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Best study guide for 1st actuary exam?

Just for the benefit of others, will post one of my replies to Syringer's PM:

"As far as examine preparation materials are concerned, I highly recommend Klein's How to pass series, Averbach's preparation manuals (search for Averbach), as well as ASM's study manuals. Also, mailing lists/online study groups can be effective as well - both society sites provide these at no cost."

Actex study guides are acceptable as well, but have found the above guides much more beneficial.
Originally posted by: Mo0o
whats an actuary exam?
Click to expand...
Quite possibly one of the most difficult series of exams on the planet.
 
Originally posted by: ActuaryTm
Just for the benefit of others, will post one of my replies to Syringer's PM:

"As far as examine preparation materials are concerned, I highly recommend Klein's How to pass series, Averbach's preparation manuals (search for Averbach), as well as ASM's study manuals. Also, mailing lists/online study groups can be effective as well - both society sites provide these at no cost."

Actex study guides are acceptable as well, but have found the above guides much more beneficial.
Originally posted by: Mo0o
whats an actuary exam?
Click to expand...
Quite possibly one of the most difficult series of exams on the planet.
Click to expand...

:beer: for you!

After reading this thread earlier today, and noticing that there were no replies, I was going to PM you, ActuaryTm... however, for the longest time I thought your username was ActuaryTim, and so PMing you wasn't really an option 😛

Thank you for the insight ActuaryTm.
 
good luck studying, where I work I am told junior actuaries actually get to study during work hours when preparing for their exams and are not responsible for anything else. If I knew what they used for studying I would certainly let you know.

Unfortunately, the IT managers do not feel the same about us learning new technologies.
 
i thought actuary wasn't that difficult, just involved a lot of number crunching and working 20hrs a day for 100k+ out of college.


::shrug::
 
Originally posted by: ActuaryTm
Just for the benefit of others, will post one of my replies to Syringer's PM:

"As far as examine preparation materials are concerned, I highly recommend Klein's How to pass series, Averbach's preparation manuals (search for Averbach), as well as ASM's study manuals. Also, mailing lists/online study groups can be effective as well - both society sites provide these at no cost."

Actex study guides are acceptable as well, but have found the above guides much more beneficial.
Originally posted by: Mo0o
whats an actuary exam?
Click to expand...
Quite possibly one of the most difficult series of exams on the planet.
Click to expand...

Yeahh, I looked through those links earlier and found so many results, I had no idea which single one to pinpoint it down to. Any specific recommendation that you've found was very helpful?
 
Thought it prudent to dispel some of the misinformation presented here, and instead replace it with some firsthand experience.
Originally posted by: rocadelpunk
i thought actuary wasn't that difficult, just involved a lot of number crunching and working 20hrs a day for 100k+ out of college.
Click to expand...
The exams are extremely difficult, as is evidenced by the low passing ratios (typically between 30-40%). Have some summary actuarial exam statistics available across the last four years or so; will just have to format them a bit, and make them available online. EDIT: See below for examination result data.
Originally posted by: Mo0o
Oh wait nm, i found out. So is it like Ben Stiller's job in "Along Came Polly"?
Click to expand...
Believe the character in question was a risk analyst, and while risk assessment is indeed part the actuary's role, the responsibilities of a typical actuary go far, far beyond a simple risk assessor.
Originally posted by: AU Tiger
where I work I am told junior actuaries actually get to study during work hours when preparing for their exams and are not responsible for anything else.
Click to expand...
Would say that is an atypical experience. Usually, an actuarial student - which is the designation (not job title) of those working in the actuarial profession who have yet to reach the Associate level in either actuarial society (SOA or CAS) - is responsible for a number of actuarial duties while progressing as a student (the exam process to become a Fellow of either society takes on average approximately 7 1/2 to 9 years to complete). The larger companies that employ several actuaries typically offer a rotational experience, where the actuarial student is exposed to a multitude of facets of a particular business line and responsible for generating much of the lower level "number crunching" reports that are a necessity, whereas the upper level Associates and Fellows are responsible for the more advanced duties (financial modeling, the governing of the ratemaking process, etc). However, that said, it is typical that actuarial students are provided not only with on-the-job study time, but also with the necessary materials and/or seminars (which can be extremely costly), as well as being provided with the exam fees themselves ($100 to $1,000 each). Most companies however also implement a rule or clause that effectively removes or reduces these benefits based on the candidate's performance - a "one pass in three attempts" is often the case.

Do hope that helps, if even a little. Will post the exam results a bit later today.
 
Originally posted by: Syringer
Yeahh, I looked through those links earlier and found so many results, I had no idea which single one to pinpoint it down to. Any specific recommendation that you've found was very helpful?
Click to expand...
Would suggest proceeding as follows:

1. Review the Exam 1 recommended texts, which can be found here. There are eleven or so suggested texts - make certain to have at the very least one from each of the three categories listed. Stewart (Calculus) is a popular text at many universities. I generally prefer the Larson text, but that may be just personal preference. The Hogg (Probability) text is excellent, although if you are weaker or less exposed to advanced probability, would suggest obtaining one additional text here that centers more around financial/risk/insurance applications - the Actex publication may prove useful if such is the case. The "Risk and Insurance" study note is available for download here.

2. At one time or another, I've used all of the above recommended study guides (Klein, Averback, and ASM) for various exams. They are all excellent resources. Would suggest obtaining at least one study guide from those mentioned above, and in conjunction with the aforementioned texts. With regard to Klein, do not believe he offers a "How to pass Exam 1" guide. Averback offers a large number of sample exams and sample exam questions within her guide, so perhaps that is a good place to begin. The ASM and Averback guides are similar in price if memory serves, so choose one, and begin. If needed, one could always order additional guides later on if one felt unprepared after completing the first.

3. A small number of sample exams are available under either society's site as well, for additional preparation purposes (found here). Inexpensive study kits are also available from the CAS as well, but only for Exam 3 and beyond.

4. Become a member of one of the online study groups available at either society's site, and participate.
 
Originally posted by: ActuaryTm
The exams are extremely difficult, as is evidenced by the low passing ratios (typically between 30-40%). Have some summary actuarial exam statistics available across the last four years or so; will just have to format them a bit, and make them available online.
Click to expand...
Actuarial examination results, by exam and by year, cumulative year 2000 through year 2004. Forgive the crudeness of the data, and the presentation as I threw it together rather hastily.
 
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