Why Are People So Pessimistic About Actuaries On This Board?

[me_against_the_world]

Is it just because the profession is struggling right now during the recession, or is the actuarial profession really not as great as most publications and professors think it is? Everyone I've met IRL and every publication thinks that actuarial is a field that is rising quickly and should continue to be a great field to get into, but the people on this board seem to think its horrible.

I know that health is up in the air bc of the Obama administration and pension is going down the drain, but what about the other areas?

What is your opinion: are people here right or overly pessimistic? I'm a sophomore in college so do you think this is still a good field for me to go into if I'm interested in it? The people on this board are really making me reconsider my career choice.

[Mary Frances]

It's a wonderful, challenging career. Stick with it.

[Koloman]

Originally Posted by Mary Frances

It's a wonderful, challenging career. Stick with it.

[Mariner]

Research the field as much as you can and see if the work is something you would enjoy. If it is, then do it.

There was a time that this board scared me like it scares you. I realized that although I can't expect a pre-2008 hiring climate anytime soon, I can expect to find a foothold in this career if I work very, very hard at it. I have a lot of work left, but things are already looking better.

Don't pick a career off of how easy it is to get a job that pays well, but pick one you will ejoy.

[Mariner]

Also, as a sophomore, there is a lot you can do to be in a very good position when you graduate.

If you are serious, start the exams now and get some leadership experience at school, work, etc.

If you aren't, get the leadership stuff anyways, put the exams off for now and try and figure out what interests you.

[sideout1212]

Originally Posted by Mariner

Don't pick a career off of how easy it is to get a job that pays well, but pick one you will ejoy.

You darn well better consider how easily you can get a job and how well it pays. If you can't get a job or it doesn't pay well enough to support your lifestyle, it is called a hobby not a career. You would be making just as big a mistake if you only consider how much you like a potential career as you would be if you ignored how much you will like it.

[MountainHawk]

Originally Posted by sideout1212

You darn well better consider how easily you can get a job and how well it pays. If you can't get a job or it doesn't pay well enough to support your lifestyle, it is called a hobby not a career. You would be making just as big a mistake if you only consider how much you like a potential career as you would be if you ignored how much you will like it.

You should have a lifestyle that your career will support, not a career that will support your lifestyle. You are going to spend approximately 25% of the next 40 years of your life working. It really ought to be something you enjoy doing, and are passionate about, or it will really eat away at your quality of life. And unlike money or material goods, life is an asset you will never get back.

[JMO]

Originally Posted by MountainHawk

You should have a lifestyle that your career will support, not a career that will support your lifestyle.

ITA

You are going to spend approximately 25% of the next 40 years of your life working. It really ought to be something you enjoy doing, and are passionate about, or it will really eat away at your quality of life. And unlike money or material goods, life is an asset you will never get back.

Well, at least you want to be working on something that isn't totally horrible to you. Every job has its boring moments, and/or times when things are awful in some other way.

[sideout1212]

Originally Posted by MountainHawk

You should have a lifestyle that your career will support, not a career that will support your lifestyle. You are going to spend approximately 25% of the next 40 years of your life working. It really ought to be something you enjoy doing, and are passionate about, or it will really eat away at your quality of life. And unlike money or material goods, life is an asset you will never get back.

Well first off, if you can't get a job in the field you like, it really doesn't matter how much you like it. Secondly, why would you care so much about the 25% and ignore the 40%+ that you are awake and not working? Seems pretty stupid to choose a career that you love only to go home and not be able to afford anything you would love to do with your family (which may even include being able to support a family at all, or not having to have a spouse work so that said spouse can raise your kids rather than some stranger). Hasn't your actuarial education taught you to take all things into consideration, not just focus on 25% of it and ignore the rest? Are you really going to take career Path 1 because you like the work marginally better than Path 2 even though Path 2 pays twice as much and is twice as easy to find a job? At the very extreme, why not just skip getting paid at all and do whatever you want all the time?

[Mary Frances]

Oh, and try to get an internship between your Junior and Senior years. If you're lucky, you can get a feel for what it's like to work in an actuarial department and whether that suits you.