Hi, I'm currently a student who studying A-level in Sunway College. I wish to pursue actuarial science course for degree but I'm not so clear about the actual job prospect, salary, environment ad so on since none of my family members and friends is actuary. Somemore, is further math essential for actuarial science? . Anyone in this field can share some personal experience? I will be grateful to you!

why u study a level if u want to pursue actuarial science study?

Why say that? I'll continue studying actuarial science degree after finishing A-level. Anyway, are you from Malaysia?

I don't think you are doing enough on your part. There are alot of resources online, such as http://www.beanactuary.org/ etc.

or, try searching the Education Essential thread, there are tons of discussions going on there.

As for job scope, there are different actuarial related work in different insurance field, mainly pricing of life insurance, general insurance, reinsurance, and risk management.

The works are mostly in pricing of insurance products, reserve making, risk management and most importantly, actuarial reporting.

usually people do A-Level to further their study in medicine/engineering/accounting...my time was different than yours, maybe you study under your own pocket not by government scholarship..because jpa only sponsor for elite course...

now time has changed, if u got money, u can study in oversea...

sorry old people bro,,,

You should ask Ng Hui Ming. go buy ice cream from her.

you mean the person sell ice cream now?

yes.

Hey, I already read it before, but I need a qualified actuary to share some opinions before I venture into it.

OMG, he study actuarial sc in where?

Qualified actuary don't hang out in this forum lah...go do your homework and you'll know which forum to hit.

I'm a girl, don't call me bro...I'm sponsord by government. Somemore, actuarial sc is elite course. Pls make sure u know something before u comment. Thx

There are many many people studying actuarial science nowadays.
Many local uni now offer this course.
Many graduates come for interview in my office looking for position within our actuarial dept but we just do not have enough vacancies to take them in.
I'm not saying that you should not pursue but if you do make sure you are really good in maths and stats. If not you do not stand a chance with the fellowship exams.
Graduating with an actuarial science degree is not too hard but unless you get the fellowship exams, you will not be talking about much more money than other jobs within an insurance company.
Under the coming FSA all insurance companies must have appointed actuaries whose function should not include pricing.
Almost non of the general insurance companies to date has an appointed actuary so there will be a demand.
The general insurance motor and fire tariff will be abolished in 2016 so there will be a scramble for pricing actuarist soon. Most general insurance companies now don't even have pricing actuarist.
I myself is an Actuarial Science graduate but choose not to go into Actuarial Science itself but I am still doing well with my job in a general insurance company.
But I deal with Actuarist a lot, both internal and external actuarist. My background helps me to deal with them.
My daughters took Actuarial Science but both choose to change course after one year because they find it too hard.
I'm not trying to frighten you but just want you to know that unless you are confident to get the fellowship, you will not be making the kind of money that you hear actuarist are earning.
Also you do not need an actuarial science degree to work in actuarial dept. some of my company actuarial staff did a degree in maths or statistics.
Hope this helps in making a decision.

This post has been edited by sekkee: Jun 27 2013, 07:56 PM

Ok, thx for your useful opinion ~Anyway, what is the differences between internal and external actuary? Somemore, how many actuaries do a company need averagely?I also heard some people say that getting a fellowship can get salary up to 5 figure, is it true? Thx.

Internal actuaries are those employed by the insurance company.
External actuaries are those working for actuarial firms like tower watson etc where those insurance companies without appointed or pricing actuarist outsource the work to them. For mergers and acquisitions we also outsource to external actuaries for additional opinions in valuation.
For general insurance companies right now most will not have qualified actuaries though some might have some actuarial/maths/stats graduates doing some simple analysis work. My company has about 8 pax I think and they get support from our regional actuarial team.
All life companies will have a qualified actuarist.
Of course a qualified actuarist is earning 5 figure salaries. You are looking at upwards of 30k at the very minimum.
Bank Negara also has an actuarial team so that is another option.

You might get increment faster in your early career stage compared to your peers since your increment will based on your exam progression. But that doesn't mean that getting a fellowship will guarantee you a 5-figure salary immediately. Once you are qualified, it means that the increment based on your exam progression will stop if you're not promoted to a higher rank.

Some people get qualified younger like 2-3 years into their job, some might not even make it after 30 years old. For those that get qualified very young, their rank in the company might only be AM or Manager and I doubt they can make 5-figure. But say if you're above 30 and qualified, most probably your experience, rank and qualification warrant you a 5-figure salary.

If you go for actuarial science because of money, then probably that's not the best one. A lot of jobs out there can give you better rewards in the long term. Ppl generally choose it as a career because it gives job security, work-life balance, intellectual challenge, and a bit above-average rewards. It's the combination of these factors that make it appealing.

Agree with you, thx anyway!

Well, tqvm XD

i am agree with wat sekkee and gold connection say.
my ex roomate is making more than 6k per month at the age of 24. You can get faster increament by passing exam.

general insurance does not have enough qualified actuary, you can try to go for p&c track. Most of the general/reinsurance company outsource their actuarial function.

oic...but i prefer to specialize in finance or ERM XD