Resources for Aspiring Actuaries!
I thought it would be helpful to create a resource page that you can always come to for your needs along your Actuarial Journey.
As I come along things that I find to be useful, I’ll continue to I’ll add to it. My goal is to create a central hub over all the things that can help you, so you’ll notice that I will reference this page quite often. I recommend bookmarking it for your reference and convenience. Enjoy!
Click a title below and scroll down for all the relevant information.
**Note: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links.
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- Free Video Training Series: How to Create a Study Plan You will Stick to – Are you having trouble finding the motivation and time to study? Discover the step-by-step process you can use to create the ideal study plan and find your balance with life, school, and work.
- Actuarial Job Course (100% Free!) – We know how difficult it can be to get your first job or internship as an actuary. We get where you’re coming from because we’ve been in your shoes.So we set out to change that through the Actuarial Job Course – a completely free course with videos, worksheets, tools, and community all geared to help your get your entry-level actuarial job and start your actuarial career.
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- Setting SMART Goals Resource – Using SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goals to help create your personalized study roadmap is key. This resource dives deeper into how you can go about doing that effectively.
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- Actuarial Journey – The Official Podcast of Actuarial Journey – the podcast for aspiring actuaries focused on helping all Journeyers land a job, pass your exams, and excel in your careers/school while juggling everything else you have going on in life.
- Time Hackers – Great podcasts on Productivity! Each episode is 7-10 mins long.
- School of Greatness – Hosted by ex-football play Lewis Howe, this podcast focuses on how people can become great and the steps that it takes to get there. Really easy listen with great interviews as well.
- The Tim Ferriss show – Another staple in the success podcast field. Tim is the author of the 4 Hour Work Week, which was insprirational in helping me rethink my approach to my exams and career and helped inspire and motivate me to do things smarter not harder. The guests he has on his show are just super successful.
[/tab][tab title=”Books”]
- The One Thing by Gary Keller – Kindle | Audiobook – This is a wonderful read about getting things done. It’s all about how you can identify the ONE THING that matters and actually knock that out and move towards success.
- The Slight Edge by Jeff Olsen – Kindle | Audiobook – This book showed me that success isn’t just one big move (or cramming for an exam 2 weeks before). Instead is the combination of a number of small decisions over time.
- The War of Art – Kindle | Audiobook – Meet Resistance (with a capital R). This book dives into Resistance in it’s many forms an how it can keep you from reaching your goals. I wish I had this available when I was studying for exams – so many insights into why I was unsuccessful at times.
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie – Kindle | Audiobook
- Actuarial Exam Tactics – Learn more Study Less by Mike Jennings ASA, CERA & Roy Ju FSA, CERA. Living proof that you can pass your exams in less time and get better results by studying smarter not harder… This is truly a book I wish I had earlier in my journey, and I feel it will usher in a new frontier of actuarial professionals going forward.
I gift this to each member of the Actuarial Journey Trailblazers and have even brought Roy and Mike in to lead sessions specifically on this book. Get it and implement even one tactic and I truly believe you’ll see results.
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Other Great Reads
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- Actuaries in Microinsurance by Jeff Blacker – Great book exploring the application and growth of actuarial principles in the field of Microinsurance, insurance designed for under-served populations. This is a great opportunity to explore one of the growing ways to take your career and apply the skills you learn to design products for those in need.
[/tab][tab title=”Productivity”]
- Evernote – Great way to capture any checklists/notes/ideas you have about the exam or anything else. Syncs across devices (including laptop) and is available offline. Really useful app!
- Getting Focused – Guide to being “Wired In” – One of my favorite themes of the movie The Social Network (aka The Facebook Movie) is when they talk about a distraction-free work state called “wired in” This article discusses 7 steps to getting wired in to help you gain focus while studying and working and to make the best use of your time.
[/tab][tab title=”Actuarial Clubs and Organizations”]
- International Association of Black Actuaries – a professional and student member organization whose mission is to contribute to an increase in the number of black actuaries and to influence the successful career development, civic growth and achievement of black actuaries.
- Chicago Actuarial Association – an actuarial organization whose focus is to provide support, education, and networking opportunities to actuaries and actuarial candidates in the Chicago area.
[/tab][tab title=”Additional Math Resources (non-Actuarial)”]
- Treasure Trove of Math Videos (beg. – adv.) – Patrick at Just Math Tutorial has put together hundreds of FREE video tutorials to help people learn math. From linear algebra to calculus to probability and more, this could be a useful resource to supplement your exam studying.
[/tab][tab title=”Miscellaneous”]
- What is an Actuary – Animated Video – Funny animated conversation between an actuarial student and a stranger. I’m sure we’ve all had a similar conversations recently! #notahumancalculator
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