The Actuarial Profession's website gives 200 hrs as an approximate guide for studying an ST subject. Would this be any different for ST9 given the larger volume of material that needs to be covered? Any views on this (incl. from ActEd tutors) would be much appreciated.
This is the same as the recommendation outlined in the Student Handbook for other ST subjects, however: These time guidelines are only guidelines and may vary by student ability, background etc. ST9 has not yet withstood the test of time, so it is not clear how accurate the estimate is.
capitalH has given a good reply. The STs are designed to be broadly similar in terms of the amount of study required. ST9 does have a lot of reading, but this can be covered quite quickly. We will only really know when we get feedback from students on the amount of effort they have invested in ST9.
Having gone through the course, I think the amount of reading time required is a lot greater than a normal ST. The disparate sources don't make this easy at all (also, the core reading is separate from the rest of the course notes - anyone know why this is?) I'm also disappointed to see the lack of chapter summaries and questions as you go through each chapter.
As this is my first ST I can't say how this subject compares to other STs but I've definitely spent more time on this subject than I did on CA1 last year. I'd say I've averaged about 20 hours a week since the start of December which works out well in excess of 200 hours! I don't find the subject matter itself too difficult (most of it!) but there's a huge volume of reading. I agree with Veeko that having to jump between chapter guides, 3 books, core reading and practice notes makes it very difficult. Had the notes been in an easier format I feel I could've covered the same material in less time. More questions in the maths chapters would be welcome too! I still found the course very interesting so would recommend it only if you have a real interest in ERM. Otherwise, there are less time consuming subjects out there!
