Actuarial/Accounting or Actuarial/Finance? (1 Viewer)

arcaox

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Hey guys im just wondering what would be the smarter choice out of Actuarial/Accounting or Actuarial/Finance at unsw, of course immediately most people would say Actuarial/Finance but im just scared that if i dont find a job immediately then i can always find a job in accounting til i do find a job as an actuary, im quite aware that these jobs arent really related in many ways and dont really benefit eachother but my main arguement is that even if i dont find a job as an actuary i can still find a job as an accountant, also im well aware that the pass rate for part III is around 20% and my MEXT II and MEXT I only makes a total of 187 which isnt that significant compared to most people who are doing actuary, advice would be appreciated, thanks ;D
 

ascentyx

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Hey guys im just wondering what would be the smarter choice out of Actuarial/Accounting or Actuarial/Finance at unsw, of course immediately most people would say Actuarial/Finance but im just scared that if i dont find a job immediately then i can always find a job in accounting til i do find a job as an actuary, im quite aware that these jobs arent really related in many ways and dont really benefit eachother but my main arguement is that even if i dont find a job as an actuary i can still find a job as an accountant, also im well aware that the pass rate for part III is around 20% and my MEXT II and MEXT I only makes a total of 187 which isnt that significant compared to most people who are doing actuary, advice would be appreciated, thanks ;D
Okay let me address a few things before i give me opinion on what double degree you should do.

Firstly, MEXT1 and MEXT2 aren't that much of a reliable indicator of whether you will succeed in actuarial studies. UAI/ATAR doesn't mean that much in uni because uni and actuarial is more about understand than rote learning concepts. (hsc).

Your fail rates for part 3 are over exaggerated. The pass rates are closer to 40-50% and have been raising pretty steadily over the last few years.

Also not everyone will go on to do part 3, a significant proportion of actuarial students will end up working in investment banks or other areas where the part 3 qualification isnt necessary.

Anyway back on topic, personally i would do finance/actuarial but that's just personal and that doesn't mean finance/actuarial>accounting/actuarial. The accounting degree would be useful if you plan on getting into upper level management of businesses etc. I wouldn't really worry about a fall back plan because if you cant cope with actuarial, both finance and accounting are strong majors to fall back on.

Either way, choose the degree you find more interesting, work hard and i'm sure you will succeed.
 

arcaox

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Okay let me address a few things before i give me opinion on what double degree you should do.

Firstly, MEXT1 and MEXT2 aren't that much of a reliable indicator of whether you will succeed in actuarial studies. UAI/ATAR doesn't mean that much in uni because uni and actuarial is more about understand than rote learning concepts. (hsc).

Your fail rates for part 3 are over exaggerated. The pass rates are closer to 40-50% and have been raising pretty steadily over the last few years.

Also not everyone will go on to do part 3, a significant proportion of actuarial students will end up working in investment banks or other areas where the part 3 qualification isnt necessary.

Anyway back on topic, personally i would do finance/actuarial but that's just personal and that doesn't mean finance/actuarial>accounting/actuarial. The accounting degree would be useful if you plan on getting into upper level management of businesses etc. I wouldn't really worry about a fall back plan because if you cant cope with actuarial, both finance and accounting are strong majors to fall back on.

Either way, choose the degree you find more interesting, work hard and i'm sure you will succeed.
Hm thanks a lot for the advice, the problem is that ive heard its quite hard to find a job thats why ive wondered if i should do accounting although a few people whove done actuary + accounting have warned me that the majors wont benefit eachother but i would like to do actuary + finance but im always worried about not being able to find a job, and do u know what has more workload out of accounting and finance?
 

shinn

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Actuarial and accounting degrees lead to different career options.
Actuarial studies requires you to pass exemptions (Part I, II, and III) to become FIAA whereas you have to do particular courses to get CA or CPA qualification for accounting. Both require quite some effort to achieve.

I haven't met anyone that is doing actuarial / accounting, most people I know do actuarial with finance and they say that fins seems like an easier version of actl.

Don't fret over about finding a job at this stage. If you perform well in your courses, you'll most likely get a job. Just make sure you base your decision on the courses that interest you.

I think accounting and finance as the same amount of workload, or maybe a bit more for accounting.
 

rx34

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do actl + law or acct + law
Not everyone wants to do law. And main round offers are already out so if the OP got in law, he would have said so.

I would do actuarial/finance. I have a friend in Melb Uni and I once heard her say that actuarials can do whatever accountants do. Not sure how much truth there is in that statement. Anyway, I prefer finance because it's really interesting.
 

arcaox

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Hrm thanks for all the responses guys im just wondering how much finance would benefit me in getting a job although i do realise accounting wont benefit actuary a lot less than finance. Im more interested in actuary but im scared of not being able to find a job as an actuary and it does take many years to pass part III, does anyone know how much people get paid roughly if they only pass part II (and no im not doing this solely for the money but it does change my decision slightly) and what are you required to do to pass part III
 

Studentleader

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You will be fine with even your B.Comm(Actuarial) - you dont need part III. A Bachelor of Science with Actuarial would help you alot more than a finance major.
 

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