Actuarial studies

[Gloamglozer]

A few more qs:

2. How many international students do this (in either Monash or Melbourne)?


Thanks

2.  At UoM, a lot.    I remember in Probability lectures, so many.

[pi]

A few more qs:

2. How many international students do this (in either Monash or Melbourne)?


Thanks

2.  At UoM, a lot.    I remember in Probability lectures, so many.

Would you think that would be a disadvantage (to us), as their standard of maths is so much higher in secondary school? Or wouldn't it really matter?

btw, why did you drop actuary? (don't answer if you want to though)

[TrueTears]

A few more qs:

2. How many international students do this (in either Monash or Melbourne)?


Thanks

2.  At UoM, a lot.    I remember in Probability lectures, so many.

Would you think that would be a disadvantage (to us), as their standard of maths is so much higher in secondary school? Or wouldn't it really matter?

btw, why did you drop actuary? (don't answer if you want to though)

definitely not a disadvantage, more like an advantage man! i swear, in my finance tutes and actuarial studies tutes, me and like 1 other person were the only local students, the rest were all international students and they cant understand english for shit, they're so fob, they have trouble understanding theory and the tutor's explanations bahahaa

[pi]

definitely not a disadvantage, more like an advantage man! i swear, in my finance tutes and actuarial studies tutes, me and like 1 other person were the only local students, the rest were all international students and they cant understand english for shit, they're so fob, they have trouble understanding theory and the tutor's explanations bahahaa

Awesome

Thanks guys

[acinod]

Currently tossing up between Actuarial Studies at UoM, Science Scholars Program at Monash and Medicine at Monash.

I considered Medicine like most people of my academic and ethnic background (excuse me for my generalisation) because our parents want us to become doctors. Also it seems so hard to get in so there must be benefits at the end of the road. Most of my friends are doing it as well so I might as well hop on the wagon. As you can see, Medicine doesn't really suit me. I am also not the blood and guts kind of person but people told me I will get use to it. Another turn off is the lack of maths involved in the profession. So I decided to considered other options but involve maths, something I am passionate about.

The Science Scholars Program appealed to me at first because it seemed quite hard to get in initially as it required a high ATAR but I believe I could achieve it. It also allows me to major in something I enjoy: Physics and Maths. Honestly Maths is the only subject that I enjoy doing and don't find boring. The Science Scholars Program also allowed the possiblity of completing the degree in 2 years and given the huge variety of options after graduation, such as Engineering, Optometry, Doctor, Dentistry, PhD and Actuary, it seemed like a good choice. However after much research, I discovered that getting a PhD and pursuing a career in academia was not as amazing as I thought - (A career in academia? the pay didn't look that great and job oppportunites was also a turn off.

So now I wanted to do something that involved maths but also paid quite well. As of today, I am reconsidering Actuarial Studies at Monash. I remember when I first did some research on what I wanted to do after high school, I didn't like Actuary because I didn't like probability as much as the other fields in Maths and also because I wasn't sure if Commerce was my thing since I have never touched any Commerce/Economic subjects. But lately I am seriously reconsidering. I don't really know why, maybe because I also found out about the scholarships offered for the Bachelor of Commerce and also because I wanted to go to Melbourne University instead of Monash since it takes less than half the time to travel. Maybe I like the money. I also don't mind breadth as much anymore because since I am doing Bachelor of Commerce, I can do breadths from the Science areas. However the biggest concern I have is the challenge of the subject. I don't do UniMaths at Year 12 so I may be a bit behind compared to others. Also I'm a bit worried about how much time you have to spend studying for those Actuary exams.

So I have two questions:
1. Medicine, Science Scholars Program or Actuarial Studies?
2. Compared to other careers, does becoming an Actuary require the most amount of work?

[tram]

In term of your first question rohitpi, demand for actuaries is pretty strong, while admittedly there are not as many places avalible as say accounting, you have much less competition, really you should have no real problem getting a job if you have decent marks.

Acinod: I'm biased of course but I would advocate going for actuary. You seem
To have already convinced yourself out of med, and while admitedly the science scholars program does offer more options, it seems to waste two years before you can do anything specific that will get you one of the jobs you listed. In terms of your apprehensions regarding commerce subjects, both TT and I had never done commerce subjects in much depth at all and are Defs finding commerce interesting, so don't worry there. In terms of work to be an actuary, you really can quite easily find a job after your three year degree, extra qualification on top are just a bonus, admittedly, not the easiest tests and exams to pass, but hey, comparedto med or getting another professional degree you're way ahead, plus ur working and making money at the same time.

One more miscellaneous point, you mentioned commerce scholarships, as a Copland scholar at Melbourne, let men tell you Melbourne have awesome awesome scholarships, as an example, in the next 5 years Melbourne plan to raise 5million dollars JUST for commerce scholarship, but it's more than the mere money and mote about the opportunities and contacts that are useful

[tram]

One more thing, Dw about not doing uninmaths, you're in the same
Boat as 90% of the actuarial kids haha, you don particualry
Need uninmaths at all for actuarial

[acinod]

In term of your first question rohitpi, demand for actuaries is pretty strong, while admittedly there are not as many places avalible as say accounting, you have much less competition, really you should have no real problem getting a job if you have decent marks.

Acinod: I'm biased of course but I would advocate going for actuary. You seem
To have already convinced yourself out of med, and while admitedly the science scholars program does offer more options, it seems to waste two years before you can do anything specific that will get you one of the jobs you listed. In terms of your apprehensions regarding commerce subjects, both TT and I had never done commerce subjects in much depth at all and are Defs finding commerce interesting, so don't worry there. In terms of work to be an actuary, you really can quite easily find a job after your three year degree, extra qualification on top are just a bonus, admittedly, not the easiest tests and exams to pass, but hey, comparedto med or getting another professional degree you're way ahead, plus ur working and making money at the same time.

One more miscellaneous point, you mentioned commerce scholarships, as a Copland scholar at Melbourne, let men tell you Melbourne have awesome awesome scholarships, as an example, in the next 5 years Melbourne plan to raise 5million dollars JUST for commerce scholarship, but it's more than the mere money and mote about the opportunities and contacts that are useful

Wow thanks a lot! Also would a mathematically minded person like me be able to cope with rote-learning commerce/economic subjects that require you to memorize terms and definitions? I think I'm similar to you and TT in terms of interests since it looks like we basically did the same subjects. I feel much more confident after seeing the enthusiam in you guys. Oh wow so you mean becoming an actuary isn't the hardest career path? I thought a lot of study was required for the exams, or does Medicine, Law and Post-Grad require even more work? Also what else can you do with your degree if you don't want to be an actuary. And what happens to the students that don't end up becoming an actuary? (i.e. don't pass the exams)

EDIT: Apparently Actuarial Studies isn't as hard as we all take it to be. 12 hour week at Uni seems quite relaxing and compared to Medicine/Law there is a lot less rote-learning involved. Is this true?

[Russ]

If you're not terribly interested in medicine then the path to being an actuary is probably a better one - it's a lot shorter and there's a lot more money on it!

I thought a lot of study was required for the exams

No more so than your certification exams for medicine, for law etc. I haven't seen the actuarial exams so I can't speak for them, but given you're exempted from some of the steps due to coursework, it seems easier than the other disciplines.

Apparently Actuarial Studies isn't as hard as we all take it to be. 12 hour week at Uni seems quite relaxing

It's okay, we all thought this once! Contact hours at uni are a terrible indicator of difficulty. Sure you've got 12 hours at uni, but you're expected to do 2.5 hours extra study at home for every one of those. Now it's 42 hours a week. Still seem easy
The hardest part about adjusting to uni is learning to do the work you're not told to do.

[Keki]

I know 2 people who have finished a degree in actuarial studies
A friend of mine said you need 45+ spesh to even cope keke ~_~

[pi]

I know 2 people who have finished a degree in actuarial studies
A friend of mine said you need 45+ spesh to even cope keke ~_~

- raw?

OK, need to work MUCH harder now!

[Stormer]

Anybody here currently doing it first year? I NEED BUDDIES

[TrueTears]

I know 2 people who have finished a degree in actuarial studies
A friend of mine said you need 45+ spesh to even cope keke ~_~

- raw?

OK, need to work MUCH harder now!

nah as long as you're quite proficient in mathematics with a reasonable level of passion then you should do okay

[tram]

I know 2 people who have finished a degree in actuarial studies
A friend of mine said you need 45+ spesh to even cope keke ~_~

- raw?

OK, need to work MUCH harder now!

I talked to Dr He last year about actuarial studies and he thought that you would need about a 43 in spech to be able to cope with the workload. Do be aware that this is just a rough guide, if you do nothing but maths and just get a 43 in spech it's not a get out of jail free pass that means you will DEFINITELY get though actuarial studies, it is jut a rough estimate...

Anybody here currently doing it first year? I NEED BUDDIES

right here mate, you doing intro to actuarial?

[taiga]

Just gonna try dispel some fear mongering Your high school performance doesn't necessarily indicate your ability to excel in a certain course at uni. You'll find that in some cases you'll have kids scoring in the 90s in mathematics subjects whilst having got sub 40 scores in high school, or at least that was the case in my classes.

I think the cutoff for actuarial entry is 38 (?) in spec, and if you're able to get that you shouldn't find any first year maths overly difficult. It's probably more about being consistent and dedicated in your following years.

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A side question from myself - Does having an Actuarial Science major in Commerce without any Professional Accreditation serve any purpose? As in, are there still open jobs for it?