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Actuarial Science

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    #32
    paulo6891
    Registered Users Posts: 352 ✭✭paulo6891


    Thanks for the heads up.

    The more I think about it, the more I am leaning towards studying for the exams on my own as opposed to doing the courses.

    Yes it would probably be 'easier' to do the courses and get the exemptions, but in this day and age, paying around 12k do do a college course + other student expenses, giving up a decent job and salary for a year and probably facing unemployment at the end of the course makes it a bit too risky methinks.


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    #33
    misslt
    Registered Users Posts: 2,103 ✭✭✭misslt


    paulo6891 wrote: »
    Thanks for the heads up.

    The more I think about it, the more I am leaning towards studying for the exams on my own as opposed to doing the courses.

    Yes it would probably be 'easier' to do the courses and get the exemptions, but in this day and age, paying around 12k do do a college course + other student expenses, giving up a decent job and salary for a year and probably facing unemployment at the end of the course makes it a bit too risky methinks.

    I'd probably disagree.

    Employment prospects will be decent if you're a trainee actuary with some exemptions. Studying for the institute exams from scratch can be difficult while working - I'm not saying impossible, but difficult. By doing the diploma/masters you have the added benefit of lecturers, continuous assessment etc. I'm not sure if you're currently working in an actuarial environment but if not I'd say it will be easier to be taken on as a trainee and to take part in a company's study programme if you have some exemptions/exams already - that's just my opinion!

    I would also recommend the dip over the masters if you want to be an actuary, once you've qualified with the profession your degree/whatever tends to matter less!

    Studying for the exams on your own without financial assistance from a study programme can be very expensive as you have institute membership fees, exam fees and fees for the materials etc!

    Just my 2c!


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    #34
    Pythia
    Registered Users Posts: 7,469 ✭✭✭Pythia


    paulo6891 wrote: »
    Thanks for the heads up.

    The more I think about it, the more I am leaning towards studying for the exams on my own as opposed to doing the courses.

    Yes it would probably be 'easier' to do the courses and get the exemptions, but in this day and age, paying around 12k do do a college course + other student expenses, giving up a decent job and salary for a year and probably facing unemployment at the end of the course makes it a bit too risky methinks.

    I would try to get a job in actuarial and get the employer to pay for all the exams. I'm not sure what your background is but I managed to move from a different area into actuarial a few years after I had left college. If you are finding it hard to get the foot in the door for interviews, perhaps talk to a recruiter and see what their take on you is.

    I would say that if I was reviewing your CV for a job, I would not care that you had done a Masters over a Dip. I would be more interested in exemptions and skills like IT, communication, what you know about actuarial etc over a thesis.

    Some companies like people with a lot of exemptions and some don't. It's often down to the manager and how he did it. The argument against exemptions is that you qualify too quickly with too many and you are in a funny position as you aren't very experienced so they don't want to pay you a qualified salary.

    Maybe if you let us know your background we can give more specific answers.


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    #35
    DrAdrianOHagan
    Registered Users Posts: 1 ✭DrAdrianOHagan


    To the posters on this thread, I would just like to take the opportunity to encourage you all to contact us directly at UCD if you are interested in any of our programmes. In particular, I am the Director of UCD Postgraduate Actuarial Science (adrian.ohagan@ucd.ie) and will be able to give comprehensive answers to any questions about qualifying, the differences between the MSc and the Graduate Diploma in Actuarial Science at UCD, and other items you may require clarification on.

    In brief, a common question that has appeared on this thread is the difference between the MSc and the Graduate Diploma.

    There are a few clear differentials.

    1) The MSc requires 10 extra teaching credits, meaning students have the opportunity to study for an addditional CT exam directly as part of the qualification.

    2) There are opportunities for MSc students to complete their research thesis in the form of a paid actuarial work placement, and we have already been successful in arranging this for some of the students this year.

    3) A number of scholarships of 4000euro each are available as financial support for the MSc.

    We will be happy to discuss these in further detail should you have further interest in applying for the programme.

    Best regards,

    Dr Adrian O'Hagan


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