The actuarial profession, like other professional services disciplines, requires an examination process to obtain industry credentials. Those credentials are important, as they contribute to the confidence business and society have in the work of professionals engaged in law, accounting or actuarial services. For property and casualty actuaries, credentialling exams are conducted by the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) and their notoriously rigorous process.

If you’ve ever taken one of these actuarial exams, you understand how taxing they can be. Some of the moments in my life that I’ve felt most like a failure were the times I received news about how I had done on actuarial exams. 

What I learned, however, as I took my exams is that they are a constant backdrop to our lives as actuaries. At times they felt like one of the few constants in my life. For those still taking exams, I hope that they realize what they are facing is not unique and that they are not alone in the exam process. Actuaries grow through and throughout the exam process. I hope that my observations and learning from my failures can help prospective exam takers succeed. 

Early on in my career, one of the questions I found myself asking was, “How do people do it? How does one keep going after a failure?” Frankly, it is a struggle to keep going after failing an exam, especially when one’s exam progress is semi-public knowledge. 

Yet, the most important lesson exams taught me is how to deal with failure. Being able not only to survive failure but to grow from it is one of the characteristics I most admire in the actuaries that I have sought to emulate. Through their example and through my experience, I have three pieces of personal and professional advice for dealing with failure that others may find helpful: 1) support from those around me; 2) honesty through self-reflection; and 3) giving myself grace.

Support from Those Around Me

The average time to advance through actuarial exams and achieve an Associate of the CAS (ACAS) certification is approximately seven years, according to results aggregator (actuarial lookup). Thinking about that period like an actuary would, how many major life events are bound to happen in that time? I would not be an outlier with respect to the life events I’ve experienced while studying to receive my ACAS. In my second sitting of Exam 5, and a month into studying and a new job, my mom went into hospice.

Actuarial exams are held, irrespective of what is going on in our lives – births, deaths, new places, new jobs – life goes on. Exams will still be there after. Take care of yourself and those around you. I could not have made it through that particularly difficult time in my life without the support of my family, friends and colleagues.

I’m no stranger to being stuck on repeated exam attempts. Passing Exam 6 took two years of my life and MAS II took a year and a half for me to pass. What ultimately helped me pass both exams was studying with others. It’s hard to see our own blind spots. Collaboration helps with studying, and the opportunity to vent to someone who understands has helped keep me sane through memorization of Exam 6 insurance regulatory information system (IRIS) ratios to MAS II rat pup studies. 

Honesty Through Self-Reflection

After experiencing any failure, whether an exam or with any endeavor, something must change to avoid falling into similar pitfalls. When I passed Exam MAS II, my success was attributable to switching source material. I had been focusing too much on practicing on prior exam problems since that’s what had gotten me through lower-level exams. But a new perspective on material from a different source, more personalized notes on a second or third pass, explaining a topic to someone new to the material – all these helped me get over the biggest humps in the exam process.

Giving Myself Grace

The most important step a person can take isn’t the first one, it’s always the next. Life is not a straight path. We all have falls and stumbles along our professional and personal journeys and I’ve had my fair share. The only determining choice is what we choose to do next. The past is beyond our ability to change. Whether a father’s heart surgery, global pandemic, company reorganization– there are things that happen in life we can’t plan for. And as has been said, we must change the things we can and accept things we cannot. Giving myself grace when things don’t go according to plan has helped me to keep moving forward and taking the all-important next step.

Parting Thoughts

In a similar blog, my colleague at Pinnacle, Steve Jagodzinski, provided additional valuable perspective on managing setbacks on the journey through the exam process. I have found Steve’s observations in his blog echo my own – underscoring how we are not alone in our experiences. 

Steve’s words are insightful and I have referred to them, and a passage I have written on my whiteboard that I use to remind myself that I am not alone in this process.

To those who’ve survived: Breathe. That's it. Once more. Good. You're good. Even if you're not, you're alive. That is a victory.

 – N. K. Jemisin, The Stone Sky

I wish all the luck and the stubbornness to succeed through the exam process and every difficult moment that requires support, self-reflection and a little bit of grace.