Any Actuaries on Here?
Discussion
If so what degree route would you recommend someone going down, is it worth doing a degree in Actuarial Science rather than Financial Mathematics? Is there more chance to gain a graduate job at the end?
With regard to Summer Placements do most places only take you when you have started your degree? Is there anywhere you can do a week or two work experience? I have looked on http://www.actuaries.org.uk/ and have downloaded the list of employers, will go through it over the weekend and prepare a letter to send to any offering work experience, is there anything I can put in a letter to help me get a work experience place or is it just a case of stating what I do know and my enthusiasm to learn more?
With regard to Summer Placements do most places only take you when you have started your degree? Is there anywhere you can do a week or two work experience? I have looked on http://www.actuaries.org.uk/ and have downloaded the list of employers, will go through it over the weekend and prepare a letter to send to any offering work experience, is there anything I can put in a letter to help me get a work experience place or is it just a case of stating what I do know and my enthusiasm to learn more?
The exams are bloody difficult. Out of my class of 25, only 4 managed to get a 2:1 or better, below which you haven't got much chance of getting a trainee position (especially nowadays). I gave up after the 4th exam anyway .. for a job in banking. I'd say go for a Maths, Stats, or Physical Science degree unless you really want to spend 3 years going through the stuff - it can be incredibly tedious - and you only have the exams to look forward to.
fido said:
The exams are bloody difficult. Out of my class of 25, only 4 managed to get a 2:1 or better, below which you haven't got much chance of getting a trainee position (especially nowadays). I gave up after the 4th exam anyway .. for a job in banking. I'd say go for a Maths, Stats, or Physical Science degree unless you really want to spend 3 years going through the stuff - it can be incredibly tedious - and you only have the exams to look forward to.
Thankyou 
Glad you have gave me a realistic insight into it!Does anyone know how firms would stand with a student who will be 24 or 25 (depending on industrial placement being taken or not) when they finish university?
Edited by littlemidgetgem on Saturday 15th November 00:32
Edited by littlemidgetgem on Saturday 15th November 00:33
Another vote for straight Maths - will give you more flexibility in the job market.
If you get a good Maths degree from one of the top Unis it will stand you in good stead.
Don't see why any employer would have a problem with you being 25 either. Presumably you would have a bit more work experience than those fresh outta boot camp so that would be helpful too.
If you get a good Maths degree from one of the top Unis it will stand you in good stead.
Don't see why any employer would have a problem with you being 25 either. Presumably you would have a bit more work experience than those fresh outta boot camp so that would be helpful too.
An Actuarial degree can give you a lot of exemptions, though a Maths/Physics/Economics will be more flexible - depends how certain you are of what you want to do.
Age doesn't matter as long as you don't have any gaps on your CV.
You can do summer placements before or during your degree, some companies will offer several months of work.
Age doesn't matter as long as you don't have any gaps on your CV.
You can do summer placements before or during your degree, some companies will offer several months of work.
I recruit actuaries (about as hard as it gets) and although personality seems to be a metaphor with them, they are all very well paid and always in demand. Companies are always asking us to get them so it’s a great career.
I am presently 'chipping away' at my niece to go down the route!
I am presently 'chipping away' at my niece to go down the route!
I did straight maths but (at least for a pensions actuary) you don't need maths at degree level to do the job. Advantage of actuarial degree is gets some of the actuarial exams out of the way early. Disadvantages are it's less useful if you decide to try to get a job outside of actuarial after graduating, plus just passing the exams doesn't give you the practical experience that you really need to get on and develop your career. If I were starting out again, I'd probably pick a non-actuarial degree that most interested me, with some mathematical content but not necessarily straight maths. If your main priority is qualifying as an actuary quickly then the actuarial degree route makes sense.
Some firms offer Summer placements etc, we certainly do. Probably worth writing to all the actuarial firms, explaining how keen you are. Have you given any thought to which area you want to work in, i.e. pensions, investment, life assurance, general insurance, consultancy or insurance company etc? Worth thinking about so that you can aim to try out a relevant work placement to see if you actually like doing the work.
Cheers to Lingus75 for the comment re personality. I hadn't heard that one more than a thousand times before
Some firms offer Summer placements etc, we certainly do. Probably worth writing to all the actuarial firms, explaining how keen you are. Have you given any thought to which area you want to work in, i.e. pensions, investment, life assurance, general insurance, consultancy or insurance company etc? Worth thinking about so that you can aim to try out a relevant work placement to see if you actually like doing the work.
Cheers to Lingus75 for the comment re personality. I hadn't heard that one more than a thousand times before
I'm doing maths and economics at the moment. I'm still in first year but the course for this year is exactly the same as that for Actuarial science. So I can just switch at the end of the year if I should so desire.
Mabye that is something to look into - finding a course where maths and actuarial science are the same for the first year so you are not committed to either one.
Mabye that is something to look into - finding a course where maths and actuarial science are the same for the first year so you are not committed to either one.
littlemidgetgem said:
If so what degree route would you recommend someone going down, is it worth doing a degree in Actuarial Science rather than Financial Mathematics? Is there more chance to gain a graduate job at the end?
With regard to Summer Placements do most places only take you when you have started your degree? Is there anywhere you can do a week or two work experience? I have looked on http://www.actuaries.org.uk/ and have downloaded the list of employers, will go through it over the weekend and prepare a letter to send to any offering work experience, is there anything I can put in a letter to help me get a work experience place or is it just a case of stating what I do know and my enthusiasm to learn more?
My ex girlfriend did a Masters in mathematics at Oxbridge and walked straight into a 29k Junior position. So yes straight mathematics. Although having the masters from Oxbridge was a massive advantage maths+actuarial exams is almost a guarantee. The exams are very hard that many do not bother.With regard to Summer Placements do most places only take you when you have started your degree? Is there anywhere you can do a week or two work experience? I have looked on http://www.actuaries.org.uk/ and have downloaded the list of employers, will go through it over the weekend and prepare a letter to send to any offering work experience, is there anything I can put in a letter to help me get a work experience place or is it just a case of stating what I do know and my enthusiasm to learn more?
Good luck and earning potential is great
Edited by AstonV12 on Saturday 15th November 14:04
Edited by AstonV12 on Saturday 15th November 14:05
I'd strongly recommend going down the Maths degree route (some Maths degree have 3rd year modules that may offer exemptions from the statistics, actuarial maths or economics parts of the actuarial syllabus.
I've always found that those students that arrive with lots of exemptions (because they have an actuarial degree) aren't much more useful that new students as they have no practical business experience yet expect to be paid more.
You need to be fully committed to a career as an Actuary, as the combination of studying in the evenings and weekends following a full days' work can be challenging to say the least (although some time off for study is provided). At best you'll be doing this for 3-4 years, at worst I've known people take 12+ years.
The big advantage of qualifying as an Actuary is that these days the areas that actuaries work in are incredibly diverse (life insurance, pensions, investments, general insurance, corporate finance etc) and within those fields the range of roles is also very wide.
Once you have the qualification, that can be a useful step to an entirely different career rather than a hindrance to other types of work.
Aside from the difficulty in qualifying (in terms of commitment required as well as intelligence required), the only real downside is that you have to put up with the usual stereotypical jokes about actuaries (someone who found accounting too exciting etc).........
Obviously there are some dull actuaries, just as there are dull IT people and dull bankers etc. The profession is evolving and trying to shed this negative image.
Happy to answer any other questions you might have!
Cheers
Sidicks
BSc FIA IMC
:-)
I've always found that those students that arrive with lots of exemptions (because they have an actuarial degree) aren't much more useful that new students as they have no practical business experience yet expect to be paid more.
You need to be fully committed to a career as an Actuary, as the combination of studying in the evenings and weekends following a full days' work can be challenging to say the least (although some time off for study is provided). At best you'll be doing this for 3-4 years, at worst I've known people take 12+ years.
The big advantage of qualifying as an Actuary is that these days the areas that actuaries work in are incredibly diverse (life insurance, pensions, investments, general insurance, corporate finance etc) and within those fields the range of roles is also very wide.
Once you have the qualification, that can be a useful step to an entirely different career rather than a hindrance to other types of work.
Aside from the difficulty in qualifying (in terms of commitment required as well as intelligence required), the only real downside is that you have to put up with the usual stereotypical jokes about actuaries (someone who found accounting too exciting etc).........
Obviously there are some dull actuaries, just as there are dull IT people and dull bankers etc. The profession is evolving and trying to shed this negative image.
Happy to answer any other questions you might have!
Cheers
Sidicks
BSc FIA IMC
:-)
[quote=TVR MAN]I'm doing maths and economics at the moment. I'm still in first year but the course for this year is exactly the same as that for Actuarial science. So I can just switch at the end of the year if I should so desire.
Mabye that is something to look into - finding a course where maths and actuarial science are the same for the first year so you are not committed to either one.[/quote
I'd stick to your Maths and Economics degree to give you more options once you graduate.
:-)
Sidicks
Mabye that is something to look into - finding a course where maths and actuarial science are the same for the first year so you are not committed to either one.[/quote
I'd stick to your Maths and Economics degree to give you more options once you graduate.
:-)
Sidicks
That's what I thought, but then, there's no point in doing something you don't enjoy just because it pays well.
Fresh out of uni and starting a job on £30k as a trainee.
I don't think money matters to him, though. So he isn't worried about earning as much money as possible. I think he just want's a job that he genuinely finds interesting.
He's a clever guy, he'll earn decent money no matter what he chooses to do.
Fresh out of uni and starting a job on £30k as a trainee.
I don't think money matters to him, though. So he isn't worried about earning as much money as possible. I think he just want's a job that he genuinely finds interesting.
He's a clever guy, he'll earn decent money no matter what he chooses to do.
Edited by s
gathore on Saturday 15th November 17:15
gathore on Saturday 15th November 17:15sgathore said:
gathore said: That's what I thought, but then, there's no point in doing something you don't enjoy just because it pays well.
Fresh out of uni and starting a job on £30k as a trainee.
I don't think money matters to him, though. So he isn't worried about earning as much money as possible. I think he just want's a job that he genuinely finds interesting.
He's a clever guy, he'll earn decent money no matter what he chooses to do.
How can you tell what a job is going to be like after just 1 day?!!Fresh out of uni and starting a job on £30k as a trainee.
I don't think money matters to him, though. So he isn't worried about earning as much money as possible. I think he just want's a job that he genuinely finds interesting.
He's a clever guy, he'll earn decent money no matter what he chooses to do.
Edited by sgathore on Saturday 15th November 17:15
gathore on Saturday 15th November 17:15That's just ridiculous!
Sidicks
Thankyou so much everyone
With regard to the work experience question - yes I have a lot more work experience though it is my own business and motor trade experience.
Well personally I think the work looks fascinating, perhaps that is just me?
My first choice of degree is - http://www.le.ac.uk/admissions/ugprospectus/course... applying next week, fingers crossed for an offer
With regard to the work experience question - yes I have a lot more work experience though it is my own business and motor trade experience.
Well personally I think the work looks fascinating, perhaps that is just me?
My first choice of degree is - http://www.le.ac.uk/admissions/ugprospectus/course... applying next week, fingers crossed for an offer
sidicks said:
sgathore said:
gathore said: That's what I thought, but then, there's no point in doing something you don't enjoy just because it pays well.
Fresh out of uni and starting a job on £30k as a trainee.
I don't think money matters to him, though. So he isn't worried about earning as much money as possible. I think he just want's a job that he genuinely finds interesting.
He's a clever guy, he'll earn decent money no matter what he chooses to do.
How can you tell what a job is going to be like after just 1 day?!!Fresh out of uni and starting a job on £30k as a trainee.
I don't think money matters to him, though. So he isn't worried about earning as much money as possible. I think he just want's a job that he genuinely finds interesting.
He's a clever guy, he'll earn decent money no matter what he chooses to do.
Edited by sgathore on Saturday 15th November 17:15
gathore on Saturday 15th November 17:15That's just ridiculous!
Sidicks
I don't think he was too keen on the people or the office environment.
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