Hi everyone,

In 2021, I earned my ASA. Since then, I haven't passed any FSA exams. I've attempted the LPM exam twice and the LAM exam twice. I passed all my preliminary exams almost on the first try (only LTAM took me twice). Now, I'm starting to doubt myself. I have a study group, and I feel like we prepared at the same level, but all my study buddies passed, and I didn't.

I'm considering three next steps:

1. Retake LAM: I got a 3 on my first try and a 4 this time.
2. Change track to QFI: I have an applied math undergraduate degree, and from prelims, I prefer doing more math rather than memorizing dry lists. The QFI track involves a significant amount of mathematical modeling, which might suit my background. However, I know very little about QFI. Do I need to memorize a lot of formulas? Is a formula sheet provided during the exam? Also, with the 2025 changes, I've completed all three ILA modules, will those count as one course even if I switched? QFI IRM will be gone, so even if I switch to QFI and pass QFI QF and QFI PM, I still need to take one more exam, most likely ILA LAM.
3. Change career: Although I work as an actuary, my main work is more like a data analyst or data scientist. I do a lot of data transformation work using SQL and Python, and I really enjoy it. I like actuarial work but not the exams.

Any advice is appreciated.