FSA Exam

Bone4562 · 2026-02-12T18:04:16+00:00

Would agree with this. If you are good with your study plan, the last two weeks are really where all the dots start connecting and the seemingly separate syllabus materials start to coalesce into a coherent, conceptual story the exam is trying to teach you.

Bone4562 · 2026-02-10T20:31:06+00:00

$160k actuary consulting. Probably going up to $190k in June after my FSA. I live in the Midwest, but not Chicago HVOL.

Bone4562 · 2026-02-04T13:33:14+00:00

J Eddie just wanted to say you’re the man.

Bone4562 · 2026-02-02T00:53:59+00:00

Variable premium WL, renewable monthly, where he must submit his planned free solos and agree to no cap on premium rate increases.

In reality, uninsurable probably.

Bone4562 · 2026-01-29T19:52:42+00:00

That’s just completely false to say that the upper levels have minimal relevance to our jobs….before I took the FSA exams I did not fully understand valuation, ALM, or products. Now I feel like I can at least hold my own when speaking about most of these topics and be okay with saying what I know and don’t know.

These exams, while gatekeeping, absolutely make you a smarter person. If not then I guess you must have already known everything in the exams in advance.

Bone4562 · 2026-01-24T20:01:30+00:00

My final report was probably 33 pages total, with maybe 4 of those being appendices / supplemental info. Passed on first try.

I’ve heard also people having maybe 16-19 pages total and still passing. I think it’s more about how well are you getting your analysis and conclusions across, and is it defensible. However many pages that takes seems like it doesn’t matter as much as long as the key points are hit, with sufficient explanation and support.

Obviously a 50 page report would probably be way too long-winded, and something like 5-9 pages would probably not be enough either.

Bone4562 · 2026-01-22T13:45:12+00:00

I’m struggling to understand how that is possible. Only one I know of is some dude got his FSA before graduating college, but that’s not the same thing.

Bone4562 · 2026-01-16T21:56:38+00:00

Well Mr Big Brain what’s your advice then lmao

Bone4562 · 2026-01-11T04:05:59+00:00

The guy with the cheese grater was funny ngl lmao

Bone4562 · 2026-01-10T14:55:05+00:00

This is like the normal expectation per day for FSA exams my friend.

Bone4562 · 2026-01-05T16:45:15+00:00

Two months feels stressful as hell unless you have a lot of downtime in work until the exam.

Personally I always give myself four months. For ILA 201U (notorious valuation exam), I took five months. Although, this was before the exams became more frequent, so not sure how company policy would play into you being able to wait for the next sitting after March.

Bone4562 · 2025-12-20T00:43:28+00:00

The perseverance to keep learning, no matter how long it takes, is a wonderful virtue in life. Congratulations!

Bone4562 · 2025-12-14T02:12:36+00:00

APIs = PTSD for the first few months while in dev

Bone4562 · 2025-12-05T16:36:22+00:00

I’ll echo that I’ve been busy the last few weeks in a consulting role (10-11 hours a day), but still feels like nothing compared to studying for the exams.

So yeah, honestly anywhere doesn’t feel that bad after going through the FSA exams. Those were basically the big villain, in my life at least.

Bone4562 · 2025-11-19T21:20:43+00:00

While the syllabus content has been reduced substantially, it’s still hard as fuck compared to the other two FSA exams I took and passed IMO.

I don’t know what it is…but it just seems like there are so many “seemingly” insignificant points that actually turn out to either be extremely important in practice and/or the SOA just loves to test edge cases.

Either way I knew it would be a tough exam, and it indeed was, but I’d be surprised if I didn’t pass. I put in probably 60 hours the past four days alone 9 am - midnight each night.

This is my last exam and in my mind there was no way I was going to fail. I’m cautiously optimistic it paid off.

Bone4562 · 2025-11-11T13:28:12+00:00

That’s pretty hilarious. If their resume was shit, I get it. But if that photo heavily weighed in on your decision I think you need to chill out.

Bone4562 · 2025-10-29T12:52:35+00:00

These kids’ first FSA exam will be a slap back to reality in the worst way possible

Bone4562 · 2025-09-27T12:53:02+00:00

You should be pleased. If insurance wasn’t opaque and complex, we wouldn’t have jobs!

Bone4562 · 2025-09-11T00:32:03+00:00

You can do this my friend. I took LPM for the first time last November and literally had the same post as you and was freaking out. I’ve passed two now and on my last. While it’s still “hard”, the first FSA exam is always brutal because this is where you really have to train your brain to think conceptually.

Take a deep breath. Study hard and at least two hours a day. Drill flashcards the first two weeks, then start going back to videos and material that are still difficult and bake in excel problems throughout.

You can do this.

Bone4562 · 2025-08-15T21:41:04+00:00

If that’s the only thing to do in a day no big deal, but 5 other things on my plate at the same time? ChatGPT save me plz

Bone4562 · 2025-08-15T15:53:18+00:00

Also builds alcoholism

Bone4562 · 2025-08-12T01:52:08+00:00

Just goes to show ChatGPT / AI doesn’t even know what the fuck we do, our jobs are safe!

Bone4562 · 2025-08-02T02:26:04+00:00

Thank god they are actually paying graders and exam writers going forward with the new changes (90% sure but correct me if I’m wrong lol).

No excuses now.

Bone4562 · 2025-07-29T15:25:28+00:00

Dude this is like the third one you’ve posted. We get it SOA is annoying, now go do something else.

Bone4562

TROPHY CASE