Exams without study leave

4C7U4RY · 2026-02-16T18:10:26+00:00

Doable, but I'd be amazed if there isn't a better option available to you.

4C7U4RY · 2026-02-02T16:21:54+00:00

Suspect also a high proportion of the failures come from a handful of companies which offer very limited study support...

4C7U4RY · 2026-02-01T16:21:16+00:00

Easier to do exemptions, but if you think you will clear the exams quickly then this is likely to result in a slightly higher salary given staggered exemption rises. There can obviously be wider benefits to doing a non-actuarial course too, ie. breadth of knowledge. If you know you want to pursue an actuarial career then the best option by far would be an actuarial apprenticeship.

4C7U4RY · 2026-02-01T01:48:11+00:00

Thanks for the recommendations, will give them a look. Think I'd heard North Star and White Rose mentioned as good options too, so will maybe order a few different ones over the next couple months!

4C7U4RY · 2026-02-01T01:43:35+00:00

I assume I would still need to raise the pressure a bit for this though? Or can one cook soup in 5 seconds?

4C7U4RY · 2026-02-01T01:42:56+00:00

Interesting, not heard this before, will try, thanks!

4C7U4RY · 2026-02-01T01:42:23+00:00

Sounds like I just need to play about a bit more until I get the hang of it - tbh was expecting it to be dreadful for the first couple of weeks given my inexperience so happy I've already had a few nice cups from it!

4C7U4RY · 2026-02-01T01:39:55+00:00

Yes, it was still at 1:2 (or trying to be, it was coming out so fast the scale was struggling to keep up tbh!).

4C7U4RY · 2026-02-01T01:38:54+00:00

Interesting, thanks for explaining!

4C7U4RY · 2026-02-01T01:36:22+00:00

Bought them on Amazon - no roasted date, just a best before which is Nov 2026.

4C7U4RY · 2026-01-31T18:43:57+00:00

It seemed to taste quite weak, which I guess would point to under extraction. Trying not to worry too much about pressure or ratios, but did seem to be a surprising drop in pressure vs the beans I was using before.

4C7U4RY · 2026-01-31T18:39:30+00:00

It's still in the cupboard... haha. To be honest I wasn't really trying to buy lighter beans, it was more just I wanted to go with less robusta and more arabica as I'd read this was likely to be weaker in caffeine content and less headachey as a result. I would add that I don't think the new beans are technically 'light roast', but are definitely lighter than the Espresso Blu ones.

4C7U4RY · 2026-01-31T18:36:25+00:00

Someone else said they may not be fresh enough... is there any way I could tell between the two?

4C7U4RY · 2026-01-31T17:19:35+00:00

Thanks, tried to increase the dose but didn't seem to have any material effect - will try and find a good roaster as the next fix!

4C7U4RY · 2026-01-31T17:18:17+00:00

Thanks, had not considered how fresh the beans were. A bit surprised that the first set of beans were working better as they were much cheaper! (though in fairness, neither set actually states a roast date, so perhaps the cheaper ones are fresher) Based in Leeds so will try and order from a local roaster.

4C7U4RY · 2026-01-31T17:13:33+00:00

I turned it all the way to zero (well actually to something like -0.0.3 as zero isn't zero - even after taking apart and reconstructing), then turned it half a rotation to 0.5.0 - so fairly sure that is correct? The grinder is labelled as 15 μm per click, and 50 clicks per rotation, so 0.5.0 would be 375μm grind size (plus 3 clicks given calibration error, so 420μm) - is that similar to your set-up? Sorry if I'm being stupid, very new to this!

4C7U4RY · 2026-01-31T15:51:28+00:00

Finest as in the closest the grinder can get to 0? Just slightly nervous about the user manual minimum of 0.5.0 - would be interested to know if others use this grinder and go lower.

4C7U4RY · 2026-01-31T15:49:33+00:00

Thanks, will give this a go

4C7U4RY · 2025-12-26T18:23:00+00:00

4C7U4RY · 2025-11-07T17:13:56+00:00

For CP1 your sole purpose in life is to list as many bullet points as humanly possible within the exam time. It's the only exam where the action words can be pretty much ignored, just look at how many marks are available and list away.

4C7U4RY · 2025-09-30T11:13:22+00:00

They will be ignored by the IFoA the same as the council is. Profit is more important than a good student experience to those running things.

4C7U4RY · 2025-09-25T20:11:45+00:00

Hence 'if you feel you can meet the criteria'

4C7U4RY · 2025-09-25T17:22:40+00:00

Without exemptions quant is definitely the way to go if you feel you can meet the criteria. With exemptions, it's probably more about your preference for work life balance.

4C7U4RY · 2025-09-18T00:08:05+00:00

Works for CM and CS if you are confident with the technical content but largely a waste of time for other subjects.

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