SOA Exams Explained: Exam P, FM & FAM

The SOA preliminary exams at a glance

Fees are from the SOA's 2026 fee schedule. Pass rates are approximate ranges from recent sittings, and study hours are typical estimates. Check soa.org for current details before you register.

What are the SOA exams?

The Society of Actuaries (SOA) is the largest professional body for actuaries in North America. It awards two main credentials: the ASA (Associate of the Society of Actuaries) and the FSA (Fellow of the Society of Actuaries). Getting there takes a series of exams, plus coursework and professionalism requirements, and most actuaries finish while working full time.

Everyone starts with the same three preliminary exams: Exam P (Probability), Exam FM (Financial Mathematics) and Exam FAM (Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics). They are multiple-choice, computer-based exams offered several times a year, and they cover the math the rest of the actuarial curriculum is built on.

Two of the three are also shared with the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), which credentials property and casualty actuaries: Exam P is CAS Exam 1, and Exam FM is CAS Exam 2. That lets students pass their first exams before choosing between a life, health and retirement career (SOA) and a property and casualty career (CAS).

What order should you take the SOA exams in?

The SOA doesn't require a particular order, but most candidates follow this sequence:

1. Exam P or Exam FM first. Pick P if you've just finished a calculus-based probability course, or FM if your finance or interest theory is fresher. Many students pass one of them during college.
2. The other of P and FM next. Two passed exams is a common benchmark for actuarial internships and entry-level roles.
3. Exam FAM third. It draws on both: P's distributions in the short-term half and FM's annuities in the long-term half.
4. Then the rest of the ASA path. After the preliminary exams come advanced exams such as ALTAM or ASTAM, SRM and PA, plus VEE credits and e-learning modules. See the SOA's ASA requirements for the full list.

Plan on 2-4 months of study per exam. A common rule of thumb is about 100 hours of study for every hour of exam time.

Registering for and taking an SOA exam

• Register with the SOA for a testing window on soa.org, then book your seat with Prometric, which delivers the computer-based exams.
• Bring an approved calculator. Only the TI BA II Plus (including the Professional), TI-30Xa, TI-30XIIS and TI-30XS MultiView are allowed.
• Know the scoring. Results are on a 0-10 scale and a 6 or higher passes. For P and FM you see an unofficial pass/fail result as soon as you finish.
• Use the SOA's free resources. Each exam has an official syllabus and sample questions. Work through all of them before exam day.

SOA or CAS: choosing your actuarial route

North America has two actuarial credentialing bodies, and the biggest early career decision is which one to follow. The Society of Actuaries (SOA) covers life insurance, health insurance, retirement and investments. The Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) covers property and casualty insurance: the risks to cars, homes, businesses and workers.

How to decide

• Follow the industry, not the exams. The work you do every day matters far more than which syllabus looks easier. Health care, pensions and life insurance point to the SOA. Pricing auto policies, modeling hurricane losses or setting claim reserves point to the CAS.
• Let an internship decide for you. Since P and FM count for both societies, you can pass them, take an internship, and choose once you've seen the work firsthand.
• Consider the job market where you live. Life and health roles are spread across insurers, consultancies and health systems. P&C roles cluster around large property and casualty carriers and reinsurers.
• Know the exam styles. The SOA's fellowship is coursework-based and lets you specialize in a practice area. The CAS has long, hand-graded written exams all the way through FCAS. Some candidates strongly prefer one format.
• Switching is possible but costly. Only P and FM transfer. After those, changing societies usually means starting the next exams over.

How long does it take to become an ASA or FSA?

Actuarial credentials are a long road. Most candidates earn their associateship in 4-7 years and their fellowship 2-3 years after that. That works out to roughly 6-10 years from the first exam, almost always while working full time.

The ASA: Associate of the Society of Actuaries

The ASA is the SOA's first credential and marks a fully qualified actuary in most entry and mid-level roles. Beyond the three preliminary exams, it requires Exam SRM (Statistics for Risk Modeling), Exam PA (Predictive Analytics, a project-style exam using R), either ALTAM or ASTAM (advanced long-term or short-term actuarial math), the ATPA assessment, and two e-learning modules. You also need VEE credit in economics, accounting and finance, and mathematical statistics (usually earned through college courses), the Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice (FAP) course, and the Associateship Professionalism Course.

The FSA: Fellow of the Society of Actuaries

Fellowship is the highest SOA credential and is usually required for senior and leadership roles. After the ASA, candidates complete four technical courses: a 101 and 201 sequence in one practice area, plus two more. The practice areas include Individual Life and Annuities, Group and Health, Retirement Benefits, General Insurance, Investment, and Corporate Finance and ERM. Candidates also complete the Decision Making and Communication (DMAC) course and the Fellowship Admissions Course.

The things that most affect your timeline: how many exams you pass before graduating, how much study time your employer gives you, and how many sittings you need for each exam. One failed attempt typically adds about 3-6 months.

The SOA exams take a serious, long-term commitment

The actuarial exams are respected because they're hard, and finishing them is as much about endurance as ability. Before you register for your first exam, it helps to know what you're signing up for:

• Thousands of hours of study. At 250-400 hours per exam, the ASA alone usually takes 1,500-2,500 hours of study. Fellowship adds hundreds more.
• Studying around a full-time job. Most candidates study 10-15 hours a week, in the early mornings, evenings and on weekends, for 3-4 months before each exam, and repeat that cycle for years.
• Failing is normal. With pass rates around 40-60%, nearly every actuary fails at least one exam along the way. What matters is the ability to regroup, review what went wrong and sit again.
• Real trade-offs. Exam seasons mean fewer free evenings, postponed trips and turned-down invitations. Planning exam dates around holidays and busy periods at work makes a big difference.
• Consistency beats intensity. Candidates who study a little every day on a fixed schedule do better than those who cram. Burnout is one of the main reasons people leave the exam track.

The payoff for that commitment is one of the most stable, well-paid and respected careers in finance, with a credential that's recognized for the rest of your career.

How employers support actuarial students

You won't carry the whole load alone. Insurers, consulting firms and other actuarial employers usually run formal actuarial student programs, because credentialed actuaries are central to their business. Exact terms vary by company, but the most common benefits are:

• Paid study time. Many employers give paid study hours during the workday for each exam, often somewhere between one and three weeks' worth. Some offer more for the harder upper-level exams.
• Exam fees and study materials. Employers usually pay exam registration fees and buy study manuals, online courses and practice-question banks. This often covers retakes too, though some limit how many retakes they fund.
• Raises and bonuses for passing. Each passed exam commonly brings a permanent raise, often a few thousand dollars or a few percent of salary, and sometimes a one-time bonus. Earning ASA, ACAS, FSA or FCAS usually triggers a larger raise or promotion.
• Mentoring and rotations. Many programs pair students with credentialed mentors and rotate them through pricing, valuation and other teams, which makes the later exam material feel concrete.
• Help before you're hired. Some universities and actuarial clubs reimburse exam fees for students who pass, and internships often come with the same study support as full-time roles.

Employer support is also a reason to pass P and FM early. Graduates with one or two exams stand out for these programs, and once you're in, your employer pays for much of the rest of the journey.

Actuary salaries: what the exams are worth

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median actuary salary of $125,770 (May 2024). It projects employment to grow about 22% from 2024 to 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 2,400 openings a year. Pay rises steadily with exam progress:

Approximate ranges compiled from public salary surveys. Actual pay varies by location, employer, practice area and experience, and bonuses can add significantly to base pay.

SOA and CAS fellows earn broadly similar pay, so pick your route by the work you want to do, not the salary. On either route, every exam you pass makes a measurable difference to your pay.

Start studying for your next SOA exam

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