IS THIS A DEAD END OF FRESHERS JOB IN ACTUARIAL? PART-2

Continued from PART 1

Before complaining you should understand, why companies should hire you?

There are many other students who are seeking the same job. How will you stand differentiated among others?

You should have a few things on your CV which gives you edge over others. Any Intern-ship experience, Proficiency in Visual Basics, R, SAS, SQL etc will help you a lot. It’s difficult to learn all these softwares by the time you graduate but at least Visual Basics is must. Writing/Modifying Macros is most important part of work.

Have you ever thought of going through Insurance Act before going for a Job Interview in Insurance Company Or Going through AS15(R) before you go for a job interview which requires employment benefits valuation? Just think, a small point which says “Expert Knowledge of Insurance Act (Amended)/AS15(R)” will stand out on your CV.

So these are small things that make you unique. When you are seeking a JOB, you need to seek it smartly.

Which Actuarial Papers do I need to get a Job?

Well there is no hard and fast rule but CT1 and CT3 is must. CT5/CT6 is required based on kind of work company does. More papers might be required by few companies. So it’s all subjective to companies. 3-4 papers is ideal.

What if there are no VACANCIES in insurance sector?

This is a bad question as they frequently arise. Indian Insurance companies are growing and they are continuously expanding their team. More and More Vacancies to come up as this sector expands more. This is the right time to start.

Are there opportunities outside insurance?

Yes, A lot. We make sense out of numbers and we can do some really great work in Analytics, Big Data. In recent report of Forbes, It has rated “Data Scientist” as no 1 job in the world. Why don’t we conquer this specific industry as early as possible? Companies require people who are good at maths and number crunching. You can definitely prove you are if you have taken your actuarial exams pretty seriously.

In Analytics, We read huge amount of data with us and try to predict future events and lot of other required information.

These is amazing scope in Risk Management too. Lately, I have seen some companies hiring actuarial students in risk management team.

Maximum opportunities today are in Pensions and other Employee benefits valuation in accordance with AS15(R) and IAS19 which mandates actuarial certification of the report. There is a huge scope in domestic market plus huge amount of work from outside is being outsourced in India this day due to availability of man power in our country.

More the number of students available, more the amount of work coming in India from International market. So lot of people joining in is definitely not a bad news till an extent.

In Short,

- Decide on a field where you want to work

- Make good CV

- Have soft skills and communication skills

- Search at right place.

If you follow this and if you are talented, I am sure you will get a job soon. Plus being into actuarial always be ready to relocate to major city like Mumbai.

Also note, if you have passed exams but your communication skills are not good then sadly but hardly any company would hire you. Companies hire not because they are generous and want to give you a way to earn but to get their work done. So any lack of required talent will result in rejection. When you seek something, you have to dance on the tune of the one who give (At least in Domestic companies, agreed?). There cant be a place for everyone and anyone, You should be ready to make your own space.

So stop complaining, Start searching!

At the end, as always, I advise to stop working for others and start working for yourself. It will take double efforts but then rewards will be more then double. Be your own BOSS! Be an ENTREPRENEUR! 

Good Luck!

Do share if you like!

Also Read - Actuarial Jobs - Myths Busted

IS THIS A DEAD END OF FRESHERS JOB IN ACTUARIAL? PART-1

No, it’s a fresh new start. Profession has just started to mushroom in India. 

Actuaries in India has conventionally worked in Insurance Sector Only. Most of them are employed in this field and still many actuaries working in Indian insurance companies are NRIs. There are as many as 8 companies as per my knowledge who are seeking actuaries but they are unable to find any. So basically, the only field where actuaries are employed is still looking for actuaries. It hasn't got sufficient numbers yet. This is about Fellow Actuaries.

OK, let’s agree fresher are not getting jobs these days. But… Are they really looking for jobs in right place? I see lot of things missing from young students. Everyone is complaining, No one is actually thinking where the problem is. I graduated few years back and all my batch-mates who were into actuarial got jobs within 4-5 months of graduation. I got one within few days, which I quit after 3 months to have my own set-up.

First of all, who in India recruit actuarial Professionals? 

1.     Life Insurance

2.     General Insurance

3.     Health Insurance

4.     Reinsurance Companies

5.     Pension Funds

6.     Consultants

7.     Investments

8.     Government

9.     Academics

10.Risk Management

(Source : IAI)

Now, Let’s note a few quick things you should do, to find right opportunities at right time

1.     Clean, Updated Linked In account is a must.

2.     Just having a linked In Account won’t do.  What you need to do is, make a list of Fellows and follow them on linked In. (Don’t send them annoying messages, seeking a job desperately :p). Likewise Make a list of Insurance companies and Multinational Consultancies working in India. Make sure to have connect with all of them.

3.     Do check Institute’s career page to get a note of vacancies.

4.     Look for jobs posted in various portals like (iimjobs, monster, Naukri etc)

5.     Join Facebook Groups. I frequently see some jobs posting in my Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/actuary.aspirants)

Is this Enough? Definitely No.

Most important thing is to have a Neat and Clean, Small and presentable CV.

Things to note while making a CV

-    Freshers CV should not be of More than 1 page.

-    Never Ever write Career Objective in it.

  -    Never Ever Write “Curriculum Vitae” in bold on the  top. Instead use the space to write your name.

  -    Write Only Contact no. and Email ID below your  Name on the top of page.

  -    Start with Most relevant qualification and recent    one. Old ones to be followed in order.

  -    Soft Skills Acquired

  -    Achievements, if any.

  -    Personal Details (Marital Status, Languages known,    Age, Address etc). Don’t write too many.

  -    If Possible, Do give reference of any notable person who knows you personally.

-    Font should be small and simple. Highlight important things efficiently.

These point should help you to prepare an apt CV.

Continue Reading … Part 2 

Do share if you like!
Also Read - Actuarial Jobs - Myths Busted

ACET Coaching

FUTURE TRACK has started with coaching session for upcoming ACET exam to be held in May/June 2016.

Schedule for the same can be noted from this link - Coaching Schedule

Coaching session in Classrooms will be conducted in Mumbai, Delhi and Jaipur. I will be teaching in Mumbai.

Syllabus for ACET might change for this coming exam and syllabus will be covered accordingly.

IAI has not yet announced Exam schedule for next ACET Exam.

Also Read - Difference Between Qualified Actuary and Partly Qualified Actuary

Interview of FIAI Nikhil Gupta on Loksabha TV

Must Watch Video Interview of Mr Nikhil Gupta

Errors spotted in IAI - CT1 October 2015 exam diet.

This is rather shocking. There were errors worth 7 marks in IAI CT1 exam of October 2015 exam Diet. These were spotted by some students and raised doubts about it on one of the blog which was later confirmed by Acted Tutor John Lee on their blog.

I went through the paper and tried to spot the error myself. There was one error in Q2 (i) worth 1 mark and one mistake in Q10(ii) worth 6 MARKS!

Here is what mistakes I have identified. I hope IAI will give concession to students accordingly. In any case, any well prepared student might have identified the error and might have made provisions in answer accordingly. Still, I hope Institute awards marks to those students who got confused due to this error.

RESULTS ARE DUE ON 16th JANUARY. #4DaysToGO

GOOD LUCK

Difference between being Partly Qualified Actuary and Qualified Actuary. Must Read.

It is a great misconception among students that you should start studying actuarial science and you get paid very well after clearing a few paper even if you don't complete the course. Yes, this is a great "misconception".

People start with actuarial science and I would say only 30%-40% (or may be even less) are determined to clear 15 papers and rest feel "Let's start writing exam. I have heard it’s impossible to clear 15 exams but I will get paid very well even if I clear 9-10 papers or even just CT series and stop then". This is not true in reality. 

Let me tell you the difference between what you think and what actually happens by explaining different cases of types of students.

This is how a “non-serious fresher”, rushing the profession these days, plan

• I hear about actuaries from my peers/seniors/family
• I google about it and only articles that I find says it is highest paid job and you need to be good at maths.
• I scored well in maths in 10th and 12th, let’s start doing actuaries. I have no intention to complete all 15 papers and I will get a good job soon on clearing around 4-5 papers.
• I start preparing for CT1 non-member/ACET
•  Pass CT1/ACET. I will clear CT2, CT7 and CT9 and pass it in first attempt as they are very easy. I will get a good job with this many papers.
• I will pass 4-5 more exams in 3-4 years and with full CT series my salary will escalate to Rs 20-30 lakhs per annum. 
• With experience I will get a new job in another company with even higher pay and my life is set. I will get lot of importance and huge salary in organisation as partly qualified actuary as its practically impossible to clear all 15 exam! My god, they are so tough!

What actually happens? #ReadCarefully

CASE 1 (Extremely non-serious)

·         I hear about actuaries from my peers/seniors/family

·         I google about it and only articles that I find says it is highest paid job and you need to be good at maths.

·         I scored well in maths in 10th and 12th, let’s start doing actuaries. I have no intention to complete all 15 papers and I will get a good job soon on clearing around 4-5 papers.

·         I start preparing for CT1 non-member/ACET

·         Pass CT1 in 2^nd or 3^rd attempt. Plan to give CT2, CT7, CT9 immediately.

·         Now I find out that these papers are not at all considered for jobs. #Tension

·         Start preparing for CT3 but then I see that few years back there was 0% result in CT3 in IAI exam. OMG, This is so tough, I am stuck! #FurtherTension

·         I Appear for CT3 multiple times, with no confidence, fail repeatedly

·         Drop Actuaries

·         Let’s Do CA/CFA/CS! #HappyEndingAtTheStartItself

CASE 2 (Intelligent but not determined enough to crack all 15 exams)

·         I hear about actuaries from my peers/seniors/family

·         I google about it and only articles that I find says it is highest paid job and you need to be good at maths.

·         I scored well in maths in 10th and 12th, let’s start doing actuaries. I have no intention to complete all 15 papers and I will get a good job soon on clearing around 4-5 papers.

·         I start preparing for CT1 non-member/ACET

·         I Pass. I take further advice and start preparation for other important subjects.

·         Appear for CT3, CT5, CT6 in net few attempts.

·         Start looking for a job. Get one. Wow! My salary is 35K p.m. and I am just 22 years now! Life is awesome! My hard work paid off! #HappiestSoFar

·         Start preparing for CT4. Gets demotivated, gives CT9 instead. Again start CT4 but then drop the plan to clear CT2 and CT7 first. By now salary is 50K p.m.

·         Start CT4 again, still not able to grasp. Have a look at CT8, find it even more terrible. #TooBadToStart

·         Now I feel a stage in my life has come where I am settled. I will get promotions based on my experience. I try but I am not able to cope up with exams due to time, determination, patience and confidence and seriousness constrains. #FeelingSafeAsOfNow

   This is the case with majority candidates. What happens with these candidates after this?

-          Company/Boss is pressurizing to pass more exams and at the same time giving more work.

-          No great salary hikes now as before.

-          No promotions as some junior cleared full CT and he is now pushed ahead of me. (You should know that in corporate life, Degrees and recognitions are most important factors.)

-          Demotivation seeps in.

-          Feels Stuck. No Satisfaction. Lot of pressure.  #HopeIwasDeterminedFromStart #LetMeSitForExamAgainAndTry

CASE 3 (Intelligent and Determined to Do it)

·         I hear about actuaries from my peers/seniors/family

·         I google about it and only articles that I find says it is highest paid job and you need to be good at maths.

·         I scored well in maths in 10th and 12^th. But let me research further. I find out its really difficult but my love for maths is infinite. I AM CONFIDENT THAT I WILL DO IT!

·         I Appears for ACET/CT1

·         Pass CT1. Takes Further guidance. Pass CT3, CT5, CT6. #Quick

·         Get a job within 4-5 months of good search.

·         Hardly anytime now with me along with my job but I am still very determined to DO IT anyhow given all the constraints.

·         I give up my weekends, evenings. #WorkingHard

·         I Clear CT Series in next 2 years.

·         Start CA1. Clears it. #Wow

·         Gets promotions and naturally I am placed on higher ranks then my colleagues who has 5 years more experience but hardly any papers. #BoostToDetermination

·         Picks up few ST papers. Clears it. #On7thSky

·         Clears SA series too. #Wow #ICanDoIt

·         By now I am 13-14 exams done and my age is around 30. Ohh God! The Journey was really long and now it’s just a matter of 1-2 more papers. My monthly salary is multiple lakhs by now but I am still craving for “Actuary” tag as still I am not getting that importance and happiness and of course salary that an Actuary begs. The one I had imagined before writing the first exam!

·         I push it hard. Clears all 15 exam in next few years.

·         Ah, I am an Actuary and suddenly everyone is looking at me with a very humble attitude, respect, grace etc. No one debates me, no one counters me as they feel no one can be more intelligent than me. And yes, it’s a common topic during lunch time of my juniors to discuss my salary and I love to keep it a secret. Haha. I am loving it!

What happens with you further?

Some Actuaries love India a lot and love to be here whatsoever and some get an offer letter from US or similar destination and fly immediately. I need not explain further how your life will be then. All this at the age of 30-32 or sometime even less if you start by the age of 20-21. Encouraging and rewarding enough but YOU NEED TO BE DETERMINED TO COMPLETE THE COURSE AND NOT LEAVE IT MIDWAY!

I hope you understood well how life turns around and plays with those students who enter the profession thinking its not important to clear all 15 papers and life will still be set. Yes, you might be earning well without completing all 15 but then comes a loop and career is stuck. There is a huge and amazing turn around in your life when you move on from 14^th paper to 15^th paper. It’s the 15^th exam that matters the most.

In very simple words,

Candidate with 15 papers = ACTUARY

Candidate with less then 15 papers = NOT AN ACTUARY

It’s very easy to enter this profession but very challenging to get through. There is no escape in between! If you enter, make sure you survive till the end!

Thank You for reading.

Share this article if you find it useful and do give me your most valuable feedback.

IAI April 2016 Exam Dates declared

IAI today declared exam dates for its April 2016 exam diet. In an unexpected move IAI announced its exams in April this year, previously being May,

You may find official announcement here - http://actuariesindia.org/downloads/April201%20ExamTimeTable.pdf

Its high time you should start preparation. October 2015 Exam results are set to be announced on 16th January.

Good Luck!

FUTURE TRACK to host Seminar on Actuarial Science, Themed "Challenges and Avenues"

FUTURE TRACK will host a seminar cum orientation on "ACTUARIAL SCIENCE: Challenges and Avenues" at its premises in Mumbai. 

This session is specially intended to give the students, deep and thorough understanding of the profession, its scope, avenues, and the secret of clearing Actuarial Exams. They will be discussing in length on what your life is going to be as an Actuary and the risk and returns aspect of taking up the Actuarial profession. Learn The Success Mantra for becoming an Actuary from experienced mentors of Future Track.

Special Invitees- College Students looking forward to start their career in Actuarial Science and those Students who have recently (successfully or unsuccessfully) appeared ACET. (Students may come along with parents or guardians).

Entry is free but to avail entry it is mandatory to fill the form by clicking here, REGISTRATION FORM or go to the link https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ds6GEjtmBEDBVXZenZnWKMXQFtmtat-FY35jbZaWO9A/viewform.

Event Date : Sunday, 20th DECEMBER 2015.

Timings : 2.15pm to 3pm (Reporting Time : 2pm)

This orientation will be hosted by me and my colleague Mrs Tripti Goenka. She is excellent speaker, Graduate in Eco and Stats Honors with good Actuarial Background.

To know more about the seminar you may write me a mail on ravivyas@futuretrack.org or comment here.

IAI Declares ACET results

IAI has declared results for ACET exam held on 2nd and 3rd December 2015.

Passing percentage is roughly 34%.

You may check your result by clicking here- ACET RESULTS.

IFoA results declared. What next?

Institute and faculty of Actuaries, UK declared results yesterday night. This results can be checked via this link - http://www.actuaries.org.uk/studying/exam-results.

I congratulate everyone those who have stood successful in their exam and wish them luck for further papers. Those who couldn't clear need not worry and focus on bettering their preparations. You may feel free to contact me to take decision on what will be ideal combinations of subjects now. Generally its good to clear CT1 and CT3 first then target CT5 and CT6 and at last CT4 and CT8. CT2, CT7 and CT9 can be targeted any time.

Results stats of September 2015 exam (encouraging..)
CT1 (Non Member) - 480/1214 = 39.5%
CT1 (Members) - 279/523 = 53.3%
CT2 - 428/656 = 65.2%
CT3 - 616/896 = 68.75%
CT4 - 481/932 = 51.6%
CT5 - 528/990 = 53.3%
CT6 - 594/1078 = 55.1%
CT7 - 404/571 = 70.7%
CT8 - 377/759 = 49.7%

Those who have recently cleared CT1 as non member has to be really quickly in seeking membership if not already secured. All the that you need to do is 

1. download the membership form ( using this link, you will find form at the bottom of the page -http://www.actuaries.org.uk/studying).

2. Fill up the form (should be typed, majorly except signatures)

3. Make payment via Bank Transfer or fill up the credit card details in the form. (Demand Draft can also be made, which can be sent be courier.) Membership fees is GBP 200.

4. If payment is via bank transfer or credit card you may email your filled forms on education.services@actuaries.org.uk. If you have made demand draft you may courier your form along with draft.

5. You will get a reply with 5 weeks. Be quick to send your forms. Get it done within 2 days.

6. Documents required is attested copy of 12th and all semester mark sheets of graduation along with CT1 non-member exam result. Any delay in sending of forms may not be entertained by institute.

This week is the right week, Today is the right day, NOW is the right time to start preparations for April 2016 challenge. Good Luck!

Thank You.

Actuarial Jobs - Myths Busted

"Jobs"- this is definitely something for which students in India pursue any specialised professional course like Actuarial Science or any other. Actuaries is considered to be a very highly paid job and students are definitely attracted to this profession because of great pay scales. But once they start giving exams some senior peers start scaring them with stories of market being stagnant and no jobs available in the market relating to Actuarial Science. This is anything but True.

It's general perception that Actuaries are meant for Insurance industry only! This is not valid in today's time.

What I think is Actuaries are meant to work in any field that involves risk, working of statistics, analytics, modelling, predictions etc. There is nothing like "Conventional" field for Actuaries but people do say that insurance is conventional and rest all are non conventional field of work. I strongly oppose this.

There are 55 insurance companies in India if one company recruit 10 people in actuarial team, whole industry will require on only 550 Actuaries.. So where will the rest of people go? Because of this situation people have started working in consultancy. So is it a bad thing? Not at all.. There is a huge scope for Actuaries in consultancy services. There are hardly any Actuaries in middle East , major part of Asia, and many other countries. But even these countries have insurance and other risky business in their market and hence require Actuaries. So from where do they get actuarial services? Obviously they outsource it to India or Australia (UK and US being very expensive). So isn't there a good scope?

Since 2013, Employment benefits (like gratuity, leave encashment, post retirement medical benefits, pension funds etc) liability valuation is done compulsorily by Actuaries as per new regulations. There are huge no. of companies who get this valuation done. If you charge around 8-10K to one company with less than 150 employee and higher amount accordingly to companies with more employees. Just imagine how much business you will get if you get good number of companies from market with least competition in valuers? Isn't it encouraging?

Actuaries in UK and US charge exorbitantly and hence some work is outsourced to India these day, creating ample opportunities here in our country.

You must have also heard of analytics? Some or most of my friends in this field say that analytics is non Actuarial may be they are true but I think against this. We should be open to working in any field that will require application of our knowledge. Be it in any department. Breaking the law, one of my friend accepted a job offer from one bank in analytics and business intelligence department. The person in charge in that bank was specifically looking for person with ct3 cleared as he thinks actuarial student can work better than someone with Bsc in Statistics. And that's indeed true. I congratulate him for starting a new trend in India. Though some "intelligent" people call it non actuarial, I hardly feel the same. I Would like them to define what is "actuarial job"?

Actuaries all over the world work in various fields like Risk Management, consultancy, Analytics, insurance, academics, valuation etc. They are not specific to insurance these days. Be open to all the fields and to what ever option that come to you. Just make sure it requires application of your actuarial concepts knowledge. There is no fixed definition of what makes it a "actuarial job".

What are packages likes? Fresh Graduate with few papers cleared get anywhere between Rs 3lakh to Rs 8lakhs based on company and candidate. It's a myth that you get millions immediately. Your salaries of course will increase exponentially with more experience and more actuarial papers in your kitty. If you become qualified Actuary your salary can be between Rs 4-8 millions or even more, again based on your own competence!

When is the right time to start working ? As soon as possible after clearing 1-3 papers. The more you are experienced while you study for exams, the more better you understand the concepts!

This is a great profession which say "earn while you learn"

Also we are proud to be a part of profession with 0% unemployment. There is not even one fellow actuary who is unemployed. Isn't it great?

Is there a huge competition at freshers level? Certainly Yes. But there are two things..

1. Competition is always good

2. Everyone is rushing to only specific employers like insurance, a few consultancy and KPOs. There are lot of other fields where are not approached and hence creates too much rush.

Also think why the company will recruit you. By clearing 2 exams you feel on the top of world. You should remain grounded and try to understand how much knowledge do you actually possess. You need to have basic software skills and your communication should also be excellent. Without these two, you will become a liability for the company. Do remember companies hire you not because they are generous enough to create jobs, but because they want to get their work done. If you don't have required aptitude then how can you expect to get hired? You need to be visibly different and smart.

So from here stop crying and asking if there are no jobs and do something to make yourself smart enough to sustain the competition. I hope you knew even before entering the profession that life is not going to be easy any more.

Also, try to work to improvise our profession. It really need good volunteers.

At the end as I always say, never seek to get jobs, always seek CREATE JOBS. BE AN ENTREPRENEUR!

Do Share.