What value would you put on a study package? I'm considering whether to apply for jobs which don't provide study support. I have a good idea of the market rate for the positions if they were to provide study support. I am trying to decide how much extra to ask for to compensate for having no study package. I can work out the (yearly) cost of my current package (x study days times £y per day + cost of exam entry, study materials, fees etc). This comes out to approx £10k per year. So using this method I would ask for the market rate plus £10k. This seems a bit rich...I think I would have trouble justifying this in a negotiation. Has anyone had any experience of this? i.e. negotiating salary with/without study. What sort of difference would you expect?
Consider also the costs to the company of increasing your salary... in particular NI & pension contributions. This won't be popular with the companies! Additionally, you would have to pay tax on the additional salary you receive, so some would go into Mr Darling's fund rather than directly into your study. Have you included this in your £10k estimate? Moreover, what are the advantages of the jobs without study package? If they're not directly actuarial in nature then you may have difficulty finding the appropriate level to complete work based skills. And why would the company want an actuary in a non-actuarial role... you've got to find the advantage for them & sell yourself. You might find it easier to convince them to link your pay rises to exam passes. This way they can see the benefit (your progress) of the additional salary. It may also be possible to negotiate a partial study package. e.g. exam & professional fees only. That would certainly help with the upfront costs. Best of luck.
Just because you start with no package, if you prove yourself with passes they may then support you later on. There are other indirect considerations. If you have no support package, that will mean taking holiday for study - note that some packages still mean trainees do this! Then there is pressure. The more support the harsher they will be if you fail. If you are doing it without support, then forget pace. You will meet many people doing 3 CTs at a time. Don't feel bad if you can only manage one. Slow progress is better than stacking up demotivational fails. Good luck
