r/ActuaryUK

Heard it's very lucrative and know some actuaries who made the move at my company. Anyone here done the same? Appreciate any insight!

I'm from a software engineering background where there is a lot of commotion at the moment and fear in the air.

How do actuaries feel, honestly speaking?

What is your companies policy regarding clawback for study support? Just trying to get a sense of industry norms.
E.g
- My company claims back all study materials and exam fees from the past 24 months
- Study days don’t get claimed back

What do people think are the pros and cons of consulting (Big 4) vs working in industry (e.g Lloyds Syndicates)?

Specifically wrt to <5YOE.

My View:

Big 4 Pros:
- Variety of work
- Clear promotion structure
- Brand name (exit opportunities)
- Faster paced, lots of exposure early (- work hours)
- Usually generous study allowances
Edit: - Good social events with young workforce

Big 4 Cons:
- Working hours (long!)
- Lower base & bonus (considerably lower)
- Heavy performance monitoring / peer comparison
- Study time 2nd in line after Work (sometimes)

——————

Industry Pros:
- Working hours (fewer & more stable)
- Higher base & bonus
- Long term work-life balance without moving firm
- Better work-life balance = more study time

Industry Cons:
- Narrower exposure (somewhat pigeon holed?)
- Fewer exit opportunities to different roles/firms

Would love to hear thoughts, no wrong answers. This is a conversation that comes up regularly, so thought there might be interest in other views.

Does the number of exemptions that you graduate college with affect starting salary or do graduate roles usually have set salaries regardless of number of exemptions?

Advice on CS2? If I start studying from June will that be enough time for September sitting… how best to prepare. I enjoyed CS1.

Apologies, I saw the other thread recently made but just wanted to ask specifically about the graduate level.

I have a Big 4 GI offer but I know it will mostly be auditing initially. Am at the final stage for a few Lloyds syndicates in reserving/ capital.

If I get one of those I’m leaning towards taking it because Id like to be within the market and learning actuarial from within the industry.

But is it a huge mistake to give up the breadth and brand power of Big 4?

This is going to be my first paper. I am slightly confused about where to start? Should I take any coaching? Also, will 4 months be sufficient? Also, my age is 29, is it too late?

Just asking

I'm from the Republic of Ireland, so I'm a home student in terms of fees, but I'm not sure which uni to pick for actuarial science, as I don't know UK unis too well. I have offers from City St George's (Bayes Business School), University of York and Heriot-Watt. Which are the best and second best of the three? I've heard City and Heriot-Watt are the best two, and are supposedly more actuarial focused than LSE and other unis, but everyone has contrasting opinions.

Edit: forgot to mention that I'm also considering UCD and DCU in Ireland.

I have just finished university (maths) and I am considering a career as an actuary. Many people mention the difficulty of studying and working concurrently. As I would not be working (or might be working only part-time) over the next few months, I was wondering how many exams might it be reasonable to take in September? It looks like the maximum I could take would be CM1, CS1 and CB2 but would that be too much material to cover in a few months? Would it be better to take CM1 and CS1 or maybe CM1 and CB1?

A big reason I chose the actuarial career is because the pay: hours worked ratio is perhaps the best on the market. But I’m wondering if that’s becoming a less true.

Context, I’ll be working at Lloyd’s syndicate as a graduate pricing actuary in GI and Reinsurance in September and I’ve heard that combination works you the longest compared to pension or life.

Apparently Pricing has the most consistent hours so I was wondering if the overall shift in work culture being 8-5 or 9-6 will affect my working hours. Or will I still be spending extra time in the office but just for studying?

Is it more of a company dependent thing?

I just paid for a membership and can't get hold of the past papers ...

Hi guys,

Could someone please confirm whether non-member student registration for IFoA is only open during the exam registration window? The option is currently visible on my portal, but I’m not sure if I should proceed now or wait..since I am planning to appear for the Sept 2026 attempt.

Also, I’m trying to apply for the reduced rates as I’m a student with no personal source of income (my education is currently funded by my parents). However, the form is asking me to enter a whole number for total annual income and isn’t accepting 0, which is confusing.

I also watched a few YouTube tutorials where their form looked different...they had options to indicate low income, mention financial support, and upload supporting documents as proof. I’m not seeing any of those options, just the income field.

Has anyone faced something similar or knows what I should do in this case?

Would really appreciate your help, thanks! :)

As the title suggests really, what’s the common/ most easiest careers that an actuary can switch to later on in their career?

- For people who have done both, which did you prefer and why?

- What's better from a work life balance perspective, and money perspective?

- How do you think these jobs will change over the next few years with AI?

I realise the title is rhetorical, but hear me out. When I say a low amount, I refer to the exemptions offered by route D; likewise, I realise that doing an accredited actuarial science degree is likely the most optimal route to fellowship, but alas.

Obviously, having fewer exams to do before qualifying is always a nice thing, and you have to spend at least 3 years working for the PPD before qualifying, but do people on route D qualify sooner or later than on average, compared to those without any exceptions? I believe I qualify for at least one exemption, and I'm just wondering how much of a boost that will be.

So just a quick question is a physics degree good to be an acturay and what the pay would like if you grafute from the age of 22 and how it would be to the age of 30

In my final year of high school, I plan to major in mathematics in the upcoming year.

I really enjoy math, on the other hand I hate every accounting class I sit in.

Thus I'm wondering if actuarial sciences are a good career path for me.

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated asw