to get a ASA (Associate of Society of Acuturies)? IT is said lot of actuaries actually work in risk management and investment valuation.
An actuary is some one who wanted to be an accountant but did not have the personality for it.
Joe, in what sense? I always thought that becoming an actuary is a lot more diffucult than becoming an accountant.
so which is it: acturaries, acuturies, or actuaries?
former trader Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Joe, in what sense? > > I always thought that becoming an actuary is a lot > more diffucult than becoming an accountant. Due to the low public profile of the job, the most recognisable actuaries are infact characters in movies. e.g About Schmidt, Escape Clause and so many others:)
thems Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > so which is it: acturaries, acuturies, or > actuaries? I think it depends with where you come from - some of these are errors of original entry:)
Actuary is a fine profession - the tests are challenging and you need to start when you are young.
Define young? A friend of mine is seriously considering signing up for the first actuarial exam to make a career change. He’s currently 30 years old and is having a tough time with his decision.
30 is too old to be taking tests
The fully qualified actuaries probably look down on the CFA exams. Unless your friend is still up on his/her maths at a high level, 30 may be a bit old to start this program from scratch. Don’t know the details though.
Ok ok… If you have a strong math background, you could start at 30 but it would take a higher commitment and longer time than CFA exams. I would wait to see what happens to insurance companies since they are the largest employers of actuaries. Also note that actuarial profession is very specialized in nature. CFA is a lot more recognized.
former trader Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Joe, in what sense? > > I always thought that becoming an actuary is a lot > more diffucult than becoming an accountant. you totally missed his wisecrack
I am in my 30s, but since I recently got MFE, math is not going to be too hard. Am I too old to pick up this profession? I want to work in the investment management devision in an insurance firm.
Thanks to CFAI, there are probably (now) considerably fewer qualified actuaries than people holding the CFA designation, but more than a few actuaries have it. I’d try to find one of their bulletin boards to ask about getting through their exams. By and large, people here are trying to get through the CFA exams. The actuarial exams are in a different league.
TheEconomist Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thanks to CFAI, there are probably (now) > considerably fewer qualified actuaries than > people holding the CFA designation, but more than > a few actuaries have it. I’d try to find one of > their bulletin boards to ask about getting through > their exams. By and large, people here are > trying to get through the CFA exams. The > actuarial exams are in a different league. I’ve heard some very different explanations from people familiar with both. As with anything, it comes down to your background. Ask JDV about the difficulty between the two.
Black Swan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > TheEconomist Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Thanks to CFAI, there are probably (now) > > considerably fewer qualified actuaries than > > people holding the CFA designation, but more > than > > a few actuaries have it. I’d try to find one > of > > their bulletin boards to ask about getting > through > > their exams. By and large, people here are > > trying to get through the CFA exams. The > > actuarial exams are in a different league. > > > I’ve heard some very different explanations from > people familiar with both. As with anything, it > comes down to your background. Ask JDV about the > difficulty between the two. JDV has also passed the actuary exams? What hasn’t he done?
In JDV’s breadth of experience (which really is pretty large), there are some things you surely do not want to try or have happen to you. Actuarial exams are tougher unless you are a serious math geek with a real problem with accounting rules or something. The big difference is that passing actuarial exams is something that gets lots of support from your company while CFA exams usually don’t. In many jobs, you are expected to be spending time at work studying for actuarial exams, for instance. It’s still that sort-of advanced undergraduate type work all the way through though.
What is the compensation and job prospects like compared between CFA and Acturay?
comparable on average, but I would say actuary is less variability.
MFE22 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What is the compensation and job prospects like > compared between CFA and Acturay? http://www.dwsimpson.com/salary.html http://www.cfainstitute.org/memresources/career/surveys.html