Any advice for a poker pro wanting to become an actuary?

[Parlay Slow]

I am a 27 year old poker professional that wants to begin a career as an actuary. I graduated with a 3.7 GPA from Georgia Tech with a degree in industrial engineering in 2005. I had a consulting job for 18 months. I quit in order to play poker full time, and that has been my only source of income for the past five years.

With the recent government crackdown of online poker and overall deterioration of the poker economy, along with a desire for a more stable long term career, I have decided to pursue the goal of becoming an actuary. I have basically stopped playing poker at this point. I am scheduled to take exam 1 in July. I have been studying diligently for exam 1, and I hope to pass a second exam in October.

I was hoping some of you could give me some advice specific to my situation. Things like how many exams I should pass before I start looking, ways to increase my chances of landing a job given my unusual background, etc.

[Dr. John Zoidberg]

Not particularly sure why someone like you would want to join the crown prince of risk-averse occupations.

[General Apathy]

Originally Posted by Dr. John Zoidberg

Not particularly sure why someone like you would want to join the crown prince of risk-averse occupations.

Probably because of successful ambassadors like you

[Dr. John Zoidberg]

Originally Posted by General Apathy

Probably because of successful ambassadors like you

Your welcome.

[abt5]

shouldn't you go into investment

[tommie frazier]

pass some exams. be able to speak about your experiences and how they will help you. discuss how you tracked your online play using something analytical and some spreadsheets.

between the prior 18 months work and some exams and the poker stuff sustaining you, some employers will be interested to see you. some won't.

one thing you'll need to impress upon interviewers is why leaving is permanent. that is, when they figure out the online poker thing, why does this emplyer think you won't go right back? passing as many exams as possible in short order is the best commitment you could show, for better or worse.

[ditkaworshipper]

I was wondering how long it would take before seeing these threads. To people saying this is not going to be a fit, remember there's a few actuaries playing pretty high level poker, so it's not unheard of.

However, rule of thumb in this profession is more exams = more interviews, at least 2 nowadays, but more is always better.

[FormLetter]

Try to obtain an internship.

[tenthring]

If you pass enough exams you will be fine.

[Dr T Non-Fan]

Originally Posted by tenthring

If you pass enough exams you will be fine.

That'll be one quarter, please.

OP: Think about moving to an area where you can also play live poker. Thinking maybe two nights a week or so.

In order of poker attractiveness+actuarial opportunities (my own rankings; folks, feel free to nitpick the details, but we should instead try to stay on topic):
1. Hartford and Boston have Mohegan and Foxwoods in driving range. Big rooms, frequent regional tournaments (if you're into that or into picking off tilted fish).
2. Philly is a one-hour drive/train ride to AC, for example.
3. Chicago has a few casinos on the Indiana border.
4. L.A. has ten+ poker rooms in the area. Three of the ten largest in the USA, possibly the world (high rake, though -- would be ranked higher with a lower rake than $1 rake pre-flop, $6 rake post-flop). Also drive to Vegas in 4.5 hours, at the right time.
5. NYC for train/bus rides to AC. Longer than to and from Philly.
6. Bay Area has a few poker rooms in an hour's drive or so.
7. Phoenix/Tucson, AZ have some rooms.

8. Vegas, of course, but there are few opportunities in Vegas. Instead, look for Southwest Airline airports within, say, two hours to Vegas. Denver, Dallas, San Diego, L.A., Phoenix, Bay Area, SLC, for examples (I said some of these already, but the plan would be to live or work close to an airport in those areas). This allows for more frequent trips than from, say, The East Coast. Much less frequent than trips to AC from Philly/NYC or to Foxwoods from Hartford.

And, well, my sig re: "standard career advice" says it all. You can send resumes starting with one exam, resend after each passed exam, ....
Maybe have a job in a year or two.