Not Satisfied

[Anonymous]

Okay, I'm interested in knowing who in their job is not satisfied and has seriously considered career changes. I have a good job and pay but the work does not excite me. What are your thoughts?

[Anonymous]

QUIT!

[Anonymous]

Quit now or forever hold thy peace(that is, when you are making a lot of money and can't give it up)!

[WinnieThePooh]

Thought about it many times:
1) Going back to school
2) Attempting to move into non-traditional roles

but I have one exam left and it seems too close to throw it all away. My advice is to interview and see if there are other jobs which you may be more interested in doing, I have found some and am just waiting for my turn.
If you are not passing exams and quitting because of that then, that is a different consideration then not being interested in your work.

Consider hours worked versus pay in actuarial compared to other jobs and what your other hobbies are outside of work. You could be a doctor with no spare time? Are you making enough money so that you can enjoy other hobbies? Will you enjoy such hobbies if you were working all the time or if you went to a lower paying job but did not have that much spare cash?

I have thought about this a million times. These are the questions you have to answer.
PoohBear

[Anonymous]

Also consider what you can do with your income and time away from the office. You may find that not working 60+ hours per week allows you to volunteer your time and financial resources in ways that other careers don't permit and find your challenges outside of the workplace.

[Anonymous]

what about going back to school and continuing to write exams? any feedback?

[JO]

Don't forget that school costs a lot of money and while you're there, there won't be any income. So unless daddy pays for it or have sh*t loads of savings you're willing to spend away, you'll have to make up for it one day..Make sure it's worth the move..

[Tim Hortons]

On 2002-02-26 09:06, JO wrote:
Don't forget that school costs a lot of money and while you're there, there won't be any income. So unless daddy pays for it or have sh*t loads of savings you're willing to spend away, you'll have to make up for it one day..Make sure it's worth the move..



If the person increases their number of exams, I'm sure a few thousand dollars wouldn't make a huge dent in the grand scheme of things. They'd probably just worry about losing job experience.

[Anonymous]

How long have you been on the job? I have also been wondering about whether I like it. This is my first job and I've had it for 5 months and am studying for the first exam. I wouldn't mind getting into programming. I just don't know if studying for these exams are worth it if I don't enjoy the job that much.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: wondering... on 2002-02-26 09:37 ]</font>

[Anonymous]

On 2002-02-26 09:36, wondering... wrote:
How long have you been on the job? I have also been wondering about whether I like it. This is my first job and I've had it for 5 months and am studying for the first exam. I wouldn't mind getting into programming. I just don't know if studying for these exams are worth it if I don't enjoy the job that much.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: wondering... on 2002-02-26 09:37 ]</font>


5 months doesn't sound very long. what is the minimum you should stay at a job if you don't want to 'burn bridges'?

[Anonymous]

well, i'm planning on giving it a year because I am getting more responsibility and enjoying it more. i just still wonder sometimes.

[WWSituation]

Every new student wonders this when they graduate college and realize that they aren't the CEO of the company and that working life is a far cry from all of the great things your professors and guest speakers told you being an actuary would be.

[Anonymous]

A wise man once told me that you shouldn't run away from something, but should always run toward something. So don't quit your job because you don't like it. Quit your job because there's something else that you want/need to do and you are ready to move there or commit to working toward it.

Finding out what that other something is, now that is the tricky part.

[Cynic]

Interestingly, I've also been wondering about this in the past few days. I first loved my job very much, but then the excitement died down. Now I feel like I'm a robot punching numbers into some Excel worksheets all day. If I have to do this long enough, I think I'm going to go mad.

It sucks that I didn't pass the exams fast enough to move on to more interesting assignments. I wonder if it is worth it to waste 5-6 years (maybe more?) of my life studying and re-studying all the crap that I don't really care for. Can somebody tell me if life after ASA/FSA would be much different from this?

[Anonymous]

I agree! I am at the point where I am close to ASA, but am still not interested in the exams. Even yet, I look at the people above me and don't aspire to be them. I guess this profession just isn't for me.

[Anonymous]

Great! Enough from you guys whining about your "crappy" jobs. Be thankful! Some of us would like to have those "crappy" jobs. Like some of you (the 5 months experienced guy especially) I have a BA in Math, and everywhere I send a resume or call, even recruiters, I can't even get an interview. So be thankful and SHUT UP ALREADY.

[Anonymous]

Great! Enough from you guys whining about your "crappy" jobs. Be thankful! Some of us would like to have those "crappy" jobs. Like some of you (the 5 months experienced guy especially) I have a BA in Math, and everywhere I send a resume or call, even recruiters, I can't even get an interview. So be thankful and SHUT UP ALREADY.

[Incredible Hulctuary]

On 2002-02-27 00:13, Anonymous wrote:
Great! Enough from you guys whining about your "crappy" jobs. Be thankful! Some of us would like to have those "crappy" jobs. Like some of you (the 5 months experienced guy especially) I have a BA in Math, and everywhere I send a resume or call, even recruiters, I can't even get an interview. So be thankful and SHUT UP ALREADY.


Have you passed any actuarial exams yet? If not, I wouldn't complain about not getting any interviews. Some people do get interviews without exams, but that seems to be more of an exception than a rule.

[Anonymous]

Go back to running cables.

[WWSituation]

If it has only been 5 months, and this is your first job, I would say you need to stick it out for at least a year. No recruiter will want to touch someone who couldn't at least stay long enough for them to get the commission.

Having said that, maybe you can transfer to another department and see if you like the work better. There are many many many disciplines that an actuary can find themselves working in.