When should I join the profession now or in 2019

I was intersted in joining the profession by writing ct1 as a non-member then progressing through the exams. But now with the syllabus change I am not sure if I should wait till 2019. I plan to take one exam per sitting.


Any advice on this will be appreciated

 

CT1 is going into CM1 but to get the exemption you need to have CT5 as well as CT1 by 1 Feb 2019. Pass rates on the early exams are typically 70% plus so it is achievable (but that doesn't mean the exams are easy) - and there is no rule that says you have to sit the exams in order. Read all the rules carefully to see how they affect you both now and long term. It may be after taking one exam you don't want to carry on anyway or you will have the thirst for it. From that perspective why wait? But as I say only you know your circumstances and what is right for you.

 

This Curriculum change is going to cause mayhem. On one hand the Institute has published a document with the intention of allowing students to plan exams (with the current system) until 2020, but on the otherhand, they have suddenly introduced this Curriculum 2019 which will mean that all the planning I have done is completely useless. This document has just been removed from the Institute website after I have made a complaint.... but perhaps you remember it?

It will also mean that a time limit is suddenly imposed on me to pass exams or render the exams I have taken previously as worthless. I have three exams left (CT4, CT5 and CT8) and if I don't pass in the next three sittings, I will have 6 exams under the new System. The Institute has clearly stated that there will be no increase in exams, exam hours, study time and time to qualify, but in my case as well as the case of perhaps 1100 other students, this is simply not true.

I have complained to the Institute exactly about students in your Position. There is no point in you taking CT1, CT4, CT5 or CT6 which is nearly half of the CT exams available as you need to pass CT1 and CT5 or CT4 and CT6 in the next three sittings, otherwise any passes obtained in the old System which only qualify for exemption of one half of the equivalent one in the new structure exams will be rendered completely worthless.

On the other hand, if you take CT8 and pass in the next three sittings, then you will avoid having to take a written and Computer based assessment.

This exam arbitrage just goes to show how much thought has been put into the Curriculum 2019 Transition Arrangements.

On top of this, I have just received an email last week to say that due to the changes in the PPD requirements, if I do not qualify in the next 2 sittings, I will suddenly be required to conform to these too. So in the space of the month, I have suddenly gone from having no Deadline to complete my exams, to having three sittings to having two sittings.

I wonder if next month, the Institute will make some change and I will just have to start over.

Therefore, start if you dare, but I am going to campaign that the System is put back to how it was before, as the proposed Curriculum 2019 is being introdcued prematurely and without proper consideration

 

I think it would best for me to wait it out and see what happends. I had planned to take ct1 then ct3 in the next sitting. The exams are not exactly cheap if you factor in study materials and time, I dont want to waste either of those things.

 

I feel for you and I hope you suceed in your campaign because the syllabus change seems like the institute is moving the goal posts and making entering the profession even more difficult. I think the result will be that people will instead of move to other professions such as quantitative finance and accounting, which will hurt the development of the actusrial profession as a whole.

Why could they not keep the current structure but update the material that is covered. Also writing 2 exams means payibg double what you would per subject. Its crazy. I think making it out of the "CTs renamed core principles" under the new syllabus is 11 subjects instead of the usual 9. I hope they can review the discision.
Thanks for the sharing your experiance on this matter.

 

Yes for sure is this going to devalue the profession. There are a lot of disgruntled students. But why do people put up with it?

I have already come across several people who are disappointed with the change, but no one seems to want to do much. One person even said she would quit the exams just because the system is changing.

It is not the system change which bothers me, it is about time it is refreshed but it is the poor manner it is being handled by the institute.

They will see that exam entries will be very low in these last few sittings, perhaps just desperate students striving to complete the CT series before it's too late.

 

Any news yet about the cost of these exams: I wonder if the curriculum change is cost-neutral? It seems the IFoA have been losing money in recent years...

 

If they had any decency they would fully refund students for any costs they've incurred in pursuing an exam pass that's now become worthless. There's potential age discrimination here as well.

 

Let's give the opening poster more accurate information please. Since 2007 the CT1 pass rate is 63%, CT5 56%.
http://www.actuarial-lookup.co.uk/exams/11

 

Yes let's give the opening poster some more accurate information.

A) It is more likely than not that if you start with the CTs now you are going to be disadvantaged by the changes in the exam system.

B) It is very likely that you will pay more in fees to the Institute and to Acted as there is quite a high chance than you run into difficulties

C) It is likely that you are put under undue stress and time pressure which other students have not suffered as you suddenly have a time limit imposed on yourself for passing exams.

I thought the same thing when the carpet was pulled underneath me for ST3. Oh, I have 2 sittings, I'll definitely pass ST3 in 2 in two sittings. That was a waste of 1 year of my life as I had to scrap most of what I learned and move on to ST7 and ST8.

All it takes is for one bad sitting and you suddenly only have two chance left which is really not enough to be very certain you'll get both exams. Of course it's possible but you're taking a risk.

Maybe you're sick. Maybe the Institute decides they forgot about a bank holiday and decide to change the exam date to one day later when you have friends or family arriving on the evening of the original exam date...

I know plenty of people who have failed each of these exams several times. If you're only taking one exam per sitting, I'd say that despite the higher pass rates on these exams, you need to study very hard to pass in three sittings.

I would take another exam or just enjoy your life till the Institute can make up their mind on the new syllabus. They are chopping and changing documents as we speak. Sometimes even without bothering to notify students. I've really lost trust in the Institute and can't rely on them for anything.

Bystander, I assume you're an Actuary? Why take unnecessary additional risk for a diminishing marginal gain?

 

I will look into writing Exam P from the Society of Actuaries. They only have 5 exams and three university VEE exams before specialisation. Seems less convoluted than the ifoa 2019 system.

 

According to the institute there is no exam arbitrage.

 

Thank you for your reply. When you say "computer based examining" is it refering to using computer programs like excel to build models or something similar or is it juat questions on the screen that must be answered using a PC? I know that the CAA has multiple choice questions in their PC based exams. Is it something similar to how the CAA is examined?

Speaking of the CAA, what is the conversion path from CAA to Fellowship. The ifoa said they would release a conversion plan in 2017 "when the is a demand". I have not come across any such plan yet. Perhaps you know?