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Anyone an Actuary?
iowa
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Where would I need to start with this? I know there are entry exams you've got to take and that's about it.
I have a bachelors in economics.
I have a bachelors in economics.
iowa on
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Be retarded good at Math, then apply to actuary programs with insurance companies, or study actuary science. Most insurance co.'s will pay your way if you're good.
Note that actuaries aren't just "math is kinda cool" people, they're "Math explains my world and is my personal jesus" people. There's a ton of statistics and predictive modeling involved.
http://www.soa.org/
My sister-in-law is an actuary. It is a lot of studying and tests and calculus. She was a business and art history major in college, then talked to a local big insurance company (Travelers) and was hired there after completing the first exam. She's continued to take exams and has been relocated and promoted according to her exam status, etc.
The other thing is that while being an actuary is a pretty good guarantee for a job, you are forced to live in major cities that have insurance company headquarters. It's pretty straightforward once you get started, but getting started depends a lot on having a company in your area that employs actuaries.
Required knowledge From here:
There's 3 more exams after that but people usually take them as they get more work experience. If you pass the first exam, you'll usually get hired on as a junior or associate.
If you're interested in more of the finance/economics side and not so much the insurance and statistical modeling, you may want to take a look at a CFA. Again, lots of tests and not very easy tests, but definitely will get you into the investment analyst side of things.
There's 3 more exams in the basic line of exams. Then a dozen or so after that to advance to an associate and eventually a fellow of your actuarial society, which will be required to be very successful as an actuary. And that is assuming you only want to be a member of one actuarial society (there are two major societies in America, but they do share some exams).
I have a few friends who are actuaries and they are all very happy with their careers, so it certainly has the potential to be an excellent choice. However, if you are either (a) bad at taking tests, or (b) the sort of person who avoided math classes like the plague, you may want to look elsewhere. Otherwise, brush up on probability and statistics, take the first exam, (pass it), and start applying for jobs. The Society of Actuaries (www.soa.org) and the Casualty Actuarial Society (www.casact.org) should both have recommended study materials for the exams on their websites.
most of the material listed is stuff i'm familiar with and could brush up on, so i'm excited.
this can probably be closed
And you need to do a lot more than just brush up on these subjects. I'd suggest buying one of the study guides. You can find some of them listed by exam here: http://www.actuarialbookstore.com/exam_listing.asp And yeah, they're gonna cost you. For my last exam, it cost me three hundred dollars to sign up for the exam, and about half that for the study materials. And they expect you to study a shit ton. Pass rates for starting exams tend to sit somewhere between thirty and forty percent.
Besides the exams, there are these things called VEE's, Validation by Educational Experience. Basically, you're encouraged to take certain courses in college so they don't need to test you on them later. If you don't take them, you need to take a mini-exam on the subject. You probably satisfied at least one of the three with your major already. This is the list, by university, of approved courses for VEE credits: http://www.soa.org/files/pdf/edu-vee-dir-approved-courses.pdf
I wish you luck.