Actuarial Studies... (1 Viewer)

[Bobbo1]

So what's the course like, starting salary and employment opportunities in the future??

Which uni out of macquarie or unsw is the better choice??

 

[imjay]

I'm studying at UNSW doing actuarial studies (2nd yr). I had this exact same crossroad two years ago.
I figured Macquarie is good because it was the first uni in Aust. to have it, whereas UNSW has way more resources.
Honestly, choose whichever suits you better, since they're both very good.
Consider the travel to both unis.

Oh and starting salary isn't as high as most would expect. From what i hear its about 40/50k, but it grows pretty quick depending on the amount of exams you've completed and so on.

The course is pretty interesting. Lots of maths as you should already know. Insurance, probabilities, finance are the topics that I'm doing right now in my actuarial courses.

 

[michaeljennings]

I'm studying at UNSW doing actuarial studies (2nd yr). I had this exact same crossroad two years ago.
I figured Macquarie is good because it was the first uni in Aust. to have it, whereas UNSW has way more resources.
Honestly, choose whichever suits you better, since they're both very good.
Consider the travel to both unis.

Oh and starting salary isn't as high as most would expect. From what i hear its about 40/50k, but it grows pretty quick depending on the amount of exams you've completed and so on.

The course is pretty interesting. Lots of maths as you should already know. Insurance, probabilities, finance are the topics that I'm doing right now in my actuarial courses.

So would you say there is no difference between UNSW and Macq and you should make your decision on which uni is easiest to get to? Because UNSW is a pain for me to get to but Macq is like 5 mins from my house

 

[Bobbo1]

I'm studying at UNSW doing actuarial studies (2nd yr). I had this exact same crossroad two years ago.
I figured Macquarie is good because it was the first uni in Aust. to have it, whereas UNSW has way more resources.
Honestly, choose whichever suits you better, since they're both very good.
Consider the travel to both unis.

Oh and starting salary isn't as high as most would expect. From what i hear its about 40/50k, but it grows pretty quick depending on the amount of exams you've completed and so on.

The course is pretty interesting. Lots of maths as you should already know. Insurance, probabilities, finance are the topics that I'm doing right now in my actuarial courses.

so would you recommend it??, i was initially wanting to do engineering but apparently the field is slowing down so im really considering actuary now

 

[imjay]

Well in my opinion, i'd go Macquarie if its only 5 mins away.
I don't really think that there's any real difference in education. Since its only 5 mins, i don't see the point in going to UNSW which i assume will be much longer than 5 mins, when you get practically same education.

HOWEVER, i forgot to mention, that i've heard that UNSW may have more employment opportunities after you grad, BUT this is debatable, some may say that MACQ specialises in ACTL more than UNSW.

ANYWAY TO SUM THINGS UP:
Based on education i don't think there's any real difference. So IMHO you should take other factors into account, like employment opportunities (which i personally am biased for UNSW), travel, which campus you prefer, which one you feel is more looked well upon by employers, etc.
Basically, i can't give you an answer of which uni is the better choice, since it will be different for everyone.
You'll have to look at both campuses carefully and make the final decision on your own, though i'm sure many other people will give you their opinion in this thread.

Good luck with whichever course you choose to pursue and whichever uni it is at .

 

[michaeljennings]

Well in my opinion, i'd go Macquarie if its only 5 mins away.
I don't really think that there's any real difference in education. Since its only 5 mins, i don't see the point in going to UNSW which i assume will be much longer than 5 mins, when you get practically same education.

HOWEVER, i forgot to mention, that i've heard that UNSW may have more employment opportunities after you grad, BUT this is debatable, some may say that MACQ specialises in ACTL more than UNSW.

ANYWAY TO SUM THINGS UP:
Based on education i don't think there's any real difference. So IMHO you should take other factors into account, like employment opportunities (which i personally am biased for UNSW), travel, which campus you prefer, which one you feel is more looked well upon by employers, etc.
Basically, i can't give you an answer of which uni is the better choice, since it will be different for everyone.
You'll have to look at both campuses carefully and make the final decision on your own, though i'm sure many other people will give you their opinion in this thread.

Good luck with whichever course you choose to pursue and whichever uni it is at .

Cheers =)

 

[imjay]

so would you recommend it??, i was initially wanting to do engineering but apparently the field is slowing down so im really considering actuary now

Yes it is not too hard if you have the fundamentals of your maths down. Being able to learn difficult topics well and quickly would definitely help. Of course, you should be at least a little INTERESTED in the fields (Insurance, probabilities, finance) that i mentioned. Way too many of my peers switch courses because they find it boring, hence get poor marks. Note that !

 

[apollo1]

Yes it is not too hard if you have the fundamentals of your maths down. Being able to learn difficult topics well and quickly would definitely help. Of course, you should be at least a little INTERESTED in the fields (Insurance, probabilities, finance) that i mentioned. Way too many of my peers switch courses because they find it boring, hence get poor marks. Note that !

wat sort of probability do you use? like binomial and permutations or more advanced than that?

 

[Bobbo1]

wat sort of probability do you use? like binomial and permutations or more advanced than that?

Even, i can answer that straight off, and say that it would a LOT harder and more complex than that - by the time its hsc, i.e. i think we should be reasonably confident with them

 

[hungwell1337]

so would you recommend it??, i was initially wanting to do engineering but apparently the field is slowing down so im really considering actuary now

1. the engineering field is not slowing down, the demand for "the right type of engineers" afaik is pretty strong

2. you'd have a lot more trouble finding employment within actuarial than engineering

3. UNSW is introducing a b.actuarial with a 99+ cutoff, and a restructured program.

 

[jaychouf4n]

UNSW if you are unsure about Actuarial, because the B. Comm structure lets you transfer out.

Mac if you're sure that you are becoming an Actuary because their course is far better.

Wish I could do the B. Actuarial Course... (I think it was ~98.5 but could definitely be above 99)

 

[Ritz1024]

fyi starting salary definitely higher that 40/50k as stated above, more like 70k this is for big 4 banks. But due to current economic condition may be lower.

 

[lyounamu]

^actuarial role in big 4 bank? you mean risk management role right? then again, most roles at big 4 bank would be starting around 60K anyway...

actuarial pay is so overrated imho...if you want money, investment bank or MC would be the way to go.

In terms of choice between UNSW or macquarie. If you are really set on doing actuarial and if you really live close to macq, go to macq. If not, go to UNSW. it offers you the best flexibility.

on unrelated note, hi leon + hongwei =D

 

[Bobbo1]

but doesnt actuarial also lead to investment banking? and not sure what MC stands for..

 

[Ritz1024]

^actuarial role in big 4 bank? you mean risk management role right?

yes.

 

[ascentyx]

big4 also have actuarial departments eg I know some friends working for the pwc actuarial.

 

[lyounamu]

but doesnt actuarial also lead to investment banking? and not sure what MC stands for..

Yes. It does lead to IB as well. But I found that people who get into IB tend to be those from Comm/law or Comm/eco or someone who has knowledge of accounting as well. I believe that there is hardly any transferable skill from Actuarial Studies to IB.

MC is management consulting.

 

[jaychouf4n]

TBH: You make life a lot easier when you study an easier major like finance or accounting. In any case, you learn most of IB and MC on the job, so the numerical benefits you get from Actuarial will become irrelevant as you gain more experience.

I would seriously consider doing law, it's a great generalist degree and gets you lots of the soft skills that commerce simply doesn't provide; precise verbal and written communication and very storng interpersonal skills. This is one of the major reasons many MC and IB people turn out to have Law as part of their degree.

(I'm biased because I'm studying Actuarial and Law right now, so keep this advice with a grain of salt!)

 

[Bobbo1]

TBH: You make life a lot easier when you study an easier major like finance or accounting. In any case, you learn most of IB and MC on the job, so the numerical benefits you get from Actuarial will become irrelevant as you gain more experience.

I would seriously consider doing law, it's a great generalist degree and gets you lots of the soft skills that commerce simply doesn't provide; precise verbal and written communication and very storng interpersonal skills. This is one of the major reasons many MC and IB people turn out to have Law as part of their degree.

(I'm biased because I'm studying Actuarial and Law right now, so keep this advice with a grain of salt!)

Wow, actuarial and law, tough course much???

 

[lyounamu]

^its coz he is a tank.