What are the requirements to become a fellow actuarist?

[thereddevils]

Hi all, i couldn't find a thread on actuarial science, maybe i missed it so i thought of starting one. I am still a college student, looking into the possibilities of me being an actuarist. Everyone is telling me that this will be a very tough programme and am asked to consider again and again, that indirectly discourages me to be an actuarist. What exactly one has to go through until he becomes a fellow actuarist?Also, why the papers that an actuarist has to sit for are said to be so tough? Is it because of the syllabus covered or time limitations? Any advice or pointers in this will be greatly appreciated.

 

[snipez90]

For one, you need to pass a series of exams: http://www.beanactuary.org/exams/exam_info.cfm" ) include many fairly straightforward routine exercises, but I would expect most of those questions to only appear on the preliminary exams. Beyond the preliminary stage, expect the exams to be much more difficult, regardless of the time limitations (I haven't checked out the details for that).

One common unifying thread is probability theory, which is of course crucial in actuarial science. It is the basic tool in studying problems involving risk and uncertainty, which is why most of the other exams require a basic understanding of it. Fortunately, basic probability theory does not require a lot of specialized knowledge, and almost every college offers the course. This is where I would start first.