Do you regret

[jets fan]

Originally Posted by course4man

As for the future of the profession:
My Chief actuary said the same thing. She said the profession would be obsolete in the not too distant future.

I think, from the rest of your post, that you are talking about the life side of things - I can't speak for that side. On the P/C side, I cannot agree with you chief actuary's statement. There is judgement involved in our work - it's not something that can just be programmed into Excel. As long as we don't know if/when a loss (of unknown amount) will occur, actuaries will be necessary.

[joeorez]

My guess is most actuaries don't use much more than arithmetic, or the most elementary algebra, on a routine basis.

Obviously there are exceptions.

But I think sooner or later, experienced actuaries start doing problems for which there is no data, or for which the traditional actuarial algorithms do not work. (Of course it takes some understanding of the underlying business to know the algorithm doesn't work - something a pure math professor would lack.) Then our mathematical, business, and modeling skills come into play. "There is not enough data to solve this problem" is often not an acceptable answer in the workplace. Then our work may lack the mathematical rigor of the theorem-proof world of academic mathematics, but I think it is "real" enough for me.

[kazh]

A college counselor, based upon my aptitude test, told me I would likely hate college coursework, but would not be satisfied with less than a Ph.D. I was sure I could prove her wrong. She was right.
Doomed to dismal days as an undergrad, I perfected my masochism by pursuing the actuarial exams in lieu of graduate math. Dogged determination eventually got me past too many 5's (with a 2 and a 4 mixed in to teach humility). FSA was a tough task, but I certainly feel now that it was worth it.

[Levin]

Thanks to Barbie for the honest (and difficult?) posts about her regrets. I have seen some of those traits in myself. Yet I think they will be a liability in any type of work (I have worked in academia, education, industry, as well as seriously considered medicine) If you have noticed those things in yourself (difficult concentration, lack of discipline, etc.), you might do well to notice Barbie's avatar. I'm not advertising for Paxil, but advocating that one recognize one's mental and emotional limitations and take steps to deal with them. Psychiatric counseling (yes, with some medication) have helped me a lot to deal with the difficulties of the actuarial profession.

Having said that, I am in P&C consulting and can relay some advice that I got from a consulting FSA. They said they give work to people who are busy, because they know they can get it done. I've seen that play out in my office, where people who have a lot on their plate get more work and ask for it, too. I've also seen that those who show a bit more reluctance to take on too much will be given a lot less than they can handle. That's my consulting practice.

The time demands for a consulting actuary are a lot less than those for a consulting lawyer, computer consultant, and doctor, for example. (I'm just thinking of three close friends who have the worst hours. Consistently. Not just at year end or whatever.)

[Grace]

Originally Posted by Levin

Thanks to Barbie for the honest (and difficult?) posts about her regrets. I have seen some of those traits in myself. Yet I think they will be a liability in any type of work (I have worked in academia, education, industry, as well as seriously considered medicine) If you have noticed those things in yourself (difficult concentration, lack of discipline, etc.), you might do well to notice Barbie's avatar. I'm not advertising for Paxil, but advocating that one recognize one's mental and emotional limitations and take steps to deal with them. Psychiatric counseling (yes, with some medication) have helped me a lot to deal with the difficulties of the actuarial profession.

Levin, those admissions weren't too difficult. I would prefer to be a success at what I'm doing for work, but I can live with not having succeeded. I don't know if anyone pointed it out, but "do you have regrets" isn't likely to get a lot of yesses here (as a lot of the ill-suited people would likely leave the profession, and therefore not look at a board like this), so I thought I should speak up. And I completely agree with you about those traits, at least in combination, being a liability anywhere.

My barbie-pink avatar was chosen only to suit my handle, which was a play on words (although I am more melancholy than Barbie). I simply couldn't find a melancholy looking Barbie in google.
I have wondered about whether my occasional melancholy has affected my functioning on the job. I always assumed it did, or that it was connected to my other liabilities, but I'm not so sure now. It may be more separate. I am happy to hear that you found something that helped you deal with the difficulties of the profession. Keep at it!

[adel]

I am continually reading these replys. Again, Thanks for all the feedback. I am a slacker that found math easier than taking physics because I did not want to deal with the labs. I have taken two statistics course and did well. Problem is when I looked at the first actuarial exam there is a difference between knowing Statistics and Knowing Statistics. I question my own resolve to finish the exams and I don't want to feel trapped. I spoke to one Actuary(EA) who is on the SOA board. He worked in the pension field for about seven years and now he is a teacher(actuarial teacher). He says I have the ability to do well on the exams. Ability and completing the exams seem to have nothing to do with each other. From reading all the post I am slightly discouraged from the Actuarial route. The problem is I already started the program and I have to now do some serious soul searching.

[DW Simpson]

Originally Posted by course4man

You won't find many CEO's of well-established Life insurance companies who are actuaries anymore, either.

There are actuaries in senior management at MetLife, MONY, RGA, Jefferson Pilot, AmerUs, ...

[Michel de Nostradamus]

Originally Posted by Melancholy Barbie

Levin, those admissions weren't too difficult. I would prefer to be a success at what I'm doing for work, but I can live with not having succeeded. I don't know if anyone pointed it out, but "do you have regrets" isn't likely to get a lot of yesses here (as a lot of the ill-suited people would likely leave the profession, and therefore not look at a board like this), so I thought I should speak up. And I completely agree with you about those traits, at least in combination, being a liability anywhere.

My barbie-pink avatar was chosen only to suit my handle, which was a play on words (although I am more melancholy than Barbie). I simply couldn't find a melancholy looking Barbie in google.
I have wondered about whether my occasional melancholy has affected my functioning on the job. I always assumed it did, or that it was connected to my other liabilities, but I'm not so sure now. It may be more separate. I am happy to hear that you found something that helped you deal with the difficulties of the profession. Keep at it!

I can relate to Occasionally Melancholy Barbie and Levin.

I had a job that I didn't enjoy.
The work was repetitive and uninteresting.
The plum projects went to the brown-noser co-worker - well ok, she was more senior.
My boss seemed not to appreciate my work.
He thought changing a valuation system was a walk in the park.
I went into an exam slump.
I couldn't get another job.
I was not a happy camper.

Somehow - over a period of years - things started to look up.
Old boss left. Nicer boss, who stepped in, offloaded stuff from me. Got nicer projects.
Later got a job that was more interesting - working for even nicer boss.
Then, I thought .... Why not write exams again? :o My friends thought I was
I was determined....kinda. I passed and failed and failed. Stopped for a while - had to do business travel - but really using that as an excuse because it was only every month or two. Then, I started passing.

But I can still remember the dark days when things were not going my way. It definitely affected my concentration which affected my studying which affected my work which resulted in not getting interesting work, etc... It was a vicious cycle. If that cycle hadn't been broken, I may be writing that I have regrets. I don't. Ask me again in a year or two.

[White Teeth]

If I had to live my life again, I would not have chosen the actuarial profession. Based on my experience at two property and casualty companies during the past five years, I have found actuarial work to be dull and not very challenging. The only challenging aspect of this career that I have encountered is the actuarial exams. I wouldn’t say that the subject matter on the exams is necessarily difficult. The level of detail to which the societies test the subject material makes these exams difficult.

Based on my experience and observations of this profession, I think that this profession is best suited for individuals who not only have a strong aptitude for Math but also have strong interests in subjects such as Finance, Economics, Accounting, and Insurance. Interest in finance and insurance is essential to be successful in this profession especially after becoming an associate or fellow. I find both finance and insurance uninteresting and therefore I plan on eventually leaving this profession.

[new2for]

I wouldn’t say that the subject matter on the exams is necessarily difficult. The level of detail to which the societies test the subject material makes these exams difficult.

Exactly!, but even that is flattering. The way they test it.