Studying

So since we last spoke…

I passed my Commercial Actuarial Practice exam, the big eight-hour monster. Now I am qualified to become a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries Australia, which will happen on 23 February after a two-day Professionalism Course.

Yay!

Having got the actuarial qualification out of the way, I have decided to pursue some further study.For the next 2 years I will be working part-time (3 days a week) and studying part-time at Moore Thoelogical College while I complete a Diploma of Bible and Missions.

Work has been very supportive of me doing this, which makes things easier, and I am very excited about getting stuck into God’s Word!

I have already started. I’m one week into the intensive Greek course and I am parsing and declining up a storm!

Exam

Is this all I ever blog about?

My big exam is tomorrow, from 9am to 5pm.

Currently thinking about “business contextualisation” and “knowing the answer before you do the analysis”…

Really hoping and praying that this is the last exam!

Procrastination

Funny that a post about procrastination can be procrastination in itself…

I am on study leave from work at the moment and with all the extra time on my hands, I have managed to:

• Clean and re-organise the kitchen cupboards
• Clean the manky grease out of the rangehood
• Plant basil and tomatoes
• Clean the balcony
• Hang a picture on the wall
• Pay all outstanding bills and complete about 3 months worth of filing and general organising
• Look into mine and Adri’s superannuation and
• Buy two presents for people (Dad and Tim)

Now, I should really do some study. It’s not that I haven’t done any yet, but it’s amazing how much more appealing household chores become when study is the alternative.

Time to hit some past case studies.

I failed…

Unfortunately, I failed the 8-hour case study component of my exam.

I passed the 2-hour exam, but that was the easy part.

Will have to have another go next semester.

😦

Thursday Thought – exam results

I think I am freaking out about exam results day next Wednesday.
I am waiting to hear back about the Commercial Actuarial Practise course (the one with the 8 hour exam).
If I pass; relief, happiness, certainty, no more actuarial exams.
If I fail: uncertainty, stress, at least 6 more months of study.
Would appreciate your prayers if you can spare em.

Exam tomorrow

My final Commercial Actuarial Practice exam is tomorrow.

With any sort of luck this will be my last actuarial exam…

…ever.

That would be sweet!

Would appreciate some prayer if you are so inclined.

Disability Work

A large chunk of the work I do is helping government make policies for health, usually disability, services.

I was sent this story this morning. The trailblazing Sydney actuary is my boss and this is the scheme he designed.

I get excited about doing this sort of work because I can see how beneficial it is going to be – for everyone.

Go check it out. You can even have your say – if you are so inclined.

Study

Having passed General Insurance B last semester, I am now onto my last actuarial subject. (woohoo!)

This one is a killer though. Commercial Actuarial Practice (CAP).

At the end of March I will move in to Macquarie University (MGSM) for a week long residential course focussing on how to solve commercial problems from an actuarial point of view. The final day of the course is an intensive 8-hour case study exam where we will be given an issue and some data and will have to do some analysis and prepare a report.

Then, later in April (or May? can’t remember) I will sit another two hour exam focussed on solving problems in non-traditional actuarial areas such as health and ageing or the environment.

Seems like a long road ahead, and I’m a bit slow to get started. But hopefully, this could be the last actuarial course I have to sit. Yay!

ABS

When Turns and I were at uni together studying for our actuarial degrees, we teamed up with Dave and Moses (not ‘the’ Moses) to start an Actuarial Bible Study Group, or ABS.

They were good times. We met up once a week (roughly) and read the bible together. We even studied a Matthias study, “Cash Values”, for a while in preparation for hitting the workforce.

I’ve mentioned before (see reproduced post below) that I think Actuaries possibly have a natural disposition to become Christians.

So it’s perhaps not surprising that the ABS has continued into my working life! We have a group of actuaries here at work who meet up very irregularly to read the bible together. We have about 4 core members and a few others. Yesterday we even had 2 new faces! Praise God!

We have been working our way through Hebrews looking at how Jesus is the reality that the old covenant foreshadowed. It’s been fabulous!