CAS Candidate Survey Update

by By Sarah Manuel, ACAS

In July the Candidate Liaison Committee (CLC) conducted its first-ever survey of all candidates. We wanted to get a better understanding of the current candidate pool (you) and the varied opinions that candidates have. You guys definitely delivered — we received about 700 responses! Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their opinions with us.

We’ll address common themes over future articles, but we wanted to share some highlights from the candidate responses before doing any deep dives.

Exams. A common theme throughout the whole survey was exams. This makes sense, since exams have a huge impact on candidates’ lives. A few things really caught my attention:

  • When asked how satisfied candidates are with exam progress, candidates had strong opinions, as shown in the comparison table on satisfaction with exam progress and the CAS overall.                                                                                                                                                                                      

            

    Exam Progress

    CAS Overall

    Very Dissatisfied

    11.0%

    2.7%

    Dissatisfied

    29.6%

    10.8%

    Neutral

    28.4%

    30.4%

    Satisfied

    23.7%

    47.3%

    Very Satisfied

    6.4%

    7.6%

    No Opinion

    0.9%

    1.2%
  • Exam progress is clearly skewed toward the “dissatisfied” range as compared with overall satisfaction with the CAS.
  • In most open response questions, candidates discussed their frustration with CAS exams. Frustration with exams was a common theme in responses about volunteering for the CAS and determining deterrents to candidates achieving their credentials — even questions about what articles we should write about in Future Fellows.

This is something we’re looking to learn more about. In August we sent out a survey about exams to candidates who had signed up to receive shorter surveys throughout the year. The results of that survey are also summarized in this issue of Future Fellows. You can sign up to receive future short surveys here.

Collaboration between the CAS and the SOA. We asked candidates to rank a list of items that the CAS and the SOA should collaborate on going forward. From most important (highest score, max = 7) to least important (lowest score, min = 1), the candidates said:

  1. Preliminary exams (6.12).
  2. Common issues such as predictive analytics, actuarial profession marketing, etc. (5.12).
  3. University outreach (4.09).
  4. Diversity of the actuarial profession (4.02).
  5. Development of opportunities in nontraditional areas of practice (3.88).
  6. Actuarial research (3.53).
  7. None of these (1.42).

We also asked what else the CAS and SOA should collaborate on going forward. We got a decent number of answers saying that the two organizations should combine preliminary exams or that they should merge (and some saying that they shouldn’t collaborate at all). Some other interesting ideas included a combined certification for data science, networking events, political interference into lines of insurance and a recipe book. (I don’t know if that one was serious, but I’d read it!)

ACAS voting rights. We asked candidates, “Currently, only FCAS can vote in elections for CAS president-elect and board directors. Should Associates also be allowed to vote in these elections?” Candidates responded:

  • Yes, immediately after achieving ACAS (41.8%).
  • Yes, after a waiting period (31.0%).
  • They should not be allowed to vote (8.7%).
  • No opinion (18.5%).

Candidates wrote additional comments related to voting rights, most of which were supporting their opinion on whether they should be allowed to vote. Common responses were along the lines of:

  • The exams between ACAS and FCAS don’t make you more qualified to vote.
  • FCAS and ACAS are equal members of the community and pay the same dues, so Associates should also be allowed to vote.
  • Career Associates should be allowed to vote.
  • You don’t have to have an FCAS to sign an opinion, so you shouldn’t have to have an FCAS to vote.   

Many candidates mentioned possible waiting periods or suggested lower weights for ACAS votes.
 
I found these responses interesting in comparison to the 2018 CAS Quinquennial Membership Survey, where a similar proportion of FCAS (more than two-thirds) were supportive of ACAS voting rights. In the responses to “Meet the Candidates” questions for the 2019 CAS Elections, Jessica Leong, the new CAS president-elect, also stated that she believes Associates should have the right to vote.
 
FCAS versus ACAS. We asked candidates whether they thought that the additional time and effort it takes to become an FCAS after earning the ACAS are worth it. They responded:

  • Not sure (48.8%)
  • Yes (36.2%)
  • No (15.0%)

Some common comments on this question included:

  • I haven’t gotten my FCAS yet, so I don’t know.
  • Financial incentives make it worth it.
  • FCAS has more credibility/prestige than ACAS.
  • It depends on your situation.
  • FCAS doesn’t make sense for someone aiming for a nontraditional role (VP-analytics, CEO, underwriter).

Why CAS? We asked candidates why they decided to pursue a CAS credential and the results were pretty positive and sometimes even heartwarming! Some common responses were:  

  • The career path provided a well-paying, stable career.
  • Good fit for people who are good at math.
  • The work is interesting/I enjoy the profession.
  • Concrete career progression through exams.   
  • CAS credentials set you apart in a positive way. 
  • Blend of math/stats and business skills/problem-solving. 
  • Like a challenge, both in the exams and on the job.
  • Had an internship and found it was a good fit.

Why Not CAS? We also asked candidates what might deter them from pursuing a CAS credential. Common responses included:

  • Whether credentials will be valuable in the long term.
  • Not needing the credential to progress professionally.
  • Failing exams for reasons including lower pass rates, the inconsistency of higher-level exams, exams getting harder over time.
  • The time and effort it takes to earn the credential.
  • Balancing exams with other parts of life, including having a family (particularly when raising young kids), mental/physical health, increasing job responsibilities, social life.
  • Thanks again to everyone who shared their opinions with us! Once we have completed sharing our recommendations with other CAS committees, we will share a report with more details from the survey on the CAS website.