Dear all, i am a STPM 2009 leaver and i have gotten my result. It is A for Pengajian Am, B- for Math T , C for Chemistry and C + for Biology

I have decided to pursue my futher degree which involve mathematics after having a consultation with my school councilor.

Currently there are 2 choice which lies between my eyes which is Acturial Science and Accounting. For your information, i have no accounting background except i have learned it before in form 2 as part of KH elective program and as for Acturial Science, my math teacher say that what we`ve learned in math T is applicable in acturial science.

Please give some comment on which road that i should choose


P/S - I do spent my time enjoying mathematics as i usually spent roughly 4 hours in my math exercise and my math marks increase from a mere 19 in the first exam to a B -


Any comments or criticism are greatly welcomed

I assume u are talking about doing either both course in private uni....cos ur chance of entering public uni with those two course is practically low..

anyway, juz for ur info, accounting doesn't involve much math...I'm oso a science student doing accounting after F6...very easy...doing very well myself...
much of accounting is theory...job prospect very very very good despite many uni churning many graduates every 6 months....I've secured employemtn even b4 i enter my final semester...imagine it, audit firm are so desperate for people...Big 4 summore...
So, for accounting, job's good pay's good...hours a bit long,but we're young...so i guess u can seriously consider it...

where as for actuarial science...i dunno which pirvate uni got offer...so u mite wanna ask around a bit...or do it overseas...
job prospect wise...no comment...

accountng is good.. my cousin now working at PWC companies...

Your school counselor isn't giving you very good advice. You've got a B- in Maths yet you've decided to involve yourself in maths. You've passed the time when you can tell yourself "Nvm, I'll work harder later, doesn't mean bad results not will be bad results later". You'll only regret if you take up actuarial science. Don't get misled by the current fad of taking actuarial science.

I agree with this comment....ur councilor is seriously flawed...probably wat they want is to get u off their back and provide u with some crap advise...

Go for account~ your best bet sadly to tell...

as for Actuarial Science, even my 4 flat friend having hard time grinding it...so pay for it overseas, since itz 0% you can do it locally... and i dun have any idea any private education body offering it.

Most big universities only offer actuarial science as a major in their American degree program.The only private institution as far I know that offers Actuarial Science as a degree would be UTAR. Believe me actuarial studies is not an easy thing.Even people who have scored straight As in exams are struggling in it let alone your B- in math.Getting through the degree is already a hard thing but getting pass all the professional exams you would have to take before you become a certified actuaries is no playing matter.With the small amount of certified actuaries in Malaysia,if you can get through it all getting a great high paying job is no problem but with that kind of shortage of certified actuaries you can get an idea how hard it is.It is not like accounting where if you master the theories behind the accounts enough you will at least get a pass in the exams not to say that accounting is easy,accounting is a very difficult subject to me(my weakest subject ^^") and mastering those theories takes a lot of practice ^^" Actuarial Science focuses more on problem solving and you have to think outside the box while also mastering all the theoretical knowledge available to you.

Don't assume you should take actuarial studies just because you like maths.True there are many levels of Mathematics and Statistics involved,but you will also be studying Finance, Economics and Management etc. at the same time.

Re think your options it's not that I'm saying don't take it,it's your own choice if you think you can handle it and are prepared to work yourself pass your limits then go for it it's entirely up to you.In my honest opinion you might not be able to cop with it with those results of yours seeing people I know who can even score perfect scores in exams struggle to score highly in Actuarial Science.

Think very carefully about which course to take, I don't know what type of guy you are,hey for all I know there were some reasons behind you now scoring so well in STPM but your actually a good student,I don't know that.But looking at the surface of it I think you can't handle it and would recommend you to take accounting.If you REALLY think you can handle it by all means take actuarial science but be prepared.

This post has been edited by Hikari0307: Mar 1 2010, 04:23 PM

Thanks for all the replies . Can i know which course has the most external professional papers? Acturial science or accounting?


Btw : I have some fear in pursuing accounts because i`m afriad i can`t catch up due to not having any accounts background

Once again, all feedbacks or criticism are welcomed

For professional actuarial papers you can look here to get an idea.
http://www.actuaries.org.my/default.asp?p=9

For accounting it difers depending on which professional body you are planning to join.

Don't worry about entering Accounting because you never learned it before.There are a lot of people entering an accounting degree without prior knowledge every year and they do quite well in it.When you enter a first year business degree like accounting they will teach you stuff like accounts from scratch.Mostly they will only assume you have a SPM level mathematical knowledge usually.While if you enter an actuarial science degree from pre-u, except for an ADP program which most people enter from SPM, advance mathematical knowledge is not only an assume knowledge,it might also be a pre-requisite for the course.They won't be teaching you this basic stuff they will teach you while assuming you are already capable in this areas of mathematics.

I totally understand ur feeling about taking accounting when u have no basic in it...

Trust me...science student needs no basic in accounting to excel in accounting...I know, a lot people ,when u tell them that u are a science stud doing accounting, they IMMEDIATELY tell u it's difficult...which is a total rubbish!!!..
if tat is the case, how come they offer accounting to the art student and not the science student?...anyway, I'm not going to debate the science VS art stuff...I'm both art and sains...

But what i can tell u from personal experience is that:
I am from science stream till F6, then i switch over to taking accounting in my degree. AND MY RESULT IS WAYYYYYYYYY MUCH better than those so-called that had plenty of "basics" in accounting...

it's all about the attitude...


Most External exam?..I'm not sure on the part of actuarial science...but for accounting, i can give u a very detailed picture...

After u got a degree, u only needa do 5 more external papers if u are planing to take ACCA, OR, 6 more external papers for CPA.
Otehrwise,ur degree would do just fine too. Just that CPA or ACCA membership will give u a bit more bargaining power when negotiating salary.

For CIMA, I'm not that sure. Maybe someone here in LYN can enligthen u on it. BUT I can tell u that ACCA is damn popular and among
the cheapest in terms of exam fees. (that's why Sunway making a kill with their ACCA~~~)

Thanks yo Hikari0307 and fastreader replies, So this means i can learn as a newbie if i choose accounting?

How about future prospect and pay . I`ve read that Actuarist earns more than accounting but does it really worth it due to the enormous time and other sacrifice which is needed to get the external papers

Yes you can start in Accounting from Zero.I myself was a science student learning international business now.It's not an accounting degree but I do have to take a few accounting subjects and I think I'm not half bad in fact I can score better than some people who supposedly got accounting background and score A in their SPM.
Generally there are a lot of job prospects for people with degrees in Accounts out there.Actuarist do earn a lot of money but it is only worth it if you like what you are doing or it is your passion.It's like doctors,they earn a lot of money too but have to spend so much time learning,training,working etc.Whether it's worth it or not it comes down to yourself to decide that.If it's just the salary you want, you can just go for accounting.Professional Certified Accountants earn a lot of money as well.Once you get your degree,passed all your professional papers and accumulated some work experience you can earn a lot of money as an accountant and maybe after working for some time you can get an MBA and climb further up the corporate ladder ^^

This post has been edited by Hikari0307: Mar 1 2010, 06:30 PM

LOL...very subjective to say who earns more...BUT i can tell u that ALL PROFESSIONALS earn more than enuf to lead a comfortable life, be it engineers or doctors or accountant

i'm a science student too and thinking to take accounting or courses related to business admin
for who is taking those courses mind to share about what are u learning now?
i know studying account got to learn something like taxation,company law,auditing and so on
i'm deciding which course to take and feel kinda lost now

what am I learning now?...well,although the degree's name is ACCOUNTING, we are learning a mixture of stuff.

But generally, i can sum it up to be: Management Theory, IT, Law,and of cuz accounting theory and calculation itself..

fastreader mind telling me the offer offered to you by the Big 4? Reference purpose haha

offered?...offered Audit Associate...

. how about salary / worker benefit?

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Added on March 1, 2010, 11:24 pmwhere were u study?graduate already?finished ACCA ?
studying accounting can do jobs related business admin right?

This post has been edited by supernick: Mar 1 2010, 11:24 PM

TS, I'm from science stream taking ICAEW (something like ACCA) without any accounting knowledge in SPM. I'm doing quite well =)

. any difficulties at first when you enter accounts?

Yes...studying accounting can get u into any industry...business admin job oso can..

I'm a 1st year student its, manageable

u do interest in accounting before entering this course?
i scare i will regret choosing either accounting or business admin
got to memorize a lot bla bla bla law?

Hi all ....
I was almost in the same situation with Neonlight
No basic on accounting at all..
Just wondering whether there is a need to have a very good command of english to enter this course?
How if my english standard is only so-so?
Will this really need an extremely hard work to catch up with others?

The things you learn during Form 4 & 5 is only about debit, credit and balancing the financial statements, which are only the surfaces of accounting.
As long as you master the initial concept of double entry (debit and credit) during your first year, you're good to go!

A good command of English is recommended as the questions might twist and turn, confusing you, especially in the final stages of accounting (e.g. the Professional papers of ACCA).

It won't be hard catching up once you understand the basics. I have tons of friends who have no basics in accounting achieving better marks then those with basics.

Then i really have to work even more hard on my English language 1st before i taking up this course..
Anyway..really thx for your reply =)

my MUET rank is band 5 , is it enough to fully understand everything in the degree of accounting or will i still encounter some very difficult and confusing words?

sorry for this question but every time i see some documents about degree posted in the internet, it tends to be very confusing. very different from back in schools day

This post has been edited by Neonlight: Mar 4 2010, 11:12 PM

Even with a band 6 the stuff will be quite confusing ^^ but with a band 5 your all set to start ^^ with enough practice you will feel it becoming less confusing with time ^^

thanks for the motivation. I always wonder why colleges use so difficult words. Can`t they use plain simple words like in text books lol

They use complex words because they have a strict definition, not being too loose.

Like, say... The panel 'illuminates' compared to 'lights up'.

Although both are somewhat similiar, 'illuminate' brings in light without actually heating up the 'lighted' object, but 'lights up' could mean both (heated or not)

my RM0.02



Back to topic: Any actuaries here?

This post has been edited by cheecken0: Mar 5 2010, 09:18 PM

don`t think so. But you can use the search function . search for keyword acturial science, there`s a 16 page topic there.