Although I’m smack dab in between an enjoyable – yet rapidly decreasing – summer break, my mind is far from neglecting my exam cycle. Sure, I do not have Ohio State courses to study for, but one would be foolish to think that an actuarial science student has no concern over exams.

That’s because as part of my professional designation through the SOA I need to complete a series of financial-and-probability-based exams (that may or may not coincide with OSU coursework and its relevant timeframe). The last exam that graced my menu was Exam FM, and I had sat for it this past May. What I loathe – highly – is that I waited until LAST WEEK to receive my score – nearly 2 whole months apart – which, to my delight, reflected a passing score! Still, I walked on pins and needles for quite sometime while awaiting the final verdict. In fact, I abruptly halted a fine Hawaii vacation in order to access these online results the first day they were posted by scouring all of Waikiki for a public-access computer (which was a chore in it of itself). A failing score would’ve sent me back to the same study manuals for a third straight time – a situation I desperately wanted to avoid!

Something you may not know is that a student’s exam process is often integrated through his employer. Thus, with this achievement, I am pleased to announce that I will receive an extra dollar raise to my hourly salary, all study materials and examination fees endorsed for the subsequent examination (which is scheduled for November 2008), and paid-time off of work to devote strictly to studying (in this case, the syllabus involves strategies of financial economics.

If you have little aspiration or knowledge of this obscure profession, you may not care much about the above entry and express little to no appreciation of the achievement, and – honestly – I can't blame you. It’s extremely boring stuff! However, to level the playing field and compare my anxiety to someone you may know, please read further.

Perhaps, you are a law student. Imagine sitting for 9 different LSAT exams…and never failing once! Anybody want to be a doctor out there? Try writing the MCAT a dozen different times! Going into education? You’d comparably take the PRAXIS 5 times in order to receive your complete designations through the SOA, each with increasingly difficulty.

As for me, I’m nowhere near the end of my studies and, therefore, have little room for bragging rights. However, I’ve successfully leaped 2 hurdles this past year and will update you about the third in November…Well, scratch that last part because we’ll need to add 2 months to November for turnaround time…which could only increase my angst.

Oh, the life of an actuary!