Hi all, This September I am taking my SA exam which should be the last for my qualification. Regardless of the result I have decided that this is the final exam I am taking. I have already regretted coming this far to take this decision. I am not sure how useful it will be to share my thoughts with you, but I know that knowing that I am not the only one made me realize that this is the right thing to do. Unfortunately, we are never “allowed” to see the dark side of the moon, I.e. IFoA will never publish the drop out rates or admit the trend that we see every day (at least the ones working in the UK) out of the profession. Over the past years I have lived a lifestyle that looking back to it makes me feel ashamed and depressed, in my pursue to qualify as an actuary. Among other things due to exams or exam preparations I have: - Lost close friends and destroyed relationships because I did not have enough time to go to the pub or hang out as I had to study. -Gained weight and deteriorated my health as I did not have enough time to go to the gym or eat something proper because I had to study. -Did not visit a relative before we lost him for ever as I did not have enough time to travel because I had to study. -Did not go to a friends wedding as I did not have time to travel because I had to study (I mean who gets married during April ifoa exams right?)... And the list goes on and on... Due to my performance I have progressed very quickly in my career and now reached the point that studying is only keeping me back as I either have to be away from the office or I am constantly exhausted mentally and emotionally, and think about exams. I gain minimal benefit from the exam preparation as at this point I am either more technically aware than what is in the notes on my area or my mind is in shutdown refusing to spend another minute trying to memorize the regulatory environment in China just because the greediness of ifoa knows no borders and wants to make more money from students abroad. I understand that the material is only getting worse by time so I refuse keep playing this game and keep throwing my life down the drain one exam period after the other. The turning point for me has been seeing friends that have studied “inferior” easier courses in uni, making significantly more by now in sectors like media, data analysis and company finance functions without having to waste a single weekend buried in a library memorizing the 13 principles of FCA or whatever other mind killing list the ifoa decided to add in the core material at the time. I already knew that comparing to other finance professions we do earn significantly less, but today’s reality is that we are left behind by a load of other professions too (data analysts, developers etc) who do not have to waste 7 years on average taking prescribed exams and memorizing bullet points to get more half-marks. All that with a fake promise of a work life balance that until you qualify can only be expressed as work-study imbalance and nowadays after that there is less and less balance (talk about balance to consultants or Lloyd’s submission teams or the people in the companies in the UK going through expense reduction exercises and reduce staff and they will have a good laugh). I hope that more people will realize that the sooner you get out of this mess the better your life and career will be. Stop feeding the monster with millions of pounds and let it starve to extinction. Apologies for the long post. Regards, A.Actuary
I'm really sorry that you have sacrificed so much for these exams. They are tough, and I wholly agree with you that the volume of information to memorise that for most actuaries is irrelevant to their work is too much. However, I would argue that you are in control of your work/life/study balance. I for one took a few years to qualify, but in that time I had a family, got married, bought a house, made sure I spent time visiting friends and relatives. At the beginning of each study session I set myself a strict study timetable, which blocked out times of the year such as Christmas and 2 weeks in the summer as strictly no study times. I didn't spend more time studying than I had planned to. Had I did as you did - study to the point that my life was detrimentally affected - I don't think I would have qualified any quicker. It was with the support from my family, and the time away from study, that got me through the tough times. I strongly believe that it is the quality of study time that counts, not quantity. The work life balance promise is a promise that only you can make to yourself. I have worked alongside people who insisted on working long hours when they didn't have to and then complained about why they have no social life. If your body and mind are telling you that you are taking on too much strain then listen! Who are you trying to compete against? It is only your own standards that you are trying to live by. Don't compare yourself to your friends who have seemingly had an easier time - their standards and goals are different to yours, so please don't disparage the hard work they have put in to get to where they are. You sound angry towards the IFoA, and I don't think this is at all unusual for students who struggle with the exams - I too remember being angry with the whole exam process. But in hindsight, I wonder whether I was just angry with myself for not meeting my own expectations. I really hope you pass your final exam and can find satisfaction in your career. In any case - get your friends back or make new ones! Qualifying as an actuary isn't the be all and end all, but pales into insignificance if you don't have your friends round you to pick you up after the exam fails or just as importantly - to celebrate your achievements.
Well done A Actuary for making what is the correct decision for you. I was able to strike more of a balance with things to avoid missing out on family events/friends' weddings etc because I was very aware in that 5 or 10 years' time I would look back and cherish those memories far more than having FFA/FIA after my name. I hope you are able to re-establish friendships with those who you lost touch with. As for the point regarding salary, I'm able to live a comfortable lifestyle etc on my current salary. There'll always be people/other jobs that pay more - as you've alluded to, there are far more important things in life than salary or passing actuarial exams.
Not everyone pursuing Fellowship is subject to this extreme exam system. ProudActuary should log into the AAE members portal and read what they've been up to.
