Interested in becoming an actuary?

[Caitlin525]

If there are any Northeastern students who are interested in becoming an actuary and would like to discuss useful classes to take at Northeastern, where to get a co-op, or want to discuss the exams... feel free to reply or PM me for more information... There aren't many of us at Northeastern planning on becoming an actuary, but there are a few....

[Fractl]

I'm a recent NU grad ('07) working in the Health Actuarial field. I was wondering if the courses U481 and U581 have been submitted for VEE approval in the past. Perhaps even MSCU201 (Business Statistics).

I'd also be glad to answer any questions about exams, co-ops, job hunting etc.

[Caitlin525]

The list of approved courses for NU has not been updated in a while. I'm not sure if those classes cover the requirements for VEE or not, but it would be worth a try..

Where did you co-op?
How many exams did you pass before you graduated?

[Fractl]

1st co-op was not in the field (Kollmorgen Electro-Optical Quality Department)
2nd was in the Pension Field (Diversified Investment advisors Benefit Calculation Assitant) Highly recommended
3rd was as an Underwriter (First Indemnity Insurance Underwriting Assistant) DO NOT WORK THERE!!!!
And after graduation I worked as an intern at Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA VERY highly recommended

The most important thing I picked up through the co-ops was a very thorough understanding of Excel. I learned to do some pretty advanced stuff (including VBA Programming) and was generally the 'excel guy'. I honestly can't think of anything more critical to doing well in the field, except for exams. I tried to use my co-ops to test the waters in various fields, I first honed in on the actuarial profession, and then on healthcare specifically. As easy as it may have been to stay in one place for a few co-ops, I'm very glad I got to work in so many environments. I got more experience, a much better looking resume, and more contacts.

I was really lucky to get the BCBSMA internship with no exams, and I was even more lucky to have passed both P and FM in May (after graduation).

I'm now living in Kentucky, working for Humana, and loving it!