The misery of FA

FA is the worst possible result in my view. It's dished out to those who have done the necessary preparation but have unluckily found themselves on the wrong side of the line.
I had a couple today and am bitter. Even actuaries who have qualified are sympathetic and have experienced this misery themselves, many stating that the exams are essentially "a lottery" once you have done the adequate preparation.
One wonders what the profession is trying to achieve by this. Wouldn't they be better off letting more people qualify and then distinguishing between people more regarding the quality of their work, rather than whether they can hammer through 14 questions in 3 hours (why is there a time limit anyway? since when has speed been something required in a life office? ).
And in terms of the argument/theory some make about the profession deliberately keeping the numbers who they allow to pass to a minimum in order to keep the pay for qualifieds good... to be frank the salaries actuaries get compared to people in other professions is nothing to write home about... even non-jobs in the public sector come close.

 

i understand your misery, but try and be optimistic...
your inches away, so look at your preparation already as a massive investment that will help you next time, with just that little bit extra needed to cross the finish line.

 

I think about 55% passed the exams.
So if you're a normal student i.e. not a genius, not a slacker... then it's roughly a toss of a coin whether you pass or fail, it seems. A qualified actuary or two have told me that most people get within 5 marks of the pass mark.
Also it seems to depend on the quality of other candidates competing against you in a particular session.

 

I think FA is harsh , but only the second time around. The first time you have to take the view "well I was nearly there".

I'm doing these things a long long time , now I could see the time as wasted , but the truth is I had a lot of fun , met an incredible woman and found myself in a very beautiful part of the world I now call home. The exams are always there for me , and funnily enough I seem to have become more successful at them at the same time as I have adopted a less cut-throat approach to them.

All part of the process of growing up I feel - I wish you well on your journey.

 

I've never had an FA. I either pass or fail (quite significantly)! I would be well annoyed with an FA too. To me an FA says "Should of passed, but you can redo the whole course instead". If I got an FA i would be like "oh no, if only I had of written one more sentance or made one extra point..." It really is tough!
But you gotta be strong and come back fighting, you must punch back so hard that either you get knocked right back down with an FB or worse, or you pass. But never an FA again! Getting an FB or worse is quite nice because it says "you deserved to fail you slacker", and I think "yes i did, so I'm not too upset 'cos I didn't try too hard".

I once got an X. I don't even know what that means but considering I only opened the course notes the night before the exam I wasn't too disturbed to see that by my name. Those were back in the old days when I was irresponsible (took 3 exams and run out of time for the third), I'd never do something like that now!

Better luck next time.