1 Apr 2008
In this time of student suffering, with exams in full flow, we decide to explore the myth of SA0. The man of the month is none other than Daniel Clarke, a doctoral candidate in economics and part-time actuarial science lecturer at Oxford University, who recently became the first actuary to qualify through SA0. Here he explains how he went about it and why. And should you be interested in the nitty-gritty of what he actually wrote, look no further than the article on page 36.
Jen and Jean
What is SA0?
As part of the revamped 2005 education strategy, an option was added to allow students to undertake original research as an alternative to taking a fellowship-level examination. I am the first person to satisfy the requirements of this Specialist Applications Dissertation (SA0) option and am happy to talk about my experience in an attempt to help anyone considering applying for SA0. Please note though, that any views expressed here are my own — for official advice, see the student handbook.
Why did you apply for SA0?
After a year-and-a-half working for a pensions consultancy and taking the actuarial exams I decided to return to university to complement my training with that of a development economist. I wanted to be involved in the fight against poverty and planned to specialise in finance in the developing world. After saving some money I eventually began the MPhil in economics at Oxford University, with only the fellowship to be passed before I qualified as a FIA. As part of the MPhil I was to spend around half of my second year writing a substantial dissertation, and decided to kill two birds with one stone by applying to use a slightly rewritten version of this dissertation for SA0.
SA0 would have been right for me even if I was not intending to return to university. Through trying my hand at research for the first time, I’ve learnt an enormous amount about areas I’m interested in and developed skills that will be useful commercially as well as for future research. My contemplative nature is not well suited to speedy report-writing and I’m proud to have instead been judged by the actuarial profession on the strength of my considered thoughts.
Who should consider SA0?
Firstly, SA0 requires independent thought, not just independent study. You should enjoy thinking about difficult questions of potential interest to actuaries and actuarial employers.
Secondly, a good academic background helps, as you need to be able to read academic and pseudo-academic papers and books, talk to your academic supervisor and write intelligibly about difficult topics. A strong academic background makes all of these things a little easier.
Thirdly, you need to have a good question to work on. Is there something you think actuaries don’t understand or do well? To develop a good research question you’ll need to have a good understanding of what is known in the relevant area. You can read about the question I considered on page 36. Lastly, you can’t be in too much of a rush to qualify. SA0 will take well over a year from initial application to viva.
How does the process work?
To begin with, you’ll need to think about your research topic and your supervisors. At this stage I can highly recommend speaking to colleagues with some experience of contributing to an academic or actuarial journal. You will need two supervisors, at least one of whom has experience of supervising research work. I was very lucky to have two unfailingly helpful and supportive supervisors on board from the beginning (James Orr and Stefan Dercon) but my sense is that the Profession would be very helpful if you don’t.
The official process starts with you contacting the Profession with a proposal for a topic. Once your supervisors have been approved, you submit a plan of work and the real research begins. A year or two later, you submit your dissertation and survive a viva to pass SA0.
Anything else we should know?
An SA0 dissertation has a narrower focus but allows a greater depth of exploration than any of the SA examination options. In rewarding different criteria, it is neither harder nor easier, just different. My suspicion is that most SA0 candidates will spend quite a bit more time on their dissertation than most SA-level examination students, but the total time spent should not be wildly different if you allow for the fact that most people take SA-level exams multiple times.
My advice to anyone considering SA0 is to ask yourself whether you might be tempted to get involved in research at any stage of your career. If so, you should ask yourself how you want to qualify. SA0 is hard work and won’t suit everyone, but for those interested in being guided and supported through their first attempts at research, it’s a great option.
Don’t forget…
The UK Practice Module is now an online exam, which must be supervised by an FIA/FFA. For more information please look on the Profession’s website www.actuaries.org.uk under Actuarial Education/News and Updates.
If you have any bright ideas for the Student Page, please e-mail jenandjean@the-actuary.org.uk
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