[quote=justastudent,Mar 29 2012, 10:15 PM]
so u mean if i study in ANU or Melbourne University, i can have exemptions for the full 8 CTs? how bout the VEEs? is it covered as well?

btw, i like pure maths more than mechanics or stuffs like that. do u think it's suitable for me to take actuarial science? or should i go for maths instead?

thanks for answering me (=

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Added on March 29, 2012, 10:49 pm
[QUOTE]
btw, like what u said above, is the format the same for SOA, FIA and IAA?
is part III the part to be done for me to be a new fellow or just a new associate?
and which is part II?

sorry and thanks for spending ur time to answer my questions haha

[/quote]

You'll have to look it up. SOA is different from the UK institute, IAA only shares the CTs.

People doing a Maths degree would probably say the Maths in Act Sci is nothing... but it could be completely true, Act Sci is not a study of Maths. It is Insurance Maths, incorporating Financial Maths, Probability and Statistics, with basic principles of Economics. When you are just deriving formulas it's going to feel like Maths, but all you're doing is using series and calculus... there's no trigonometry, geometry or whatever.

some minor corrections,

In actuarial, You will probably have to deal with all sorts of math a statistician will have to deal with,
common calculus & limiting distributions. Financial math for premium pricing, Generalised linear models &
mathematical statistics most of the time, sometimes Geometry & trigo, when you are fitting models
with (sin, cos, characteristics) or using certain algorithm when running simulations.
But dont worry, you dont do those everyday, Calculus? yes.

The building blocks of Actuarial Science, is reasonable, logical and fluent, with introductory economics,
some understanding of mechanism in finance. Although the statistics part is rather abstract at first, but ease up as you go on.
Insurance math stuff, is not abstract, just you know where you start, where to end, but there's a huge drama in between
the calculation to get there.

Math degree (I am assuming pure math, which is also whats special bout math anyway) mostly
give you deeper understanding on "stuff you dont really directly need in applied math" (if you are gonna work in some
boring corporation someday). You go deeper into fundamental principles of everything, learn techniques of proof,
bunch and bunch of abstract concept (not really tedious, but if you dont know it, you probably dont even know how to start).
I am not sure bout others, as I just do probability & measure theory. But can expect similar structure for all other pure math courses.
Well it also depends on the University, how theoretical or applied they want most math courses to be.

PS: Pre-U and high school math hardly tell anything. I have bunch of friends with 3A's struggle in 1st year pure math course.
And some of my 3rd yr math classmates hardly reach a TER of 82.
If you like to deal with numbers, stick with Actuarial, finance, stat, engineering. Or math will make your life miserable.

here's a small example of how both are different:

Actuarial Sci.
Here's f(x) a probability density function that describes
automobile claim, X. While here's f(y) another Prob. density function
to describe the similar automobile claim, X.
Provided is 120 claim size data that are assumed to be independent.
Run a suitable test to decide which model fits the claim distribution more adequate. Explain.

Math
Using similar argument in Axiom of Choice,
Prove or disprove that there exist a probability measure Q(x), from Powerset(Real) -> [0,1] such that
F(x) := Q((-inf,x]) is a continous function.

My only consolation is that I won't do Advanced Derivatives Pricing?

You can, if you want to be prepared for IB.


by the way some of the difference on AS and math is for TS, as I assume
you must be an expert (sort of) in knowing the difference between the 2 by now. lol

ok guys.... i'm still lost lol
so basically, i study 3/4 years for my degree (if i'm taking up actuarial science) and while i am studying, i pass my professional papers as long as i do good in my exams to get exemptions.
then after, i start working and finish up my professional papers.
is this true?

can someone tell me a little bout finance for actuarial science 'cause i have no idea what is it like at all... =.=

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finance

Finance in Act Sci is no different from Finance itself.

But it is not "Finance" in the context of the Finance Departments of some companies, which do accounting and whatever. Finance can be budgeting, valuation, asset and liability matching, investment, risk management etc. That's why everyone doing Finance or Actuarial is supposed to have at least a single class of Accounting - to learn Accounting basics like balance sheets, financial analysis ratios, financial statements and reporting, because of regulatory requirements and asset/liability knowledge. Strange that LSE, king of undergraduate studies in anything remotely related to or geared towards Economics and Banking in Europe, and known for that worldwide, does not have the CT2 exemption.

right... um... so if i'm not that into finance, will you suggest me go for statistics instead or finance is not a really big part in actuarial science so it's still ok?
thanks a lot ^.^

Finance in Actuarial is relatively small. Introductory Corporate Finance, Derivatives, Investment. Basic concepts needed for valuation, risk management, and learning about markets and investment strategies. It doesn't have to go further than this.

I think I would get bored to death in a Statistics degree.

Hey do you mind refreshing my mind with a little math? You're good at it right? Problem is if you don't use it then after a while you get rusty.

A = B exp® (exponential)

Take natural logs of both sides.

r = lnA - lnB = ln(A/B)

It's not possible to get lnA = rlnB at all right? Damn these lecturers.

so it's still ok for me to take actuarial science then? =P

eh.... i haven't learn bout exponential yet lol
cant help much sorry >.<

It can only be ln A = r + ln B. i think your lecturer left out the plus sign

Seems so silly and trivial to ask a Year 10 question like this right? But this teacher wrote the frigging book I pulled that out of...

A statistician knows how to joke alot better and in a more comprehendable way than an actuary, traditionally.
Well, I observe that from a sample of my lecturers. hahahaha.
it usually goes this way
Applied statistics < Specialised statistics< Mathematical statistics

Finance is basically an application of statistics. With some crap theories, contributed by economists as well. Hahaha.

Dont be too concerned bout dealing with exponents,
till today I still refer to notes to do integration by part and integration of exponents. lol

Can't wait to relearn by parts >.<

These guys really suck at Math

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Added on March 30, 2012, 10:42 pmBut if you're doing A Level Maths or Further you must definitely know much more than this... Year 10 stuff... unless you've forgotten everything like me haha

This post has been edited by LightningFist: Mar 30 2012, 10:42 PM

Must have been a typo

Hmm well it's been printed more than a few times, and there are more than a few writers, along with claims from a certain instructor that mistakes are never made (although we get them too frequently). A very large and unusual typo... how does a mistake like that happen...

basically you study 3 or 4 years for your degree, to learn the building blocks of actuarial science,
that is if you do well, you get exempted for papers case by case. hence, you will get your PART I of actuarial
qualification done (if you do well),
PART II and III are taken externally (although, there's some school that exempt for Part II as well, with a higher cut-off exemption grade).
If you are lifeless and/or highly intellectual and/or an expert in AS and/or just being lucky,
you might be able to finish all 3 PARTS within 7 years (std. dev 1.4 years).

Or, you can give up, and take CFA or CPA or some other qualification instead. Which is rumoured to be, what
people usually do.
PArt II passing rate is around 40%, Part III is 33%. for reference.


Actuarial science is a study of methods to manage financial risk. From interest rates, up to premium pricing.
Everything in finance, is incorporated as a finance applicable in actuarial science if thats what you are asking.
Oh, except we dont do much of single cash flow stuff, or financial calculators, perhaps these are too mainstream.

all you get most of the time is bunch of horrible algebra, and some tables to work with. maybe.

If the question was "If A = B exp® show that A = r ln B", it's definitely a typo. Anyone who has studied logarithm can help you verify that.

maybe i did? haha cant rmb anything at the moment though XP

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Added on April 1, 2012, 12:33 amright, thanks a lot =D

This post has been edited by justastudent: Apr 1 2012, 12:33 AM

I am the SPM leaver. A question I'd like to ask here after seeing some posts :
Q : After you complete the degree in AC, u are nt an actuary yet ? o.o
Isn't it u need to take a professional exam like SOA, etc to become an actuary ?

How about UTAR AC degree? I heard there's a SOA examination.

It is possible to be an actuary after a degree, but not necessarily entirely because of the degree. If you finish all the relevant exams and any exemptions where applicable for an associate of the institute and meet all the other requirements then you're an actuary in the same sense as a person who has completed his MD is a doctor while someone who has completed his BEng/MEng is an engineer by training.

No degree will make you an actuary (i.e. if you don't do anything external beyond the degree). It's not just the academic exams, there are work experience and training and seminar requirements.

For the UK/Australia, many exams can be done through a degree. So that get's you part of the way towards becoming an actuary.