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As an actuary I don’t think I would recommend it for most people. At the very least, keep your options open by getting a math or CS degree and passing a couple

As an actuary I don’t think I would recommend it for most people. At the very least, keep your options open by getting a math or CS degree and passing a couple of exams on the side. I feel like this really glosses over the weight of the credentialling process. It also doesn’t appear to talk about the oversupply of entry level applicants.

secabeen 8y ago
Interesting. Do you have any articles about the oversupply of entry-level actuaries? Actuarial science was a career path I considered, but I ended up in systems/network/devops instead.
- stochastastic 8y ago
  No, just a general sense. I think the career got publicized at a time when a lot of people were struggling to figure out what to do.
- fcuck_actuarial 8y ago
  Annecdotal, but I've experience this personally. These rankings grossly neglect the availability of entry level jobs. And you end up studying a bunch of stuff that is borderline useless for any other career path on a practical level. I consider trying to become an actuary one of the greatest mistakes and waste of time in my life. When I switched to programming, it was like some kind of magical door opened and all of a sudden and the process of finding an entry level job was no longer the equivalent of banging my head against the wall, repeatedly.
  - tudorconstantin 8y ago
    Putting it in another perspective, perhaps that experience made you appreciate programming and software industry more. It might be a high price you paid (the years of pseudo useless studies), but you'll think twice when considering to change industries. I worked in sales for a few years and even became a regional sales manager before switching to programming 12 years ago. Now, whenever I see the IT related problems (like bad programming parctices, lousy code, bad architectures and so on), I remember how bad and really unfixable things can be (for me as an employee) in the rest of the industries and love programming even more.
f00_ 8y ago
How long did it take you to complete the exams? I think I read a lot of actuaries actually finish them while on the job Think it's possible to self study the exams? Not a likely path for me, but interested in seeing if anyone has done that
- jmcgough 8y ago
  Self-study is entirely possible. I worked through about half of the P1 material as a way to strengthen my probability/stats background. It's a lot of hours of work to be able to pass it if you don't have good knowledge of it already though.
- stochastastic 8y ago
  Most people get started before their first actuarial job, get a “student” position two to four exams in, and then finish up on the job. I had a math degree and three exams coming out of college and it took me about five years to finish the whole exam sequence. Self study is a viable option, but it helps to have the math and business background.
  - dajohnson89 8y ago
    how much does it pay, as an FSA? I'm considering it as a backup to my dev career.

secabeen 8y ago

Interesting. Do you have any articles about the oversupply of entry-level actuaries? Actuarial science was a career path I considered, but I ended up in systems/network/devops instead.

stochastastic 8y ago
No, just a general sense. I think the career got publicized at a time when a lot of people were struggling to figure out what to do.
fcuck_actuarial 8y ago
Annecdotal, but I've experience this personally. These rankings grossly neglect the availability of entry level jobs. And you end up studying a bunch of stuff that is borderline useless for any other career path on a practical level. I consider trying to become an actuary one of the greatest mistakes and waste of time in my life. When I switched to programming, it was like some kind of magical door opened and all of a sudden and the process of finding an entry level job was no longer the equivalent of banging my head against the wall, repeatedly.
- tudorconstantin 8y ago
  Putting it in another perspective, perhaps that experience made you appreciate programming and software industry more. It might be a high price you paid (the years of pseudo useless studies), but you'll think twice when considering to change industries. I worked in sales for a few years and even became a regional sales manager before switching to programming 12 years ago. Now, whenever I see the IT related problems (like bad programming parctices, lousy code, bad architectures and so on), I remember how bad and really unfixable things can be (for me as an employee) in the rest of the industries and love programming even more.

f00_ 8y ago

How long did it take you to complete the exams? I think I read a lot of actuaries actually finish them while on the job Think it's possible to self study the exams? Not a likely path for me, but interested in seeing if anyone has done that

jmcgough 8y ago
Self-study is entirely possible. I worked through about half of the P1 material as a way to strengthen my probability/stats background. It's a lot of hours of work to be able to pass it if you don't have good knowledge of it already though.
stochastastic 8y ago
Most people get started before their first actuarial job, get a “student” position two to four exams in, and then finish up on the job. I had a math degree and three exams coming out of college and it took me about five years to finish the whole exam sequence. Self study is a viable option, but it helps to have the math and business background.
- dajohnson89 8y ago
  how much does it pay, as an FSA? I'm considering it as a backup to my dev career.