I went into actuarial work very long ago, and I cannot say anything about how it goes now, as I have long been away from it. When I started, an actuarial degre

I went into actuarial work very long ago, and I cannot say anything about how it goes now, as I have long been away from it. When I started, an actuarial degree was a rarity for an actuary. I was glad to study something more challenging and engaging in school before entering into a profession that so rarely requires any knowledge of anything more than the conventions of an arcane art. How is it different now? What do life insurance actuaries do now that there are so few life companies? Same question for casualty insurance companies? What do pension actuaries do now that there are so few defined benefit plans? What percentage of practitioners now have actuarial degrees? How do you stay awake at the professional meetings?