Does UTAR good in it?? im not sure that shud i take it......zzzz

My friend was Actuarial science student in UTAR and he transfers to Sunway University eventually.

As an actuarial analyst, the knowledge and skill you will obtain going this course will equip you to take on almost any task in the finance industry (given that you understand the material, not just passing the exams). However, for the effort and brain power you put into mastering the skills, the appreciation and benefits you get in return is not worth while; the time you put into studying for exams after working in the office will make you seem lifeless (yes you will definitely be still studying for your professional exams after you obtain your degree). The salary you are offered are similar to any fresh grad who major in the commerce field. To be a qualified actuary, the earliest you can attain the qualification will be around 26 years old if you pass all your exams for every semester, which is possible but it is quite hard.

However, if you are passionate about actuarial science (which most probably ending up in the finance field), it will be easier for you to get a job because we trained to know a little bit of everything in the finance field and thus employers will prefer to hire and train people with an actuarial degree. We are able to learn things easier.

I reckon if you major in engineering and get into oil & gas industry will have much more promising future. Finish your degree and get an awesome salary in that industry with alot less studying.

Please check it whether UTAR got MQA recognition for that course or not

Hi ,

in the bolded part above , does the finance indunstry you mentioned is insurance ?

well, currently in Malaysia you will usie most of the actuarial technical skills in insurance field as many of the statutory requirements from bank negara are based on actuarial methodologies.

However, there are plenty of actuarial graduates who ended up in other financial institutions such as banking, investment banks, unit trust, etc as actuarial concept and knowledge can be widely applied across in any finance field. There are few paths of specialization in actuarial. For example, in countries such as Australia, companies will hire a group of actuaries to manage the companies' investment portfolios because of their analytical and technical skills.

In terms of study material, most case studies will relate to insurance field as actuaries tend to be more focused on insurance in early development of actuarial field.

This post has been edited by bombaday: Oct 6 2014, 01:12 AM

Hi bombaday,

You seem to have a lot of actuarial knowledge, and I'm amazed by you. Are you, perhaps , an actuary in Malaysia ?

but my friend recommended me to take Financial Mathematics rather than Actuarial Science,so im a little bit confused@@ what shud i choose

Actuarial Science is a very specific course. If you are not intending to go into Actuarial field, I would generally advise against taking up AS.
On the other hand, financial maths is slightly more diverse, giving you options. You can still get into actuarial field through financial mathematics course, but it will be more difficult.
The course in AS will help you expand your knowledge on external papers etc..
So, the bottom line is, what is your interest... Do you really know what is actuarial science?
If not, https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1039295 <-- it's a good read.

the degree is just basic. the most important is the 5 SOA paper.

You don't necessarily need to enroll for ActSc course and obtain the degree in order to be an actuary in the future.