Dreaming of a career crunching numbers and assessing risk? Becoming an actuary requires dedication and the right qualification. This guide dives into the IFoA (UK) and IAI (India) pathways, highlighting key differences to help you conquer the actuarial world.

Difference:

$\begin{array}{|l|l|l|}
\hline \mathbf{\text { Basis }} & \mathbf{\text {Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA)}} & \mathbf{\text {Institute of Actuaries of India (IAI)}} \\
\hline \text { Membership } & \text {Can give exam as a non-member}& \text {Cannot give exam as non-member} \\
\hline \text { Entrance Exam } & \text { No entrance exams } & \text { Actuarial Common Entrance Test} \\
\hline \text { Fees } & \text {  Relatively more expensive } & \text { Relatively less costly }  \\
\hline \text { Pass rates } & \text { Historically higher pass rates} & \text {Pass marks are always 50}\\
\hline \text { Exam Format } & \text { All the papers are 100% subjective} & \text {First 7 papers are MCQ, others are subjective} \\
\hline \text { PPD requirement } & \text { PPD requirement is there } & \text { No PPD requirement is there } \\
\hline \text { Materials } & \text {Not mandatory to purchase} & \text {Mandatory to purchase at least once} \\
\hline \text { AIR 1} & \text { Not Possible to achieve AIR 1 } & \text { Possible to achieve AIR 1 } \\
\hline \text { Frequency of Exams } & \text {April and September} & \text {First 7 papers are conducted four times, others two times (July and December)}\\
\hline \text {Exam duration Paper A} & \text {Paper A: 3 hours 20 minutes} & \text {Paper A: 3 hours 15 minutes} \\
\hline \text {Exam duration Paper A} & \text {Paper B: 1 hour 20 minutes} & \text {Paper B: 1 hour 15 minutes}\\
\hline \text {Exemption} & \text {Does not allow exemption} & \text {Allows exemption to IFoA students} \\
\hline
\end{array}$

Similarities:

$\bullet \quad$ Job market does not have a preference for a particular institute.
$\bullet \quad$ Salary paid out to students from both the institutes is similar.
$\bullet \quad$ Course content is similar and is often taught side by side.
$\bullet \quad$ Exam structure is similar.
Irrespective of whichever institute, as and when you attain fellowship you can apply for fellowship in the other institute via Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between the two institutes. So, if you are a qualified Fellow from IAI then you can apply for fellowship under IFoA as well under MRA and vice versa.