Full professional status in an actuarial specialty is based not only on previous training, both formal
and on-the-job, but also on the successful completion of a series of examinations. The actuary may become
an “associate” in the Society of Actuaries after the successful completion of 5 examinations out of a
total of 10 or 11 for the life and health insurance and retirement fields, and in the Casualty Actuarial
Society after successfully completing 7 out of 10 in the property and liability field. Persons who complete
the entire series of exams for either organization are granted full membership and the title of “fellow.”
The American society of Pension Actuaries gives 7 examinations in the pension field. It awards membership
after the successful completion of two actuarial examinations and confers fellowship status on those who
pass 3 actuarial and two advanced consulting exams.
Because the first parts of the examination series of each society cover similar materials, students need not
commit themselves to a specialty until they have taken three examinations. The first three exams test competence
in subjects such as linear algebra, probability, calculus, statistics, numerical methods, and operations research.
More advanced exams cover aspects of the profession itself, and become more focused as one chooses a specialty.
Students proposing to become actuaries should try to complete the first two preliminary exams while still in college,
as these examinations cover subjects which are covered in regular courses. Additionally, they may also help students
in determining prior to graduation whether or not they will enter the actuarial profession.
