• Best of luck to the class of 2024 for their HSC exams. You got this!
    Let us know your thoughts on the HSC exams here
  • YOU can help the next generation of students in the community!
    Share your trial papers and notes on our Notes & Resources page
MedVision ad

actuarial vs. finance (2 Viewers)

turtleface

Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
932
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2004
yeah actuaries get screwed in terms of salary lol. which is a shame since the exams are fairly hard to pass. But I guess its like with CPAs in the U.S., the first time pass rate for all modules is like 5% and they get paid shit as well

Actuarial salaries are a myth perpetuated by Actuarial departments across Australia. Especially, with the oversupply of actuarial grads.
Yeah very true I remember back in Yr 12 all the kids were like "oh my god do actuary it pays the highest". LOL
 

§eraphim

Strategist
Joined
Jul 4, 2004
Messages
1,568
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
Mathematics is the tool of creation (in Physics, Finance, Economics, etc).

Actuarial Studies teaches mathematical techniques in the same way Engineering does -> Formula & Application.
 
Last edited:

:: ck ::

Actuarial Boy
Joined
Jan 1, 2003
Messages
2,414
Gender
Male
HSC
2004
ND said:
A friend of mine got a grad job at an actuarial firm and is getting about 58K base.
hey 58k outta graduation is pretty good...

which firm is it?
 

Minai

Alumni
Joined
Jul 7, 2002
Messages
7,458
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2002
Uni Grad
2006
Yeah 58k is pretty good, way more than my starting salary

But I do feel its still a bit of a rip off, considering (so I've heard) the immense difficulty of completing an actuarial degree with decent marks, compared with accounting. But still 58k is above the average aussie salary.
 

blackfriday

Pezzonovante
Joined
Sep 2, 2004
Messages
1,490
Location
in ya mum!
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2005
but i guess you gotta compare it to the difficulty of the work and the long hours - i dont know if it really is worth it. if you enjoy maths and modelling it'd be good but otherwise going into it for the money isnt the smartest thing.
 

Omnidragon

Devil
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
935
Location
Melbourne
Gender
Male
HSC
2003
Uni Grad
2007
Minai said:
Yeah 58k is pretty good, way more than my starting salary

But I do feel its still a bit of a rip off, considering (so I've heard) the immense difficulty of completing an actuarial degree with decent marks, compared with accounting. But still 58k is above the average aussie salary.
You probably don't consider yourself an average Aussie in the first place.
 

ND

Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2002
Messages
971
Location
Club Mac.
Gender
Male
HSC
2003
blackfriday said:
but i guess you gotta compare it to the difficulty of the work and the long hours - i dont know if it really is worth it. if you enjoy maths and modelling it'd be good but otherwise going into it for the money isnt the smartest thing.
Long hours? Hardly.
 

blackfriday

Pezzonovante
Joined
Sep 2, 2004
Messages
1,490
Location
in ya mum!
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2005
im not talking about long hours every week of the year but i consider 50+++ hours a week in short sustained periods long hours.
 

:: ck ::

Actuarial Boy
Joined
Jan 1, 2003
Messages
2,414
Gender
Male
HSC
2004
well for the actuarial grads i see at work

they probably only work abt 8 hrs a day which is pretty much standard.. maybe the occasional late night
 

Wolfowitz

, now also hated by Jews!
Joined
Dec 18, 2005
Messages
441
Location
Sydney - Kensington
Gender
Male
HSC
2005
Ahahaha.
Two sylables to fuck you all over: In-dia: Millions of maths-ready niggas ready to model what their mother gave them.

I was talking to a senior finance lecturer, who wishes to remain annonymous, today who said that universities are being told to change their finance programs to take much of the manual maths away from finance.

Peace out <3
 

§eraphim

Strategist
Joined
Jul 4, 2004
Messages
1,568
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
Wolfowitz said:
Ahahaha.
Two sylables to fuck you all over: In-dia: Millions of maths-ready niggas ready to model what their mother gave them.

I was talking to a senior finance lecturer, who wishes to remain annonymous, today who said that universities are being told to change their finance programs to take much of the manual maths away from finance.

Peace out <3
Outsourcing actuarial grunt work to India has already been addressed by the Institute of Actuaries Australia in its monthly magazine. It's not a viable option at the moment as there aren't enough experienced and qualified actuaries in India, and because they lack the local knowledge of laws and accepted methods. India's whole education system is geared towards IT atm.

Arithmetic calculations (computational gruntwork) is different from real maths. It's just a way for students to demonstrate they know and understand formulas/equations. There are many Finance courses available at UNSW that involve the use of spreadsheets/VBA macros, so maybe it's just USyd lagging behind.

Students, researchers and lecturers who do Commerce only are at a significant disadvantage as in the end you need the real maths as tools to do the modelling. For example, you can't price derivatives without picking up some knowledge on stochastic processes.

Wolfowitz, if you plan to read or do any serious work/research, you will eventually have to learn it. You probably are some dumb arse Geneal Maths student.
 
Last edited:

RIZAL

Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2002
Messages
531
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2010
sikeveo said:
Er nope. Around 40k actually.
QED Salary survey from last year found the average for Actuarial graduates to be 55k. This year it would be around the same.

I haven't heard of anyone accepting less than 50k this year. The big 4 are paying Actuarial grads ~60k. Finity Consulting is paying 67-70k. Actuarials going into IB are getting even more.

I don't think any actuarial grad would touch 40k with a 10 ft stick.
 

turtleface

Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
932
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2004
thats pretty good for grads

in melb its like a 38K average since theres like less than 10 actuarial grad jobs every year and most end up in retail banking or something.

although most actuaries stagnate in terms of salary a few years after becoming a FIAA, i've heard theres some good opportunites further up like at towers perrin tillinghast where some dudes get like 700 an hour
 
Last edited:

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 2)

Top