I have seen many a thread asking specifically at how to pass the higher exams but I have not seen any going into the "higher level skills" that are supposed to be cultivated by the exams. I'd like to pose that question to all. What are the higher level skills cultivated by the higher exams? Thank you.
Stated objectives of the syllabus is that "Student actuaries also need to develop higher order skills of analysis, synthesis and judgement." This is from the Group Consultatif but also adopted by The UK Actuarial Profession. These terms are certainly defined at the start of the SA course material - can't remember if they were in ST/CA as well. http://www.gcactuaries.org/documents/core_2005.pdf
Its about attention to detail. With many of the mathematical subjects, if you know the formula and use your calculator well that's all there is to it (& getting timing right!). With the later subjects, you are presented with a scenario and must be able to filter your knowledge to give an answer relevant to the case. So words like small, mature, overseas etc aren't there as decoration. They have relevance. With CA3 its a pretty unique beast as you must be able to dump jargon and rely solely on plain english to get a message across. With CA2 practical skills of audit trails, documentation & summarising findings are important. ie its not just the numerical answer being right that gets the pass. Unless your work is clear, you won't. With the SA your judgement will again be tested So my advice when getting to STs if you haven't had marking before, this is the time because at the end of the day you can't rely on getting the 'right' answer. Its much more a case of how you justify yourself which is better assessed by others.
