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All things actuarial (and analytics).

"Exam Season" Reflections (and a giveaway!)

4/28/2017

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I know I personally made the right decision to transition out of the actuarial career into audit analytics, but sometimes I can't help but wonder what if I was happier studying for exams? What if I was better at studying? At the end of the day, exams played a huge role in my change of heart - immediately after my third and last sitting of Exam S, I started looking for other opportunities.
The last few months have been strange and refreshing at the same time. This is the first time in over two years that I wasn't sitting for a CAS exam during this time. I was able to spend some quality time binge watching a few shows on Netflix without worrying about whether or not I was on track for studying. I was able to randomly decide to go for a walk whenever the weather was nice without having a set time or destination. I've been able to go out to happy hours. The list goes on. 
At the same time, thinking back over the last few years, I can't remember anything I did that made me prouder or gave me the same satisfaction that passing an actuarial exam did. On more than one occasion, I remember holding back tears of joy as I was sitting at Prometric going through the check-out process after the exam. And I have to say that's the one thing I do miss about the exams - that rewarding feeling at the end, knowing that all of the hard work and sacrifices paid off.  

Words of Wisdom

Regardless of how your next exam sitting goes, it should be a time of reflection. Actuarial exams are a process and sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in the process instead of taking on each exam individually. 

If you pass your last preliminary exam or pass an exam granting you the ACAS/ASA designation, consider taking an exam sitting off. Enjoy the years of hard work you've put in and allow yourself a chance to recharge. "Bottle up" that feeling you have when you find out you pass and use that to keep you moving forward. 

If you don't pass your next exam, take some time to reflect on it. Was it the first time you failed the exam? Have you sat for it multiple times without passing? There are different reasons for failing and it's important to figure out why you're failing. If it's your study habits, there are solutions for that (read below for more info!). If you aren't enjoying the material, making it hard for you to retain the information, you'll need to find a way to make it interesting. Or maybe you've reached the point that deep down you don't care anymore, but you don't want to quite because you're "too invested".

If you take on each exam individually, you're never too invested and there's always time to reflect and change your future path. Failing an exam isn't an end all be all - it's a chance to look inside yourself and potentially make a change that will lead to passing your next exam or finding new opportunities outside of actuarial work. It's a win-win!

New Actuarial Book!

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Back when I was studying for exams, I spent way too much time googling effective ways to study for and pass actuarial exams. I never really found anything too useful. This May, Actuarial Exam Tactics: Learn More, Study Less is being released by two young actuaries from Drake University. Both Roy Ju, FSA and Mike Jennings, ASA are younger than 25 and have a lot of great tips to share. Roy became the youngest person to ever receive the FSA designation in 2015 at the age of 20, so he definitely has a lot to share on how to study efficiently to pass more and fail less!

If you're not interested in the book, you may want to take a study break to read some articles written by these guys and learn why Roy swears by a meal of pancakes and cereal the night before an exam!!

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!

Whether you pass your upcoming exam or fall short, make sure to reserve a copy of their book - it's bound to give you some great advice for future exams! There is also a book giveaway and contest surrounding this book release! Enter for a chance to win a free copy of Actuarial Exam Tactics: Learn More, Study Less, an ACTEX Study Manual and Flashcards for an exam of your choice, or an ACTEXeLearning Webinar. The giveaway ends May 15th and winners will be announced May 16th. 

Good luck on your exams! Stay tuned for next month's post on Data Visualization!
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Preliminary Exam Struggles

7/10/2015

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The Struggle

I decided sophomore year of college that I would major in Actuarial Science. I had a strong passion for math and figured it would be a great career path. I struggled with P and FM during college and only managed to pass one exam by the time I graduated. I found it extremely difficult to study for actuarial exams when I had a full course load and worked over 20 hours each week. 

It was really discouraging to fail the first exam multiple times. I thought I was stupid. I didn't understand how others in my classes were already passing their second exam when I couldn't even pass the first. Finally, I ended up devoting the entire months of June and July between junior and senior year to study for P and passed.

Looking back now, I don't know how I expected to pass P during the school year. I barely had time to eat, let alone study for an extra exam. There I was thinking I was stupid, when really, I was just stretching myself way too thin. It's easy to realize that now, after the fact.

I ended up passing FM two months after starting full-time and a little over a year after passing P. I could've given up, but I'm happy I didn't.

Study Time

While the material covered on these exams is relatively challenging, chances are, if you are even considering being an actuary, you can learn the material and pass. The issue is time and effort. Memorizing formulas isn't enough to get through these exams. You need to work efficiently on every question and understand how to solve the problem within seconds. That is why doing practice problems AND practice exams is essential. On all of my failed attempts, I put way too much time into reading the material and trying to understand what I read instead of diving into practice problems and learning through applying the formulas. 

Third Time's a Charm

I sat for MFE for the first time in March. I used the Coaching Actuaries' bundle with ASM and ADAPT. I tried to follow the recommended study schedule on their site, but I quickly fell behind. I was also cutting the study time close - only two and a half months of studying. About a month before the exam, I realized there was no way I would be able to finish the material in the manual and still have time for practice exams, so I ended up skimming the last ~10 chapters. I think I took about 15 ADAPT practice exams (my EL was below 3) by the time I sat for the exam and was barely passing them. 

I showed up at the Prometric Testing Center at Penn Plaza about half an hour early. Of course, I forgot the most essential item - my calculator (TI-30XS MultiView - BEST CALCULATOR EVER!!). I was horrified and quickly ran to the Kmart hoping they would have something similar to my calculator. The one they had was close to the TI-30XS, but some of the keys were different and in different places. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I literally had to practice using the calculator a few minutes before the exam. Who says that?! Who PRACTICES using a calculator.

Anyway, I was about 10 minutes into the exam when I needed to use 'ln'. It wasn't listed. It wasn't a button. I frantically searched through my calculator trying to find it. After coming close to another mental breakdown, I found it. Apparently you have to press one button and scroll down to get to it. I had to do that EVERY SINGLE TIME.

I pressed submit with about 13 questions marked and 5 questions I guessed on. Somehow I passed. And just like that, the spell was broken. 
Moral of the story, you're allowed to struggle on the first exams. That doesn't mean you're not good enough to be an actuary. It means you're still learning how to study and prepare for these difficult exams. Part of the process is figuring out how best to study and how to use your study time wisely. If I chose to get through the entire manual before MFE, I wouldn't have passed. Thanks to failed attempts on other exams, I knew to switch my focus from the manual to practice problems to be better prepared for exam day. 
I can't say I love taking exams or love studying, but I can say that passing an actuarial exam is a really great feeling. Best of luck on future exams!
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Most recent exam struggle: two cats who insist on using my study manuals as beds. 
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    Stephanie Borowiec is a former Actuarial Analyst. She graduated from New York University's Stern School of Business in 2014 with a degree in
    Actuarial Science and Finance. She hopes this blog will help others in their pursuit of a career in the insurance industry as an actuary and related disciplines. 
    ​​
    For her travel blog, please visit: www.stephanieborowiec.com/blog !

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