5 Reasons to Consider Being an Actuary

[@hlombemadolwana4662]

I'm in grade 8 and i was struggling to find a career and u have helped me so much I now know what to pursue

[@EtchedActuarial]

That is sooooo good to hear!! It's awesome that you've learned about the actuarial career so early on :)

[@maddipage1347]

Wow you’re on it young, keep it up!

[@Isaacrose12]

Another great video. I’m even more convinced this is a good field to pursue. I’m glad you included the downsides to the career. You gave a realistic view of what to expect, and I think that is invaluable insight

[@terrykim2743]

leaves after listening to reason no. 1

[@tuxmaceo2020]

i did my bsc in applied math, couldn't find a job within 2 months of graduating so i applied to grad school. i got accepted into a top tier actuarial science msc program and i am SO excited for it. im just watching random vids about actuaries on youtube to be inspired and this one was great

[@EtchedActuarial]

Congratulations on your acceptance!

[@mrengler1]

8:39 might be a cultural thing. while you don't need to go back to university after a bachelor's, i'd consider spending the next 7 years studying for exams as education. so your education doesn't stop at a bachelor's.

[@ishtiyaqjaunnoo9135]

Thank you very much! I really appreciate your commitment about being an actuary. It helps me to understand a lot before i start a career in actuary!

[@JCA51698]

I hold a bachelors degree in materials science & engineering, have two issued patents in my name, was a patent examiner for 9 years and recently got my property and casualty insurance license. I have an eye for detail, am methodical about work, love spreadsheets, and learned basic Python in 6 months a couple years ago. I think this makes actuary a good career move for me. Especially after my son moves out of the nest.

[@EtchedActuarial]

That's a very impressive resume! It seems like you have very good technical skills and knowledge of the insurance field, which are both relevant for actuaries. Best of luck on this career change!

[@amirwaqi]

simply put actuary science is understanding risks and learning how to minimize those risks

[@EtchedActuarial]

That's right!

[@donnypodcast]

Etched Actuarial is the cutest actuary ever.

[@donnypodcast]

At one point you mention that you need a bachelor's. I have no hope of getting a bachelor's degree. Part of why I've been considering dusting off my math skills and trying to get back into calculus is because an actuary I know told me that you don't need a degree to become an actuary. He said that as long as you've passed a couple exams, you can land a job as an actuary. I hope he's right.

[@EtchedActuarial]

Most, if not all, actuarial employers do look for a Bachelor's degree - it doesn't necessarily have to be in actuarial science, but relevant majors would be helpful! If you don't have a solid education background in a related field, another important factor is to be able to relate your experiences with the role, and develop skills that would make you a top candidate. These aspects are all explained in the Actuary Accelerator Community, and you can find more information here: etchedactuarial.com/accelerator/

[@Musabbinumair2000]

Omg you’re so amazing!! I love the fact you keep making videos to help other people

[@misterinfomation3492]

When I first heard of actuary I thought that person was mistaken and I corrected him and he corrected me back

[@1999mikedunn]

Why not work for yourself? And skip applying to insurance companies. Once you have pasted the p and fm exams can you be an independent contractor working out of your home?

[@EtchedActuarial]

Unfortunately I doubt that having just Exam P and FM would give insurance companies enough confidence in that person's skills/knowledge to hire them as an independent contractor for actuarial work.

[@lovekimhyunjoong1]

I want to pursue a career in actuary, but Im not detail oriented. In fact, I overlook many things very much. So, I don't know if is something for me. On the other hand, I love problem solving and numbers and I have a bachelor degree in business economics.

[@EtchedActuarial]

Being detail oriented is more important in the earlier years of the career and there are thing you can do to work on this skill. If you're really interested in the career, I wouldn't let that one factor stop you from pursuing it!

[@erinl.4008]

I'm a sophomore in high school and am thinking of becoming an actuary. I found myself relating to the reasons of why I should become an actuary and have become even more motivated to achieve it. Questions: I'm thinking of doing co-op at an insurance firm. Should I try it? What was your studying schedule and how did you manage your time? I'm taking computer science in school and find it very enjoyable. Should I consider a double major in computer science and actuarial science? What are other careers that is similar to the characteristics of an actuary? ( Jobs that allow you to practice problem solving, finding different ways to do something etc.) P.S. The video was very helpful! Thank you.

[@EtchedActuarial]

If you're able to get a co-op at an insurance firm that would be excellent experience! Even if you don't do actuarial work, you'll still get to learn more about insurance and how it all works. My study schedule was pretty hectic and not very well organized unfortunately. I had a lot going on so it was difficult to stay on track and stay motivated. That's a big part of why I started the Study Strategy Program - because I know it caused me to take longer to study for exams than it should have. You could consider a double major but to become an actuary your major doesn't matter that much. Employers care more about how many exams you've passed, your technical skills, and your past experience. An actuarial science major will however better prepare you for the exams because you'll learn a lot of the exam content for the first several exams in your classes. Similar jobs would be underwriter, data analyst, financial analyst or statistician to name a few. Glad you liked the video! Wishing you best of luck on your actuarial journey!

[@queenbeanburrito1806]

I’m in high school and I was wondering if I could do anything to prepare for becoming an actuary. Do you have any tips? I have a lot of time on my hands that I want to put to good use :)

[@EtchedActuarial]

It's early to start preparing, but I"m glad you're taking action! If you're able to find a part time position that would allow you to get experience in an office environment, and better yet, experience using Excel in the workplace, that would be great experience for you. I encourage you to do a lot of research on the actuarial career too, and make sure that it is what you want to do. Also figure out what your backup plan will be if actuarial work doesn't pan out for you and make sure you're well aligned for that too. You should try to be taking university level courses in school. If you're having trouble understanding certain topics, make sure to spend time learning and clearing them up so that you can use that background knowledge in the future. Hope this helps!

[@adamharoon6021]

Challenging yourself with more and/or higher level math courses will probably help you. Try to take AP Stats, and AP Calc AB along with AP Calc BC. I myself am taking AP Calc AB and AP Stats to acquire more mathematical knowledge to build a foundation for my road to actuarial science.

[@fitengineer1716]

Is it a good choice for me to pursue Acturial Science if I have a degree in B.Sc Mathematics and Java coding experience!??

[@EtchedActuarial]

Your degree and coding experience isn't the only thing to consider in whether you should pursue the career, but those 2 things will help in your ability to be successful in the field.

[@diegoedissongarcia1413]

nice and I am agree,, actuary is a passion. hello from Colombia

[@federicovazquez9011]

Hi, I have a quick question. Is an Economics Degree enough to work in an actuary, specifically a bachelors of science and not a bachelors arts because I believe with a BS you have the option to take more quantitative classes as much as you can whereas the BA is way too liberal artsey.

[@EtchedActuarial]

As long a you have a bachelor's degree, that's enough! This post will tell you your next step: etchedactuarial.com/steps-to-becoming-an-actuary/

[@mayalazic6518]

I have a school project and we have to do a short interview of someone in our future field and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?

[@EtchedActuarial]

Sure! You can email your questions to [e-mail] if it's not too late.

[@russhaight3225]

Do you think the DWS salary surveys are accurate for an FSA?

[@EtchedActuarial]

Yes I do think they are.

[@thaitrieu791]

Is the limited opportunity con still true in 2021? And I'm wondering what country are you from? I'm from Canada

[@EtchedActuarial]

Yes it's still true. It's also more competitive in Canada, so you be sure to build relevant skills and experience aside from taking the exams.

[@mayaperk9025]

Hi Brea , I am currently in grade 11 and I want to become an actuary, do you have any tips of things I could start doing now to become one?

[@samrae5590]

Hi brea, do you think which one is better between FSA and FCAS ? What kind of material you bought for preparing exam.

[@EtchedActuarial]

Neither is better than the other. It just depends what kind of insurance you want to specialize in. FSA = life/health insurance, FCAS = property insurance (as well as some others like business insurance, reinsurance, etc)

[@samrae5590]

Etched Actuarial thank you! Do you have suggestions about study material ?

[@EtchedActuarial]

@@samrae5590 Here are my Exam P suggestions: etchedactuarial.com/best-study-manual-for-exam-p/ Here are my Exam FM suggestions: etchedactuarial.com/best_exam_fm_study_guide/

[@samrae5590]

Etched Actuarial thank you very much! I am in junior in university and working on business and mathematics two majors, I am planning to stop one major and just focus one major to finish my bachelor degree first. A lot of videos I watch and articles I read online all said applied mathematics major it is difficult to get a job after graduate in BS degree. So now I am hesitate to choose math degree I might go business degree and if I have some extra free time I can start to study exam P to see whether I have enough math knowledge to pass first exam, if I am lucky I will go further exam FM. :):)

[@govindaaggarwal103]

Really appreciate it. Few of my current problems are solved.

[@harshil007bond]

Thank you so much for sharing. You are awesome! ☺

[@jocelyneramos4247]

Thank you very much! You are very helpful.

[@ericakaseba2386]

Can one study distance learning for a actuarial degree

[@EtchedActuarial]

As long as you're getting a bachelors degree out of it, then yes that should be OK. I imagine that with everything going on in the world right now, there are going to be many more schools offering this option.

[@hasiqinrasnin2383]

I'm thinking to continue my studies in Msc Finance right after I graduate with Actuarial Science degree. hmm...

[@EtchedActuarial]

If you want to be an actuary, then it's probably not necessary to do any more schooling after your AS degree.

[@hasiqinrasnin2383]

@@EtchedActuarial May I ask your opinion, is it possible with the degree in AS, I change my career path into something like being a financial analyst in forensic unit probably in police department instead becoming an actuary in future? the degree seems very narrow and specific only into the insurance industry but as I know, actuary also do have the skills to read and analyze the financial report.

[@EtchedActuarial]

@@hasiqinrasnin2383 It's most likely possible. You'll just have to show them how your past experience and degree is beneficial to the position that they're hiring. Unfortunately that is a problem with majoring in AS - it's very specialized and many people don't know what it is!

[@hasiqinrasnin2383]

@@EtchedActuarial Awesome, Tq!

[@lucassplease]

Hi Brea! I love your videos, wish I could see a Brazilian channel like this one. (Yeah I'm brazilian and the only society we have here is the "IBA - Instituto Brasileiro de Atuária" that can be translated to something like Brazilian Institute of Actuary)

[@sammartyn76]

Hi, I was wondering if you had considered making a video on preperation for actuarial intern or gradate programme interviews? I'd be very interested in what youd have to say :)

[@EtchedActuarial]

Hey Sam, I'll add that to my list of "to-do" videos! Thanks for the suggestion.

[@princesszahra6741]

Do you get job in your second or third year as actuarial, does it have a co-OP

[@EtchedActuarial]

You can certainly start applying to co-op opportunities in your second and third year, but you should also make sure that you're able to demonstrate how you're a good fit for the role. You may be interested in joining the Actuary Accelerator Community where you'll get access to many resources to become a top candidate for actuarial positions and learn how to build a strong resume and network. You can find more information here: etchedactuarial.com/accelerator/

[@jeremyhunt5661]

Do actuaries tend to live in larger cities? Also, do you have to do much writing?

[@EtchedActuarial]

Hey Jeremy - I'd say generally insurance companies tend to be in larger cities but there are exceptions. And there isn't a lot of writing. Most commonly you'd write in emails, creating documentation for processes, and sometimes creating reports on the work that you've done. That wasn't a large part of my job personally though.

[@EtchedActuarial]

@@harrisonsonandalama8418 That's right I'm not working as an actuary anymore. I've decided to put 100% of my time toward the Study Strategy Program and helping others pass Exam P and FM.

[@margaretbukovscak4760]

Wow, it’s amazing that you’ve made the leap into running your own business full time. Congratulations!

[@EtchedActuarial]

@@margaretbukovscak4760 Thank you! I appreciate that. :)

[@EtchedActuarial]

@@harrisonsonandalama8418 Thanks! I'm really enjoying it. Leaving was scary because yes, I did have many employee benefits that I had to give up and a consistent salary, but ultimately you can make more money having your own business. I also like that I can work on my own time and don't have to write any more exams! Cons are that I have to work everyday and can't really take a vacation, and since my business (as it currently is) is based primarily around the first 2 actuarial exams, any major changes to those could ruin the whole business. Also, the actuarial field is pretty small so there is a fairly limited number of people that will ever use my programs. Eventually I'll probably start something else alongside the Study Strategy Program that's in a different field with more people interested in it.

[@rahulgosain4876]

Hello Can you please tell regarding the scope of visual impaired students in Actuarial science. Since, i have vision impairement and have cleared few exams from Institute and Faculty of Actuary.

[@EtchedActuarial]

Hey Rahul - unfortunately I don't have any experience or knowledge with these situations so I'm not in a very good position to answer your question. If you are able to read text on a computer screen and paper then I doubt it would be much of an issue in the actuarial field.

[@rahulgosain4876]

If it's okay , can you please tell me about the softwares you use in the company you work ?

[@EtchedActuarial]

@@rahulgosain4876 I used Excel, AXIS, and Word primarily.

[@rahulgosain4876]

Etched Actuarial Thanks alot.

[@XavierMacX]

Great video, and I appreciate that you put this out there. Obviously times have changed, and you probably won't respond to this, but if you happen to see it (or any other actuary/person that may be browsing) -- in the (crazy) year of 2020 -- what would you think of the probability of my future success being an actuary given the following factors? 1) I'm 33 with 2 bachelor's degrees (1 in music performance and 1 in mathematics) 2) I've worked as a property adjuster in the insurance industry for the last 5 years 3) I desire a much more analytical/mathematical job than property adjusting, even though it's already pretty skill-intensive; I want something where I can use more hardcore math and programming/analysis skills 4) I don't want to go back to school, but I'm prepared to self-study my butt off for the next 7-10 years I've heard that getting internships are required to get an actuarial position, and perhaps at my age this would be impossible? Also, I know just from my current work in property insurance that the insurance industries are going through a lot of MAJOR shifts right now, and I wonder about the algorithmic automation of actuarial positions and if the actuarial career is viable into the future (say next 50 years)? tl;dr: If I'm pretty set on being an actuary and think that it would be a good fit for me, would it be worth re-studying my probability and math skills and then taking the P, MF, and MFE (or whatever the third one is) exams and looking for an internship/job? Do I really need to do an internship with the heavy insurance industry experience I already have? Any suggestions are appreciated. I've been thinking about this for almost a few months now and have asked this same question basically everywhere on the internet lol. Thank you!

[@EtchedActuarial]

Based on what you've told us, I think you'd have a good chance of getting an actuarial position. An internship isn't required and your age certainly won't make it impossible. If you'd like help making this all happen, you may be interested in my actuary accelerator community for step-by-step guidance on going from the very beginning stages all the way to becoming a top candidate for actuarial jobs (and getting that first job). Here are the details: etchedactuarial.com/accelerator/

[@1999mikedunn]

Evening Brea. Would my son need to be sponsored to take all 7 exams? My son has a BS in Business Adm from USC. B+ in statistics. A in Calculus. Your videos are excellent. I assume you have taken all 7 exams?

[@EtchedActuarial]

Hi Mike - Are you referring to IFoA exams? I'm not familiar with their process. For SOA exams you don't need to be sponsored and there are 10 exams. I've passed 6 of them, but only need to pass 8 (not 10) to be fully qualified due to when I started writing them.

[@shelbygirl_]

Wow I hope I get that job

[@lxf9914]

If I may ask, do you know your Myers Briggs type?

[@EtchedActuarial]

No I don't! That would be a good test for me to do.

[@waterhead001]

I think being an actuary would be a great career, but I don't have the math skills.

[@EtchedActuarial]

This is a common misconception! If you have the drive and motivation to learn, you have what it takes to be an actuary. I believe in you!

[@eknoors9417]

Hi Brea, I've watched your videos, and gained more interest in this career. Your videos are VERY helpful for someone like me who had no idea of what career path to take. In your videos you mentioned that it's recommended to have a more general major instead of specifically actuarial science. I'm still a high school student in gr 11 and I'm not 100% (close though) sure if this is the field for me, and so is there another major that you would recommend? And also, was getting into the university of waterloo math faculty difficult? I'm good in math (90s) and I think I'll get similar marks next year so I was curious. Thanks.

[@EtchedActuarial]

Hey Eknoor. Very happy to hear that my videos have been helpful for you! You can read this post for my recommended majors when you're going to school: etchedactuarial.com/best-actuary-major/ I had grades that were similar to yours, so you'll likely be able to get into Waterloo! But you should apply to some other universities/colleges as well, just in case. Laurier, U of Toronto, and Western are all other good options around here. Good luck!!

[@eknoors9417]

@@EtchedActuarial Thank you so much!

[@freespirit7328]

Thanks beauty.. Cutie

[@andresrossi9]

I'd really like talking with you, can I find your Instagram profile? I'm a MSc student in actuarial topics two years away from full qualification

[@EtchedActuarial]

Hey Andres - I don't have Instagram but if you have some questions feel free to ask here!

[@andresrossi9]

@@EtchedActuarial actually I don't have a specific question (I'd ask you there otherwise). It was just for a free talk 🙂