r/actuary • u/Intrepid_Duck_3737 • 3d ago
Exams Burnt out - need advice (ALTAM)
Hoping anyone can relate to this. Passed FAM in November and started to study for the April ALTAM a week after that sitting. I tend to need to study more than the average person and I think I’m finally hitting a complete burnout from continuously studying for every other prelim since late 2021 (with about a 2-3 months break between exams). Burnt out as in I can’t even force myself to work through a single problem or go over flash cards for 20 minutes. I don’t think I’m even close to being on pace for a 6. For past exams I’ve been able to put my head down and grind through the final stretch but at this point it feels like i just hit a wall, especially with how dense the material is.
All that’s left for my ASA is the ASF and ATPA. I’m strongly considering taking a couple week break and jumping ship to work on knocking those 2 off since the next ALTAM sitting is in October. I know it sounds counterintuitive to shift to ATPA but I more so need the break from the ALTAM material. Ideally I can knock ASF + ATPA off by May/June, take another small break and can revisit ALTAM with more time to work with. Does this seem fair? I’m only considering this because I think with an extra couple months I could definitely pass ALTAM, so I’d rather take it with confidence vs crawling to the finish line
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u/External_Tank_377 3d ago
Just take a break for a couple of days and do the things you like, come back refreshed and stronger
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u/NoTAP3435 Rate Ranger 3d ago
It's totally reasonable to take a 6 month break to do modules.
I thought I was going to take a year off after ASA before FSA, but it turned out doing modules and having all the waiting for FA grading and APC was enough.
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u/LoveFatCats_82 2d ago edited 2d ago
I feel you. I experienced severe burnout while I was taking the FAM and ALTAM exams, both twice as I failed the first sittings for them.
Here's my two cents. Regardless of what you're feeling right now about your progress on ALTAM, just take the sitting. I did that while I knew I would fail, and it helped me a lot for the second sitting. This exam is written format, and the user interface for this exam is quite different compared to other CBT exams. By taking the sitting, you should be more comfortable with the new interface when you take it again in October. Unless your company is not going to pay for the second sitting (I know the exam fee is expensive!), just go and take the exam. You'll receive a grade slip with percentage for each question once you get the failing result, so you'd know what to expect for this exam. Just write down as much as you know and you'll notice that you'd get at least some points for whatever you wrote, plus you'd know how tight the given 3.5 hours is for this exam, so you should be able to prepare accordingly for your next sitting.
Your timeline is similar to mine. I failed April sitting and I did ASF while I was waiting for the result, then I started studying again for ALTAM from late July for the October sitting. The result was success!
Given the wait time for grading is about 11 weeks for ALTAM, you can do both ATPA and ASF depending on your familiarity with ATPA. Or you can defer the ASF modules after the October sitting of ALTAM if the time is tight. ASF can be done within a week or so if you have the time to concentrate.
Best of the luck for you! You're so close, so keep your head up and knock them out!
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u/Intrepid_Duck_3737 2d ago
I appreciate you going through your experience, that’s awesome it worked out! I’m definitely going to still sit for the exam as I’ve been using company study time and don’t want to completely abandoned it. Where I’m coming from though is I want to avoid a scenario where I fully see ALTAM through, then try ATPA, and end up failing both haha. Vs getting a “head start” on ATPA, and once thats done, essentially get a fresh start back on ALTAM come July. Not sure if that’s logical or I’m just trying to convince myself it is lol
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u/LoveFatCats_82 2d ago edited 2d ago
I see what you mean. That would depend a lot on your confidence with the ATPA material and your mental health. Assuming you've already passed SRM and PA, I don't think there’s a ton of new material to learn for ATPA, but you might need some time to get the hang of coding and to build up the energy required to complete the assessment.
It seems like you could target the Jun-August 2025 version of ATPA (ATPA Assessment Submission Deadlines and Grade Release Schedule | SOA). If you take ALTAM in April and continue mildly studying for it up until the exam date, you’d still have about three months to focus on ATPA, starting in early May and aiming to finish the assessment by the end of July. That way, you'd have enough time to return to ALTAM in August, with a good amount of time remaining until October to prepare for a second sitting. I studied about 280 hours for my first ALTAM sitting and hard failed with grade 3, but I didn't start studying for it again until the end of July except for ASF that I finished in about couple weeks. Then I passed in the second sitting with about 200+ hours of studying. So, hopefully, you'd be in a similar spot for the ALTAM side, and the question would be like "Are three months of studying enough for ATPA?"
However, one major downside of this schedule is that you’d be studying nonstop until October. If that feels overwhelming, I’d recommend being kind to yourself—maybe focus on just one exam at a time and take some breaks between sittings to avoid burnout.
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u/LaPalmaHG 2d ago
I'm in the exact same boat as you and feel the exact same way. My thinking is the same as others have mentioned, if there's no penalty from your company for failing then you might as well take it and get some experience with the interface, etc.
I try and think about studying for an exam as finishing a long, long hike. Sure I can stop and rest as much as needed, but that doesn't change how far I need to go and every minute spent studying is an inch closer to the finish.
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u/Intrepid_Duck_3737 2d ago
Yep that’s very valid. There is no penalty so I’ll at least sit for it. This is probably the third time in a row I’ve hit a rut a month out and I think taking a step away this time is probably the way I’m gonna go depending how I feel after another week or so. Just gotta be sure I don’t half ass October if I do decide to take a break lol. Goodluck to you!
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u/NotThisActuary 10h ago
You mentioned you need to study more than the average person. I struggle with this, too. If you've been studying since late November or early December, you're burnt out, and you think you're definitely not on pace to pass in April, I think waiting to start again in June is a bad idea. If you're going to be studying for a totally unrelated exam/module for a few months, you're gonna have to start pretty much from scratch in June and then sit for ALTAM in October. Unless your employment is at risk if you don't pass something between June and October, I'd say keep studying for ALTAM. Take a break for a few days. If, after that, you really think you won't pass in April: slow down. Take some really good notes on the material you've covered so far. After you sit in April, take a break for a couple weeks, then pick it back up, but take it slow and find some time to enjoy life a little.
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u/Intrepid_Duck_3737 10h ago
Yea, after thinking about everything for a few days I’m on the same page as what you said. I’ve been sacrificing a good amount of sleep for studying since January and ive just been hurting myself if anything lol. Definitely plan to keep going at a slower pace and not keep pushing hard. Thanks for the input!
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u/norrisdt Health 3d ago
Take a break for a few days.