Actuarial Outpost - Blogs

Sole Elliptical

BCJames — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 01:51:42 GMT

Humor: Actuarial Stress Test

maggid — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 10:49:42 GMT

Calvin and Hobbes as Manager and Actuary....

More at: Actuary-Info

Original source: Tonks17
Homepage UK Calvin and Hobbes

Pension Funds Development

maggid — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 10:47:02 GMT

Today's Brainer:What's the difference between a pension fund and an investment fund?

Actuary $crooge shows...

More at: Actuary-Info

source

Humor: FoxTrot Actuarial Models

maggid — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 10:41:16 GMT

More on: Actuary-Info

Sources:
- Foxtrot Comic Strips
- Foxtrot on Gocomics

Categories of religion:

sweetiepie — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:01:02 GMT

Some people don't get that it's all a joke.
Some people do.
And some people get it so well, they tell it.

Passed all the 5 preliminary exams

kylui1 — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 12:43:35 GMT

I passed the June 2011 Exam C.

Now that I have passed all the preliminary exams, and have started the FAP.

Hope my study on FAP will be an enjoyable one.

People always tell me to enjoy my youth...

billlin12345 — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 19:29:00 GMT

I really don't get why people keep telling me to enjoy my youth. I mean at least for the prelims, P and FM, I studied for less than 15 hours for each exam. For the 5 prelims, I already learned most/nearly all of the material in school already, so I only need to review (meaning printing out practice exams and reading the solutions- which doesn't take that long).

In my school (Stuyvesant- a specialized H.S.), everyone else besides me spends a lot more time than me attempting to get 98+ averages trying to get into Ivys. I spend just a tiny fraction of that number to study for these exams. They have tons of extra-curriculars and 4+ AP's each year. They study all day. I don't. For FETE/APM, I spent around 1-2 hours a day for almost a month reading the source material, and I already read just around 1/4 of their combined materials. 1-2 hours of studying for exams is minimal, compared to everyone else in my school spending 5-8+ hours daily on homeworks/extra-curriculars.

Just in case you're wondering, our school also offers seminars for the first few prelims (taught by a Ph. D from Columbia). So it's not just me studying for these exams. I also really don't think that spending less than half a year studying for all these exams= having no life. I just want to get it all over with. Why do I want to spend 5-6 years+ studying for these exams when I can finish in less than 1?

Never gets old!

Werewolf — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 19:36:24 GMT

With about a year and a half on the Actuarial Outpost, and having not met any user in person, I was surviving in my second Exam Committee game, Beneath the Planet of the Exam Committee. The ghosts, players who were already dead but were able to haunt the living, were trying to match the remaining players to the profiles they had set up for the two EC.

And so there came to be this thread:

http://www.actuarialoutpost.com/actu...ad.php?t=30598

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim><

Isn't werewolf female?

This third post in the thread appears to be the first post on the subject.

http://www.actuarialoutpost.com/actu...ad.php?t=31004

Quote:

Originally Posted by gandalf

Does anyone know if werewolf is male? The avatar seems feminine to me: pink background, non-aggressive wolf. NTTAWW an avatar that's not macho.

Quote:

Originally Posted by karma police

I am under the distinct impression that Werewolf is female. I am not sure why, though.

And, as we all know, this NEVER GETS OLD!

FETE and APM are just common sense... and is FETE easier than Sat II math?

billlin12345 — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 12:09:33 GMT

Spoiler:

So, while studying for FM/C this month, I kept looking at FETE/APM that I really haven't studied for FM/C for around 2 weeks already. But I believe that FETE and APM are just common sense- most of it you should already know (common sense/intuitive stuff/prior exams), and the rest you read once and can hardly ever forget.

APM:
---HFIS is really a book made for like 6th graders. I have read 3/4 of the req. readings from it and really I didn't learn anything -___-''. I mean sure I learned stuff like how Ginnie Mae was created and the history of emerging markets. But seriously, why do I need to learn what Brady bonds, commerical paper, MTNs, CD's, and CMO's are... AGAIN :exams:. If you pay attention to current events/news you should already know these things.

---Risk Management- well I finished chap 7, and besides the load of ratios in the end, most of the chapter is self-explanatory. Once you read the steps to credit rating, it's hard to forget.

---MIP, ok this is just an annoying book. Ch. 3 just repeats itself hundreds of time b/c it has to say the same thing for DP/DC/Foundations/Endowments/etc...

---MIM- idk, it's a decent book

---Study notes: All the laws are self-explanatory and all the notes get repetitive also with stuff one should have learned in FM/MFE/EA exams especially with the weird strong focus on pension funds. This is portfolio management, not pension funds management...

FETE:
---Hull's book: The whole book is just the same thing as the MFE curriculum BUT with formula sheets. It's like reading Derivative Markets twice

---M&A: I can't tell if this book is a joke or not, seriously who doesn't know the process of M&A (in chap 2)

---Hardy: The most annoying book ever, but really the same thing as VEE Time Series

---Corporate Policy: Ok, I admit it, I am sort of stuck here.

So got my SOA Study Notes (Fall 2011) today

billlin12345 — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 21:31:45 GMT

It looks big and impossible. I am not even studying for FM or C anymore D: I really HATE PROCRASTINATION. FM and C > FETE + APM at least for now. Reading is actually fun, but when you have no manual and HAVE to TAKE YOUR OWN NOTES, IT'S NO FUN.

There's like a time bomb ticking: finish reading 4000~ pages (FETE+APM) and have all the notes ready before October along with FAP/FSA modules, finish VEE's by Summer, and pass FM/C this month, along with SOMEHOW MAGICALLY LEARN MLC/MFE without studying at all b/c there's no time.

True or False? "No HS student can possible HOPE to complete all FSA reqs?"

billlin12345 — Sun, 29 May 2011 17:15:02 GMT

*note: I am being sincere and sorry if I seem to be insulting/attacking you. Also, I am only talking about people who major in act sci in college, not about career changers or other majors.
http://www.drake.edu/cbpa/acts/exams.html

Quote:

Because no undergraduate student can possible hope to complete all the Associateship requirements (in either Society) by the time they graduate, or hence start the additional Fellowship requirements, the information below focuses only on the Associateship requirements.

-___-'' Didn't Andrew Lin get FSA before graduating college? And also doesn't this mean that ACT SCI PROGRAMS DON'T TEACH FSA EXAMS CURRICULUM??? Why is it that even high school students can learn FSA exam materials, but colleges don't bother teaching it...

1. You can take fellowship modules/exams before getting ASA (I am taking FETE/APM before MLC/MFE because FETE/APM is at the start of Nov, MLC is the weekafter, and MFE happens to be the week after that- it's a matter of timing).

2. Seriously? No undergrad student can even HOPE to complete all the ASA requirements? So where do I belong? So a H.S student can hope to do this? What about all the HS kids who have 2-3+ exams? So even THEY can't complete all the reqs?

Taking FM/C in 2-3 weeks, and adding on to that I passed P already. FM is pretty easy, and I will admit, C takes time, but I think I can do alright. FAP Modules I am estimating will take me around 3/4 of a year (prob an overestimation since I don't have a job and so I have A LOT of free time to do), probably finish FA before next January/February. Why can't people complete FSA in 4 years? o_O

P and FM is easy you don't really need to study much for it. Ok, MLC/MFE doubling up is tough, but if you took college classes + self-studying it, you really should do fine. So let's say 1 year, you did (P/FM) and then (MLC/MFE). Next year, you can focus on FAP/FSA modules or C, and your 3rd year could be used to complete whatever prelim you might have failed/modules you didn't finish. So that gives you 2 years to do 11 modules and 1 exam (which should take around 4 months). Then, last year double up FSA exams and do DMAC and you're done. It would be a lot faster if you took 2-3+ exams in high school and speed the whole process up.

BUT EVEN if somehow you can't double up the FSA exams or do the FSA modules, HOW IS IT POSSIBLE YOU CAN'T EVEN PASS THE ASA REQUIREMENTS??? I mean seriously, P and FM ARE EASY. MLC/MFE (same or different sitting) the second year. C and FAP modules for the next 2 YEARS. AND YOU HAVE COLLEGE COURSES TO HELP YOU. What can be the problem...? I honestly don't know b/c I never had college courses on these exams, so @__@

A dream in progress: Inspired by Andrew Lin and lalalaFW

billlin12345 — Fri, 20 May 2011 10:03:18 GMT

Start: March 2011. A junior in H.S. No background in anything finance/actuary related. All I know is multi calc and AP Stats that I self-studied myself sophomore year. Hardest course I took was orgo chem I and II. My parents didn't go to H.S/College, but both have Master's in Comp Sci.

April 2011: VEE Econ and VEE Finance.
May 2011: Passed P!
June 2011: FM, C.
July 2011: NEAS VEE Statistics (Regression AND Time Series).
Nov 2011: MLC/MFE/FETE/APM?? (IF I pass P, FM, and C)
June 2012: Graduate Stuyvesant H.S.

All the modules will be done at ......... idk. Most likely during the summer IF I have time. (What college should I go to? Temple/Drake/Penn State/UWis/UMich/NYU/Illinois and those good actuarial sci programs? Is there even a point? JK, I don't think I am going to college.)

:oyh:Hahaha, it seems so real.
BEST ADVICE:

Spoiler:

Quote:

Originally Posted by lalalaFW

To answer your question about how to pass FSA exams fast, the short answer is:
1. Study very hard - 600 solid study hours for my first FSA exam AFE, if not 700 (I know there are smart people out there that can pass these exams without studying a lot. But I am definitely not one.)
2. Study day and night, and keep focused.
3. Make sure you have a good boss that understand you may be studying or daydreaming at work (my company gives very general 175 study hours for each exam, but I still spend a few hours every morning before my boss arrive to study).
4. Stay long distance from your husband/wife if you have one (I am now 2 hour driving distance away from my husband. It is really sad but definitely helped me stay focused)
5. PAK study manuals are great! Eddy rocks! AFE online seminar is also decent, especially helpful if this is the first exam you took and you have no economics/finance/business background at all.
6. There is no easy way out. Study EVERYTHING. Do EVERY excise problem you can find (once, twice, three times.. ). Fully understand EVERY major point. Memorize EVERY list you think may be tested...
7. Have a warm dog to hug when you feel sorry for yourself and want to give up. Oh, and it helps to memorize the cards if you walk the dog at the same time!
8. Lastly, for the first time exam taker, just remember: DON'T GIVE UP. NEVER GIVE UP. I had a mental break down once after my first months studying AFE and found out I can understand NOTHING AT ALL... Keep on telling yourself that - IT HAPPENS TO EVERYONE! YOU ARE NOT ALONE! JUST KEEP STUDYING!!!

For your second question, I finished all the exams in.. about three years.. (Also you may be interested to know that I failed MFE once. Learned my lesson that if you do not study hard for an SOA exam, you really can fail..) As you see in my 25 days post, I finished C in November 2009. Then I did modules 1-5 and IA in spring 2010, AFE in summer, modules 6-8 and FA in the fall, and FETE in winter. ~"What a year!!!!"~ Then 2011, never really planed to go to FAC in June. But I found out I was pregnant in February, so just have to wrap up FSA modules and DMAC in a very short period of time and luckily I passed everything in the first trail regardless of the morning sickness!!!! :notworth: I probably looked like a monster and acted like a monster in those days that i study.. I just feel so lucky to have the world's sweetest and most supportive family and manager and dogs to always give me encouragement and power.. Cannot make it without them, especially my husband of course :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by billlin12345

I am just bored and my interests change quite often. 2 years ago I was into math- self-studied multi calc and stats (self-studied calc I and II freshman year). Last year I was into biology and chemistry olympiad, this year organic chem (currently in Orgo II). I read around 12 bio textbooks and 2 chem in 4 months. So excruciating. Everything seems so fun when you first start it, the only thing that's hard is going to the end and finishing. :-P So far though, the actuarial material doesn't seem difficult at all, but ofc, I haven't taken any exams yet, so idk. Taking P 5/26, FM 6/15, and C 6/23. I guess I will know then!

Quote:

Originally Posted by billlin12345

Don't you know, the SOA changed the P in exam P from probability to precalculus, for those who are math challenged?:lol:
To Jch5265: I rarely study at home, I only study in school =P. I mean seriously, classes in my school besides orgo is a joke. Most of the time I study I am usually in school, because when I get home, and I get on the computer, time flies, and I procrastinate so much I get nothing done. @_@ So, I don't really think I can pass these exams (not enough practice.) Besides, my job/career is not on the line, so I don't feel pressured to study as much as I should. But if I do it pass these exams, it will just be half a year gone (until Nov) from my life studying actuarial exams. It's better to get every exam over with in half a year rather than spread over 4 years of college and beyond so that if I don't want to be an actuary, I can always go to college majoring something else and starting anew. That way, I also get nearly 3/4 of senior year of HS doing anything I want.

VEE: Economics and corporate finance

yaukwankiu — Fri, 13 May 2011 16:48:41 GMT

Well, I can certainly learn them by myself, but I need the credits. So be it.

Trying to get into the actuarial field again

Lao — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:09:22 GMT

I graduated many years ago and tried to get into the actuarial field... I ended up passing all the preliminary exams, but couldn't find a job anywhere.

I worked a series of shit jobs that paid $10-$12 an hour over the years, then had it and went back to school to study accounting. I got the accounting degree, but ended up HATING accounting. It's nothing like actuarial. It's mostly about categorizing and presenting past financial transactions. The only thing I was even mildly interested in was in the present value calculations!

I still have some fantasies about being an actuary. Does anyone have any advice? Tx...

The list: status

campbell — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 10:50:47 GMT

Vorian Atriedes: 5
silverfox: 1
Mr. Grim: 1