Career track?

[TenaciousMV]

I'll be sending out my resume this week. While mildly concerned about the current job market, I'm trying to rule at least one track out. I'm already pretty sure I have no interest in Life. What would be the best route to take if I'm interested primarialy in consulting? I'd also like to apply math often, hopefully in creative ways. To be honest I don't know much about the different fields. Can someone give me some idea, or maybe a site that describes them?

[moj]

I'd try www.beanactuary.com

[TenaciousMV]

Originally Posted by moj

I'd try www.beanactuary.com

Yeah I tried there first. I couldn't find much information on the different tracks.

[DW Simpson]

If you read the interviews at http://www.beanactuary.org/lifeonjob/ask/index.htm , it should give you a good idea of the different disciplines.

[Avi]

Originally Posted by [url=http://users.aol.com/fcas/advice.html

Jerry Tuttle's Web Page[/url]]HOW DO LIFE AND PROPERTY/CASUALTY ACTUARIAL WORK COMPARE?
Most actuaries, myself included, only have experience in one of these, and in my opinion are poorly equpped to do a fair job in comparing life versus property/casualty. Stuart Klugman, PhD, FSA, and professor of actuarial science at Drake University, concedes he has worked in neither the life nor the property/casualty field, but he offers the following opinions:

1. If by "actuarial techniques and knowledge" it is meant formulas with special symbols (e.g. A(m)x:n) then the life folks win. If a more general view is taken, that an actuarial technique is the application of modeling tools to risk financing problems, then it is a tie with the Property/casualty world leading with regard to the amount of creativity needed and the lack of cookbook solutions to many problems.

2. My guess is that life companies use more actuaries in non-actuarial capacities than do Property/Casualty companies and in part that contributes to the higher numbers. If your ultimate goal is to be VP of information systems, of marketing, or of some other non-actuarial department, the prospects are better in a life company.

3. There are boring jobs on both sides (Property/Casualty - doing state-by-state personal auto filings by filling in the blanks from last year's method. Life - completing form 5500B for defined benefit pension plans).

4. Probably most critical to decision making today is what skills/tasks will be important 10 years from now when today's entry-level actuarial will be doing really serious work. Here is my forecast: Life -- The most successful actuaries will be "financial engineers" who are conversant on both sides of the balance sheet. Financing the risk is more important than underwriting the risk. Property/Casualty -- Statistical modeling will still be key. The randomness inherent in the loss process for PC coverages is much harder to deal with than age at death.

(Thanks, Stu, for granting permission to me to post this.)

[Elisha]

TMV, in case you don't quite understand, consulting is a work environment where any of the major tracks can be practiced, depending on the company of course. For Example, Towers and Milliman both do P&C consulting (as well as other tracks I think). Hewitt and Buck do Pension/Bene's (and others). The list goes on and on. You could do a few different tracks working for a ratings bureau or Dept of Ins as well as an insurance company.

[neofan]

Originally Posted by TenaciousMV

I'll be sending out my resume this week. While mildly concerned about the current job market, I'm trying to rule at least one track out. I'm already pretty sure I have no interest in Life. What would be the best route to take if I'm interested primarialy in consulting? I'd also like to apply math often, hopefully in creative ways. To be honest I don't know much about the different fields. Can someone give me some idea, or maybe a site that describes them?

If you are currently working (like I'm), I recommend doing some research about the areas of practices before making the commitment rather than getting into the field quickly, remember this career will take years to study for exams, some of our members here have completed one exam track and decided to go to another area of practice and started another series of exams and designation. Just like making an investment or starting a business, you'll need to do some homewroks on it, right?

Even among one area of practice, there're various specialties (ie: for p/c, personal lines, commercial lines, and reinsurance), each can lead you to very different fields and/or potentials, just my 2-cent. I'm sure there're a lot more.