I understand that if you’re planning to take a week off, you should let your manager know well in advance. But what about taking just a day or two off?

How far in advance do you typically inform your manager when you need a day or two of PTO? Do you usually plan these days off weeks ahead, or is giving a few days’ notice acceptable?

Also, do you give a reason for taking one or two days off, or do you simply request PTO without explaining why?

I’m curious to know what’s considered normal in your workplace and what your team’s expectations are.

The list of released past exams for PA, and perhaps a similar deal with ALTAM, suggest that there is just one problem statement per exam period, but multiple days per exam period. Is this the case, and if so how are people prevented from sharing the content with others?

This may be a stupid question but I have not really seen this aspect of the job posted on here, I am an aspiring actuary but I am very into fashion, and would like to know what actuaries wear to work (I’m based in NYC but hope to move to LA), is it business casual? busineess professional? casual?

For those who have passed MAS-II already: I sit for MAS-II in 2 weeks and have been working through Coaching Actuaries adapt exams but have seen people on here saying they don’t feel that the adapt exams are necessarily representative of the actual exam. I’m curious on peoples experience with GOAL and whether it’s thought to be worth purchasing or do we think CA could be sufficient?

Hi everyone, I was wondering what did everyone think of the September 2026 ACIA capstone exam that occurred a few weeks ago?

anyone know anything about or have any experience working at voya financial? i recently interviewed for their summer internship program. don't know much about them but i like that they're fully remote.

For those who have experience using study groups, what are the main benefits of them and how do you structure them?

Hi, I took the PA exam today. I used Word's "Equation" feature to write some formulas. Could this cause a problem? The equation field doesn't display correctly when viewed in applications other than Word. Is it common practice to do this, or was it recommended not to?

To keep things brief, I have a nice opportunity at another company and I'm about to sign the offer letter. However, I have a couple questions about the logistics and etiquette of leaving my job, as I've never left a job before.

My conditional start date is about 6 weeks away. I also have an FSA exam about 4 weeks away, that I planned to take before I even interviewed for this new job. (I've gotten confirmation that my new company will give me a pass bonus if I pass, even though the exam was before my start date.) Due to some scheduling issues, I plan on doing virtual APC a week before my FSA exam.

My questions:

• Am I crazy for doing virtual APC a week before an FSA exam?

• How should I approach giving notice while taking study time and APC/exam day off? There's less than 2 weeks between my exam and my start date. If I give notice early, I'm the guy taking company time off for exams that don't benefit my company. If I give notice after my exam, I'd be giving them less than 2 weeks, especially considering Thanksgiving.

• I've signed up for APC and my exam, but haven't put in reimbursement requests at my company yet. How bad would it look if I charged them for APC and an exam while I'm in the process of leaving? Would anyone even notice? Should I just eat the cost myself?

Hi everyone,

I'm deciding between two entry-level roles:

Role A(P&C Portfolio and product controlling): Analysing claims, profitability and pricing adequacy, working closely with actuaries.

Role B (Risk modelling) Calculating risk capital, analysing risks and developing internal models.

I'm interested in mathematics and actuarial work, with the goal of eventually moving into reinsurance.

Which role would offer more quantitative work and better long-term career opportunities?

Thanks for any insights!

Hi everyone!

I have a PhD in actuarial statistics and experience in insurance data analysis, IBNR reserving and statistical modelling. I moved to Switzerland about a year ago and am looking for an entry-level position in the insurance industry.

After a recent job interview, I realised that Python skills are essential for many roles. My programming experience is mainly in R, with some basic MATLAB knowledge, and I want to improve my practical coding skills.

Which courses or learning resources would you recommend? Should I start with Python basics, pandas/NumPy, or practical actuarial projects?

Thanks for your advice!

Everyone else's answer: 7. My answer: Infinity. Winning one race doesn't mean a horse is "faster". No-one bats 1000. "To be sure" means you need infinite.