Hi, Can someone please clarify what deems as 'part qualified'? My CV is up on a job website seeking a trainee actuary role and I have had a number of calls from actuary recruitment agencies over the last few weeks ringing me about possible positions. They have all asked me am I part qualified and how many years left of studying/exams I have left. The problem is that my CV clearly states that I am only starting my actuarial studies (sitting CT1 in April) but unfortunately the agencies aren't reading my CV fully. When I inform them that I am have only begun my studies, they suddenly realise their mistake and say they will keep my CV on file. I have asked all these recruitment agencies what exactly constitutes as 'part qualified' to allow me realistically apply for a trainee role but none of them are able to tell me. Does 'part qualified' mean having all the CTs finished or half of them or what exactly? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Stephen
Unfortunately, it means whatever the person using it means! That said, you may want to look at your CV and see if you can make it clearer what stage you're at - if it says "part qualified" in big letters at the top and "sitting CT1 in April" in small print near the bottom, you can understand their mistake!
Like Calum says, there is no universal answer so another way of clarifying your position is to say actuarial student with <some description of years in the profession> or with <x months> experience in the industry. Once you have one exam pass/exemption some put you in the part qualified category. Likewise there is no unique definition of nearly/newly qualified, though generally speaking they'd expect you to have cleared the CTs and possibly CA1 too. Sometimes its experience than exam passes that companies are looking for and will take fewer/more exams than you may expect.
I'd say finishing the CTs probably constitutes part qualified, but it's also about experience. For example, a graduate with exemptions from all the CTs wouldn't be described as "part qualified" and wouldn't be able to get a position as an experienced hire.
Indeed there are many part qualified people working in actuary up and down the country, who are no longer members of the profession.
I've passed CT1-CA2, does that count as nearly qualified?? The Actuary Jobs site equates nearly as having 10+ exams but I don't know if they're counting the practical exams...
Interesting point about part qualified actuary. Does anyone know exactly what a nearly qualified actuary is? Does this mean they only have 1 or 2 exams left to qualify?
Again it's not exactly defined anywhere. This is one of the problems in this profession. Both someone with 1 or 14 exams could be described as part qualified. Then look at the problem from the other direction for qualified actuaries. You can say a qualified actuary is merely someone who has passed 15 exams compared to a part-qualified at 14. Usually an advert saying part-qualified or nearly-qualified wouldn't preclude fully qualified. The recruiter may say well hope you understand this is a part qualified they can't pay a fully qualified rate. Recruiters do send part-qualified job specs to people who have fully qualified. I have seen no statement by IFoA or anyone else stating once you qualify you are no longer eligible for part-qualified roles but some recruiters may use that as an excuse if they want to put forward people on lower rates to their client.
I started my studies just this year and faced the same problem. How long did it take you to find a trainee actuary role ?
I saw a lot of ads looking for part qualified workers, but already with 3-5 years of experience. So I'm confused too
The question is, what does qualified mean? According to the profession, an Associate member is qualified and free to use the designation AIA after their name. Recruiters are likely to mean Fellows though but it is never written anywhere.
