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actuarial exams

Joined
8/26/11
Messages
175
Points
28
I'm sure it's been asked before, but is there any utility in taking actuarial exams for anything other than actuarial positions? Would having a few actuarial exams under your belt be a plus for risk analyst positions, for example?
 
What if I'm interested in quantitative consulting positions? It won't help at all?
 
It won't help at all?

Reviewing your multiplication table will help you. Practicing your algebra will help you. But is it worth 3 months of your life to pass each exam? I doubt it.
 
Reviewing your multiplication table will help you. Practicing your algebra will help you. But is it worth 3 months of your life to pass each exam? I doubt it.
I prepare less for a month for each exam :)
 
Yeah, I doubt it'll take that long to prepare, given that stats and probability is fresh in my mind. If it's useless outside strictly actuarial positions I won't bother, though
 
The first one is probability, which may be somewhat interesting to potential employers.

The rest of them? Rubbish.
 
I'm getting really mixed messages here -- if I don't want to be an actuary per se but am interested in consulting/risk analysis, are actuarial exams at all useful?
 
Are we assuming you aren't crazy to begin with?;)
Hahaha maybe a bit crazy or I wouldn't think of a better reason for planning to take MFE without any background knowledge at that time :D
 
Don't do it.
 
Focus on school. Get really really good recommendation (like "I will sell my own children to see this guy getting admitted to your program"). Most importantly, get a job in related areas. It'll come back to help a lot at graduation
 
Point taken. :) Are there any exams/certifications that would help me at all, or should I just focus on math and stats classes in school?

A few of my classmates have CFA, but my limited experience is that it doesn't seem to help quant finance all that much (it certainly doesn't hurt). Aside from that, I agree with bullion, focus on (financial) math and C++/OOP design/programming.
 
Agreed..the ASM manual for MFE almost drove me crazy at the beginning.
MFE is my favorite actuarial exam...I studied MFE by myself when I was a freshman in college. I agree that the SOA exams would not help much in terms of admission and employment. However, for a college student, it teaches one how math is applied to finance and leads one to think about his course plans and career development. I think it is useful.
 
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