Actuarial Journey Update #4
Unfortunately, I failed one of my exams this month. Due to life and work obligations, I also had to adjust my exam journey plans. However, I am still determined to pass the exams and become an actuary!
Here are my status, thoughts, and next goals!
Status
Polish exams passed: 1 of 9
SOA/CAS exams passed: 2 of 9
CAS Online Courses: 1 of 3
CAS Course on Professionalism: 0 of 1
VEEs: 0 of 2
Passion: I felt drained and a little unmotivated due to my failure in the CAS DISC RM exam, for which I studied intensively for a couple of weeks. However, I believe I have learned a lot from this experience and take this failure as a lesson for future exams. I now have a better understanding of what I should consider during the learning process.
Exam-Life Balance: Due to life and work obligations, I had to adjust my study plans and had less time to study. It was also a bit tougher to get enough rest. Therefore, I will plan my studying for the next exam differently.
Thoughts
Any exam failure can impact mood and overall motivation to study. However, while preparing for the CAS DISC RM online course, I knew that failure was possible. I took the risk, and now I have learned a lesson—I know what to review and what to study more for the retake.
The total time required for the CAS DISC RM online course, according to The Institutes, is approximately 12–16 weeks. I attempted to complete the course and pass the exam much faster. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. Here are my reasons, which may also help you consider key factors before studying for the CAS DISC RM online course:
The material is much broader than in the CAS DISC DA online course. It consists of 15 chapters covering risk, risk management, insurance, underwriting different types of insurance, insurance marketing, and claims.
The questions require a solid understanding of the concepts. Many can be deduced, but some provide very similar answer choices. Only someone who has read the material and memorized key concepts well can confidently choose the correct option.
If you are not a native English speaker (like me!), some risk and insurance vocabulary can be challenging. Using a translator during the study process can be helpful.
Despite these challenges, the exam pass rate is still high. If you take enough time to study and thoroughly understand the concepts, passing the exam should not be a major challenge.
Next Goals
My next goal is to retake and pass the CAS DISC RM exam. I still have the study materials, my online course access is active until next year, and I remember many concepts from the course.
Therefore, I will probably take my next actuarial exam, MAS-I, later in August. After that, I will review my schedule and decide whether I can study for and pass another exam—MAS-II—this year.
The Polish actuarial exam session is in March. However, I will be on a trip to Mexico then (yeah, I’m kind of excited, and I’ll share some photos here later!). Because of this, I plan to take some of the Polish exams later this year.