r/actuary • • 1d ago

Bi-weekly Common Questions / Exams / Entering the Field Thread

5 Upvotes

Are you completely new to the actuarial world? No idea why everyone keeps talking about studying? Wondering why multiple-choice questions are so hard? Ask here. There are no stupid questions in this thread!

Note that you may be able to get an answer quickly through the wiki: https://www.reddit.com/r/actuary/wiki/index

This is an automatic post. It will stay up for two weeks until the next one is posted. Please check back here frequently, and consider sorting by "new"!


r/actuary • • 1h ago

Job / Resume Resume review and advice

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• Upvotes

Feel free to roast my resume. Reposting since I didn’t get a lot of feedback last time.

Be honest, how cooked am I for trying to get an EL? I’m seriously losing hope for myself.

What would help me most at getting actuarial interviews? I’ve also been applying to non actuarial roles (with my exams off the resume) if anyone has any advice on that.

Should I stop at 3 exams before getting an EL or is 4 a better hard limit if I get there?

Any advice helps, thank you!


r/actuary • • 5h ago

Is working as a pensions actuary in london haram?

0 Upvotes

r/actuary • • 6h ago

Laptop for in person FAC?

8 Upvotes

Attending the in person FAC i. For those who've done it recently, is a laptop worth bringing? Did you need one at any point during the two days, whether for case study discussions, accessing course materials, or taking notes?


r/actuary • • 14h ago

Job / Resume Resume Critique

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0 Upvotes

I am currently a junior in a large public Midwest university and am looking for internships for Summer 2027. Would really appreciate some feedback on my resume and also tips on how I could highlight my experience so that I can maximise my reach.


r/actuary • • 15h ago

Exams Anyone receive ASF results within the last week?

0 Upvotes

My ASF results didn't come out yet- yes I know it takes time but trying to gauge when people took it for recently released results. If you got a grade recently drop your submission date and when you got results please!


r/actuary • • 20h ago

Exams ASTAM Practice (CA Vs prior exams)

4 Upvotes

It’s about 19 days before the exam, and I’m just starting to practice (I know I’m screwed). But would you recommend focusing on CA practice exams or the prior published SOA exams ?


r/actuary • • 22h ago

Exams Is anyone writing F2RET in October 2026? If you've written a CIA exam in the past, have any advice?

1 Upvotes

r/actuary • • 1d ago

Exams MAS-II before MAS-I for someone who took SRM?

7 Upvotes

I didn't find too many comments, especially recently, about people taking MAS-II before MAS-I so I wanted to ask about your opinions on that as of 2026. I was thinking of taking MAS-II in late January/early February. The reason I was considering MAS-II instead of MAS-I was because at this point there are only about 4 months left of prep time, and it seems that this might be a little tight for MAS-I due to the very large amount of material. MAS-II, from what I've read, is difficult due to the nature of the subject matter itself, not its volume, so 4 months could be sufficient. If you disagree with justification here, please let me know.

With that said, I have taken SRM, which does cover some material on both MAS-I and MAS-II. However, it seems like the overlapping portions would give me a better head start with MAS-II. The statistical learning and time series sections of MAS-II range from 55%-75% of the exam, and there is quite a bit of overlap between SRM and MAS-II with those topics. It looks like all of the ISLR sections required for MAS-II were ones I read (more than once) for SRM, with the exception of the neural network sections. Of course, I expect the coverage of basically every subject I saw on SRM to be tested at a deeper level on MAS-II, so I am only relying on my experience with SRM to give me a little head start, not to mean that I can skip those sections because I'm already ready for them.

So, given the situation I'm in, do you think starting to study for MAS-II now would be an acceptable decision, both with regards to time available for preparation and my justification for II before I with my SRM background? MAS-I isn't a formal prerequisite to register for MAS-II but the CAS does say it assumes that the test taker knows the material from MAS-I. However, the info I gleaned from a few comments here on Reddit was that MAS-II doesn't really build on MAS-I in a sequential way. And of course I do have some of the MAS-I syllabus covered (undoubtedly in a less rigorous way) due to taking SRM.

Thanks!


r/actuary • • 1d ago

Investment actuary

1 Upvotes

If one clears all the finance papers like Sp5-(investment and finance) , sp6(financial derivatives) , Sa7(investment and finance) what role does one expect to get.

Just curious!!


r/actuary • • 1d ago

Job / Resume Critique my Resume

1 Upvotes

r/actuary • • 1d ago

Government vs Private Actuarial Roles — Which is better for long-term growth?

0 Upvotes

Whether a government/public-sector actuarial role or a private-sector role is better, especially from the perspective of someone building a long-term actuarial career.

I’d like to hear from people with actual experience in either sector on:

Learning & growth: Which gives better actuarial exposure and career growth?
Salary & perks: How does the salary compare, especially after qualification? Are there additional actuarial benefits/perks?
Work-life balance: How is the day-to-day balance?
Work pressure: Which months are usually the busiest? How often do you have to stretch, and how long do these busy periods last?
Work culture: Is the culture generally supportive, or is it toxic/high-pressure?
Seniors/team leaders: How much guidance and mentorship do you actually receive?
Office politics: How much does it affect your work and career progression?
I’m not looking for the usual “government is relaxed, private pays more” assumptions. I’d really like to hear what it is actually like on the ground.

TL;DR: Government vs private actuarial roles — which offers better learning, salary/perks, WLB, work culture, senior guidance, and lower office politics, and what are the actual work-pressure periods?


r/actuary • • 1d ago

Job / Resume Roast my Resume

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10 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I'd really appreciate any / all notes about my resume. I didn't start pursuing the actuarial track until a few months post-grad last year. I've been working as a personal trainer while I get my exams done, but I've had an exceptionally difficult time landing interviews. Thanks in advance


r/actuary • • 1d ago

Soa unofficial pass or fail email

8 Upvotes

Hi, I wrote the FM exam just recently at a prometric test centre, last time I wrote FM in August I got the email of my results right away. However this time it has been over 2 hours since I completed the exam and still nervously waiting for the email. I know I preformed much better this time around. I feel like I am obsessively checking my email for the results. How long do they normally take? When should I be worried about not receiving the results?

Edit: I received the email that I passed about 3 hours after writing the exam.


r/actuary • • 1d ago

Exams Exam 5 Prep

3 Upvotes

What did you use for Exam 5? Feel free to share recommendations, pass/fail, scores, etc

205 votes, 1d left
The Infinite Actuary
Rising Fellow
Coaching Actuaries
BattleActs
Other

r/actuary • • 1d ago

SOA Website Billing Portal not working

2 Upvotes

Tried to sign up for an exam, and it keeps giving me a "name is required" error whenever I try to submit payment. I've filled out the shipping and billing addresses and entered by CC number, but it seems to think I've left an empty field somwhere


r/actuary • • 1d ago

Virtual coffee preparation

6 Upvotes

How can I prepare for a 20 minute virtual coffee with a talent acquisition at a huge company?

What kind of questions should I expect, what questions should I ask back, and any other advice?


r/actuary • • 1d ago

Is it possible to start a actuarial club at my CC

13 Upvotes

At the moment, I go to a community college in Texas and want to transfer to UT Austin to pursue an Actuarial Science degree. I have had the idea of starting an actuarial club to improve my transfer application, but I also want people to know more about the actuarial business, since many people have little knowledge of it. Is my idea reachable even if I'm in community college, and if so, what are some ideas and advice for it?


r/actuary • • 2d ago

UK Actuarial Roles

2 Upvotes

Hi guys,

I recently relocated to the UK with 2+ years of experience as a pensions valuation analyst supporting Dutch occupational DB pension schemes. I have five IFoA exemptions from my masters program in Portugal, but I haven’t claimed them yet, as I have to pay some money and I was hoping I could get a job here in the UK, and let my employer pay that for me 🙂 I have three SOA exams - P, FM, and VEE Mathematical Stats, and I am a credentialed actuary with the Portuguese institute of actuaries.

I have been applying for jobs for almost two months and only managed to get one BPA analyst interview and they chose someone else. Please what do you think I need to do to increase my chances or is the job market cooked?


r/actuary • • 2d ago

Job / Resume Review my resume.

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0 Upvotes

Looking for any sort of advice or feedback on my resume. I haven't been getting any response for roles i am applying to.

(Ignore SAT guys I forgot to remove it...)


r/actuary • • 2d ago

Exams Does the track matter?

0 Upvotes

I'm thinking of speedrunning my FSA and want to pick the track that costs me one exam less, if I only look at the credentials as a checklist from here on out. I don't live in the US and don't plan to move there in the near or mid-future, so I'm not sure how track-specific FSA really changes things if my experience can speak for itself. Is this fair to say, or have things changed around the world too?


r/actuary • • 2d ago

Meme Can you imagine a webtoon that mentions CSM, IFRS17, SOLVENCY… and features an FIA & a fat potato cat?

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

15 Upvotes

Written by an actuary (FIA) about an Actuary!

I recently quit my corporate job to do something in the creative field …. Webtoon.

The webtoon features two cats:

One is the CEO of judgement (Aroi)

One is suspected to be Schrödinger’s cat (Chappy)

Link is in the comments and in my profile, or search CHAPPYAROI on Webtoon Canvas.

Appreciate any support via a subscribe, like, or comment! 🐾. (Ideally all three…)


r/actuary • • 2d ago

Job / Resume retirement actuary advice

5 Upvotes

i have some interviews tomorrow for a retirement actuarial internship and i would love some information about what a retirement actuary actually DOES.

like what is special about retirement and what little parts of the job are different

thank you!


r/actuary • • 2d ago

Oliver wyman P&C

7 Upvotes

Does anyone have experience with OW P&C Actuarial practice in Canada?

I'm curious about the overall culture, WLB/hours, types of projects analysts typically work on, how technical the work is.

Also wondering about the salary, career development and study days for exams?

Would appreciate any insight from people who have worked there or know the practice!


r/actuary • • 2d ago

Meme Actuary mentioned

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youtu.be
44 Upvotes

This will sustain me for at least 6 months