Other Pathways to Actuarial Studies (1 Viewer)

[Blue Tongue]

Hi all,
I am interested and do well in 4U Maths and Music 2 + Music Extension.
However, I am not sure if I can attain > 97 ATAR in this HSC year.
So, my question is if I end up having an ATAR < 97, is there any course that I can enroll before transitioning to actuarial studies.
Any helpful response would be great!
Thanks.

 

[He-Mann]

Bachelor of Science and take relevant mathematics/actuarial units.

 

[EngineeringHelp]

Bachelor of Science and take relevant mathematics/actuarial units.

Taking relevant mathematics units? Wouldn't that consist of "Advanced Mathematics" courses, which require a similar ATAR for the entry into Actuarial Studies if i'm not mistaken. There's a great chance i am wrong so if anyone has the specific courses, please link them! thanks!

 

[BenHowe]

Hey,

I got offers to do combined actuarial @ mq and unsw and ended going up with mq, but I didn't get the required atar for either. I only got an atar of 96.5, but I got 5 bonus points from mq and 2 from unsw...

Anyways you can and you cant, answering your questions above. To become a qualified actuary in Australia or a fellow of the institute of actuaries australia (fiaa) you need to complete part 1, part 2, part 3 exams and a professionalism course. Depending on your course/grades, you can gain part exemptions to part 1 and 2 (just means you dont have to pay the institute to do it) in a combined undergraduate degree or a postgraduate, which is typically a master of actuarial practice.

However if you dont get the 97-98 atar you still need an atar >95 and have completed a maths or stats undergrad degre for the institute to allow you to become a student member and sit your exams. http://www.actuaries.asn.au/becoming-an-actuary/becoming-a-member/becoming-a-student-member

University Graduates
Graduates from an Australian or New Zealand university should have a degree majoring in mathematics or statistics, or honours in a non-mathematical subject, and demonstrate a sufficient standard of mathematics through university or school grades.
Graduates need to have completed their Higher School Certificate equivalent and received a ranking of 95 or higher when converted. Subjects must include English and high-level Mathematics.

All hope is not lost though. You can definitely transfer from another relevant stem degree part way during uni but again it's hard. In all honesty just do your best and see what happens.

Btw actuarial @ anu is only 95 atm. So yeah i would say if you get >98 awesome ur in, 97-98 probs, >95 maybe, >90 unlikely but best of luck!

Also I think UNSW has a future students day where you get to go into the city and have a mini lecture/tour of Finity's offices. Finity are one of the leading actuarial consultancy firms in Aus/NZ and I went when I was in y11 and it was super cool. Could be something there. I think MQ also has a similiar be an actuary for a day for y10-12 students...

 

[Blue Tongue]

Hey,
I got offers to do combined actuarial @ mq and unsw and ended going up with mq, but I didn't get the required atar for either. I only got an atar of 96.5, but I got 5 bonus points from mq and 2 from unsw...

Do you mean that your official ATAR was 96.5 and then plus the bonus point of 5 from MQ making it 101.5?
I received my AMusA last year and from memory I should have 3 bonus points for UNSW.

 

[BenHowe]

Yeah my atar was 96.5. In regards to the bonus points it just woulda said I had a selection rank of 99.95. Oh ok cool. I did my gold duke of ed. You'd have to check if it's offered under there elite athletes/performers. Note you need to apply for that, you dont just get it

 

[leehuan]

Anyways you can and you cant, answering your questions above. To become a qualified actuary in Australia or a fellow of the institute of actuaries australia (fiaa) you need to complete part 1, part 2, part 3 exams and a professionalism course. Depending on your course/grades, you can gain part exemptions to part 1 and 2 (just means you dont have to pay the institute to do it) in a combined undergraduate degree or a postgraduate, which is typically a master of actuarial practice.

Not everyone does part IIIs anyway

 

[BenHowe]

Not everyone does part IIIs anyway

True. To become an associate you need part 1 and 2 and the professionalism course. Part 3 is hard because you have to do it whilst working full time as an actuary to meet the prac requirements. It typically takes 2 years if you pass first time.

 

[leehuan]

True. To become an associate you need part 1 and 2 and the professionalism course. Part 3 is hard because you have to do it whilst working full time as an actuary to meet the prac requirements. It typically takes 2 years if you pass first time.

Which whilst possible for just one test, is insanely hard for all of them

 

[BenHowe]

Which whilst possible for just one test, is insanely hard for all of them

Yeah. That's why there are so few actuaries in Australia, it's really fkn hard lol. Personally I need to get credits in at least 21 exams. This is also another reason why people dont bother becoming a fellow because after getting an awesome atar + 4 years of uni, another 2 years of spending all your free time studying (remember you're working full time whilst doing part 3's) is just too much.

If it makes you feel better, ALDI have grad positions starting @ 80k p/a with an iphone and a car for anyone who has completed a business degree. I'm gonna be going for that if the actuary thing doesnt work out

Nonetheless, #Road2fiaa2022 ... RIP

 

[fluffchuck]

Yeah my atar was 96.5. In regards to the bonus points it just woulda said I had a selection rank of 99.95. Oh ok cool. I did my gold duke of ed. You'd have to check if it's offered under there elite athletes/performers. Note you need to apply for that, you dont just get it

How did you get bonus points from macquarie? I thought that you couldn't get them if you were doing actuarial studies?

 

[BenHowe]

I live in a rural area

Na for any course you can get a max of 6 bonus points. But the bonus points for actuarial dont include subject bonus points. Also note @ mq there is a pre-requisite. You need an e4 in e1. At unsw you dont't and also the same for anu I believe. I don't know about the others cause I didn't consider going there

Combine your bonus points
You can receive a maximum of 10 bonus points combined across the five schemes, apart from the following degrees for which you can receive a maximum of six bonus points:

Bachelor of Actuarial Studies and its double degrees
Bachelor of Laws and its double degrees
Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) and its double degrees
Bachelor of Advanced Science
Bachelor of Clinical Science.

https://www.mq.edu.au/study/find-a-course/undergraduate/macquarie-entry/bonus-points

Also at anu since jsut actuarial is 95, all the bonus point schemes apply with a max of 5 academic and 5 other for a total of 10 for all courses with atar <97. http://www.anu.edu.au/study/apply/bonus-points

So you could get into actuarial there with an atar of 85 if you had the right subjects/scenario

Also USYD have an actuarial course which is starting next year or the year after but the atar for that will be at least 99 but yeah. There are a lot of choices if u need some more specific advice pm

gl!

 

[currysauce]

Hi
Actuary here, if you haven't I suggest checking out: http://actuaries.asn.au/becoming-an-actuary/how-to-become-an-actuary

Happy to answer questions on this career path.

Cheers

 

[BenHowe]

Hey,

I was just wondering did you have a job at uni and did you manage to develop your ec's and get any internships? Just asking because I'm still getting used to the work/study/life load lol

Thanks heaps in advance

 

[currysauce]

Hi

I had a job at uni but it was unrelated.

I wasn't lucky with internships nor finding a job straight out of uni, but that would have been influenced by the GFC at the time.

The workload takes a lot of discipline but you'll find once you get in your groove that uni will become easier. The first semester out of uni can be a shock to the system relative to high school.

 

[pikachu975]

Hi
Actuary here, if you haven't I suggest checking out: http://actuaries.asn.au/becoming-an-actuary/how-to-become-an-actuary

Happy to answer questions on this career path.

Cheers

Do you do much maths on the job? Just wondering because the uni course involves a lot of maths.

Also how are the job prospects after graduating?

Did you think it was worth it to combine actuarial with a maths degree or would commerce have been beneficial?

Last question - In the actuary course do you do much presentations, prac work, group work, etc, or is it mainly just individual and less presentations and if there was group work, do you pick groups?

Thanks!

 

[currysauce]

Do you do much maths on the job? Just wondering because the uni course involves a lot of maths.

Also how are the job prospects after graduating?

Did you think it was worth it to combine actuarial with a maths degree or would commerce have been beneficial?

Last question - In the actuary course do you do much presentations, prac work, group work, etc, or is it mainly just individual and less presentations and if there was group work, do you pick groups?

Thanks!

1. There is plenty of maths on the job, and statistics. But don't think of it as you are given problems to solve all day. It's both quantitative and qualitative work.

The uni studies (which covers the Part I component (and Part II I think)) is to get a good grounding in the types of mathematical concepts, and technical aspects that you're going to need during your career.

2. I am not sure on job prospects but from what I can see (in life insurance at least) is that graduate roles are few and far between. However, that is this industry - general insurance, superannuation, data analytics and other upcoming areas where Actuaries are making a name from themselves (Banking, energy) may have much greater intake.

3. I enjoyed learning the course work from my science degree and it definitely was complementary to the commerce aspect. Was maths overload for me! Depends on what you want to get out of your tertiary education - do you need it to succeed in actuarial? No

4. When I went through uni you had to do plenty of presentations and group work. Not much prac.

Cheers.