hey is dare anyone out there whu can telme which are the fields in this profession NOT related to interst in ct series. which completly does NOT depend on interest..plees its important
relevance of CT material? are you asking which actuarial fields do not relate to the material covered in the CT subjects? I work in general insurance, and was pretty suprised that, as far as i can remember, 80-90% of the CT subject material has little or no relevance to actually working in general insurance. Some parts of CT3 and 6 were useful, but not much else. I can understand why some people like to study the ST subjects before finishing the CTs, as these are far far more useful, and don't really seem to require much knowledge from the CTs (in the case of ST7 and ST8) at all. I suspect the story is rather different from a life or pensions perspective though.
That is interesting mattt78...I am currently studying for the CT exams independently alongside full-time non-actuarial work and would like your opinion as to what order you would recommend the exams should be taken (my background includes a maths degree). Currently studying CT1 and CT3. Would you advise to take an ST subject or to continue with the CT exams? Also what order would you suggest for the CT series of exams? Many thanks.
Hi nleon & mattt78, I am starting to prepare for CT1 exam that I will be sitting on 27th Sept. 2011 and wanted to ask you if you what would be best way to revise for this exam? And how long does it does to prepare for the exam? Also nleon when are you sitting your CT1 exam? Thanks
You are joking?! The Profession recommends 125-150 hours study - so you're going to have to do an average of at least 3½ hours a day! Most actuaries I know are just about to head onto the revision stage after having completed the notes....
Nleon....Don't try to run before you can walk. After just CT1 and CT3 you aren't ready for the later subjects. Although STs aren't mathematical, you do need an appreciation of the assumptions you need in making products work. I'm talking here not only of interest rates, but broader economic theory, mortality, expenses, how profit is created etc. You could maybe consider doing a more practical subject say CT9 which is a module rather than exam although I believe there is a follow-up test. The snag could be that you need someone to sign to say you are ready amd I'm not sure how you'll do it if with a non-actuarial employer. To both, with revision, what you need is hands on practise of real exam papers and make sure you put yourself under strict exam pressure with regards time. So you must put pen to paper. If there are topics you have struggled with, don't avoid them. Work on them by revisting these parts and build your understanding. Use Q&A bank to give you extra practise. Thats about all I can suggest. Go for it.
Nleon I can only speak from a general insurance perspective, but I would say that ST7 and ST8 would be very useful reading for anyone entering general insurance and wanting to get up to speed quickly. If you sat the exams at this stage you'd be at a significant disadvantage though, as you would lack the background knowledge gained from a few years experience to be able to generate ideas and think outside the box a bit as you often need to in these later exams. So I think the shortest/quickest route through the exams is probably taking them in the usual order for most people, but if you really want to be learning stuff relevant to your day job the ST material (for general insurace at least) is worth a read (even if you don't sit the exam until later on)
Hi Bobbathejobba, I know I have left it late as I done my research late on the exam dates. But I have taken whole month of work so I will be able to spend more the 3.5 hours a day on studying for the material. I am planning to dedicate all my month to CT1 notes and have no social life :s In your opinion what would be the best way of to start revising as some say goes throughr pass parers and there answers and some say go through all notes first ... Would appreciate everyones opinion? Thanks
The notes are horribly theoretical whereas the exams just apply the formulae. I think one of the tutors posted a list of formulae somewhere on the CT1 forum if that helps. So I would say read the notes very very fast and spend most of the time on exam/assignment/Q&A questions on each chapter instead. The CT1 exam is very similar from year to year - so as many papers as you can practice the better it will be - so at least 5 years (ie 10 papers). And I always practised in topics - as that was much more efficient than doing a whole paper as otherwise I'd forget what I'd learned on that topic before I got to it again in the next paper. All the best.
