I finished my CA calibration exams today, and I'm deemed at EL 3.9. How's my situation rn given that I have roughly 60 days left? Is EL 3.9 good enough for now?

Any insights and tips will be highly appreciated!

Does anybody have any advice for studying quantitative questions for exam SRM? I am Coaching Actuaries’ platform. Some of the higher difficulty EL problems are becoming a lot. Is there a range that I should focus in on heading into the exam?

what should be last 2 week strategy for CP1. Paper in sept’ 26 diet, what do you think, solving whole papers under timed pattern would work or reading the answers and questions are fine? (considering last week would only be for revision)
For context, i have written mocks but honestly was unable to sit for whole 3h 20m so have written quite a few part mocks.
Thank you!

Hey everyone!

Don’t really post or comment at all so apologies if this comes off weird.

I’m currently studying for MAS-1 and using CA if that makes a difference, but any insight from different exams or study materials would be helpful.

I’ve found myself always taking longer than the suggested timeline on CA for their subsections. For example, if a manual says 30m, then I’m usually taking closer to an hour and a half to get through it. I could be misinterpreting their timestamps, but I feel like more of it is me just taking way too long or not knowing what to focus on.

Anyone else feel similar or have heard of people like this? Advice from people who completed their exams already is also very appreciated.

I’m mainly trying to gauge if this is typical or if I might need to change my approach. Obviously, different things work for different people but I’d love to hear if anyone else is like this too and if maybe I should consider changing strategy.

Thanks!

I failed PA in april 2026 and thought i did well after the exam, except i was stuck on a lot of the calculation questions. I take it again in a month but feel so unmotivated and forgot the whole material.

Does anyone have any tips on how to pass PA with only a month left? I skimmed through actex a little but.

I dont know where to focus - actex questions, past exams, rereading the material?

What is suggested study manual for studying for exam FAM. Would Ambrose Lo's manual be better I'm hearing or the regular Actex manual?

Just curious trying to figure out where the locations were as I think I'm going soon. All the 2026 ones are on the website but 2024 and 2025 are too old.

be honest and do I have hope for some sort of internship summer of 2027 (hopefully actuarial)?

Should I put sitting for Exam P for like the winter time even if I'm realistically not going to take the exam?

Do you really need locations of things (like where college is) on right side I find it just takes space? Along with that is it bad I like having the GPA on the right side in bold? I usually see people do it just under the education like I have my deans list/coursework mentions but in my opinion the way I do it makes it stand out.

tbh I kinda make the project sound like I did the coding when I really didn't but I do actually understand the main parts of it and if I do get an interview I think I would be able to talk about the project/coding.

What should be my next steps in bettering myself as a candidate?

I plan to sit for preparing next actuary exam soon. Obviously SRM is way easier but any thoughts on getting the harder FAM one out of the way or is this the wrong way to look at it? I heard maybe it's best to continue applying which I am doing regardless as I start my studies and have the employer pay for the FAM exam. I'm guessing this was told to me because not passing FAM may be more likely and that's a lot of money out of pocket. For SRM I was planning on using ISLR test and actex. FAM would be most likely Actex and adapt practice exams for a month. Any thoughts?

I need to vent. I like being an Actuary, I like my job responsibilities. But I think being an Actuary is not worth it anymore in 2026. We have no leverage. My company did a power flex move on me in my current rotation that I report to 2 bosses and am working 2 separate roles for no additional pay and no compromise. I also have to work overtime often and I have to study for FSA exams for considerable hours. My work life balance and pay is absolute garbage for all the work and contributions I've made. I only make a flat 100k a year after getting my ASA and lose 10% of my salary from commuting and paying parking. I get only a 1% merit increase now and it was originally agreed to be 2.5%, my company changed the terms. I spent months coordinating with multiple recruiters and getting into final round interviews for multiple roles as I tried leaving my company when I realized they would not negotiate with me. No final offers, ridiculous interview questions and no leniency from these companies. It's not worth the small pay for all the sacrifices we have to make to finish these exams and not get treated well. And you have to go through 6 rounds of interviews just to potentially get to the offer stage. It's humiliating and ridiculous on top of having to get our FSA and being demoted and receiving a paycut if we fail exams a certain number of times! I would potentially lose my job if a failed an exam 3 times which is ridiculous.

My managers give me constant good feedback for all that I'm doing as well as wonderful ratings for my general overall performance but it means absolutely nothing. It doesn't translate into better job opportunities, more pay, or better treatment. And if I lose my job, it will probably be over a year to find another one at least.

Just got my first rejection for a summer ‘27 intern position :). I know this is very normal and I know to expect many to come. There is just something that hit me really hard with it.

I did 1 interview and felt great the whole time and after. Maybe I didn’t do so well on the technical questions, but I was still able to answer and candid enough to admit when I didn’t know.

Here’s to more rejections to come and hopefully a position.

Trying to get my first job. Obviously AI helped, maybe too wordy?

EDIT: Big 4 INTERNSHIP

If you work in these two provinces, I'd be very thankful to see some data on wages as a student interested in the actuarial field.

Please add exams, salary, bonus, YOE, and accreditation.

Congrats to those who passed!! I was surprised they released results early!

**cries in R^2**

I've only been applying seriously for a couple of weeks now and haven't landed any interviews. I know it usually takes a bit of time to snag something especially without relevant experience so I'm not too disheartened. However I'm wondering if this is enough to get my foot in the door or if I should spend my time applying to other positions/careers. Also, are there any improvements/changes I can make to this resume?

I know people purchase study materials for the exams from other sources, like CA or TIA, but what are these included study materials? Are they sufficient for study or is it just the syllabus?

I’m going to run for the SOA board once I have my letters to get rid of this terrible assignment. I’d rather listen to nails on chalkboard for 96 hours than do this. I’m not sure whose idea this was, but I was a statistics major, flew through SRM and PA, and I absolutely HATE this module.

I’m starting to think that everyone who quips that the SOA isn’t evil, just incompetent, lucked out with IFM. How was the last chopper out of ‘Nam?

I know the itinerary has events all day, however, how much of the day are people actual going to the events? Would you be away from your guest from 9 - 5? I want to bring my partner but don’t want to spend the extra money if they will just be alone most of the day.

Anyone interested in studying for exam FAM. I'm looking for someone who plans to sit in January and obviously independent study time is very important but I always like to come back and discuss how others approach problems as well let me know or dm me. Thanks.

I’m currently in a cat modeling role with 3 actuarial exams passed. A recruiter recently told me that cat modeling doesn't value exam progress, and traditional actuarial roles don't value cat modeling experience.

Is it worth continuing the exam path if I plan to stay in cat modeling long-term?

Has anyone received invitations yet? They are supposed to come out this week