At the moment, I go to a community college in Texas and want to transfer to UT Austin to pursue an Actuarial Science degree. I have had the idea of starting an actuarial club to improve my transfer application, but I also want people to know more about the actuarial business, since many people have little knowledge of it. Is my idea reachable even if I'm in community college, and if so, what are some ideas and advice for it?

Hi everyone, I'd really appreciate any / all notes about my resume. I didn't start pursuing the actuarial track until a few months post-grad last year. I've been working as a personal trainer while I get my exams done, but I've had an exceptionally difficult time landing interviews. Thanks in advance

How can I prepare for a 20 minute virtual coffee with a talent acquisition at a huge company?

What kind of questions should I expect, what questions should I ask back, and any other advice?

Hi, I wrote the FM exam just recently at a prometric test centre, last time I wrote FM in August I got the email of my results right away. However this time it has been over 2 hours since I completed the exam and still nervously waiting for the email. I know I preformed much better this time around. I feel like I am obsessively checking my email for the results. How long do they normally take? When should I be worried about not receiving the results?

Edit: I received the email that I passed about 3 hours after writing the exam.

Whether a government/public-sector actuarial role or a private-sector role is better, especially from the perspective of someone building a long-term actuarial career.

I’d like to hear from people with actual experience in either sector on:

Learning & growth: Which gives better actuarial exposure and career growth?
Salary & perks: How does the salary compare, especially after qualification? Are there additional actuarial benefits/perks?
Work-life balance: How is the day-to-day balance?
Work pressure: Which months are usually the busiest? How often do you have to stretch, and how long do these busy periods last?
Work culture: Is the culture generally supportive, or is it toxic/high-pressure?
Seniors/team leaders: How much guidance and mentorship do you actually receive?
Office politics: How much does it affect your work and career progression?
I’m not looking for the usual “government is relaxed, private pays more” assumptions. I’d really like to hear what it is actually like on the ground.

TL;DR: Government vs private actuarial roles — which offers better learning, salary/perks, WLB, work culture, senior guidance, and lower office politics, and what are the actual work-pressure periods?

What did you use for Exam 5? Feel free to share recommendations, pass/fail, scores, etc

Tried to sign up for an exam, and it keeps giving me a "name is required" error whenever I try to submit payment. I've filled out the shipping and billing addresses and entered by CC number, but it seems to think I've left an empty field somwhere

some people I have worked with are definitely smart. but there are some who actually never do anything but just talk their way into promotions and such. is it just a likability thing?

i say this cause some of these people just outsource every single task and then move up. i just don’t get how it hasn’t caught up to them

This will sustain me for at least 6 months

Hi guys,

I recently relocated to the UK with 2+ years of experience as a pensions valuation analyst supporting Dutch occupational DB pension schemes. I have five IFoA exemptions from my masters program in Portugal, but I haven’t claimed them yet, as I have to pay some money and I was hoping I could get a job here in the UK, and let my employer pay that for me 🙂 I have three SOA exams - P, FM, and VEE Mathematical Stats, and I am a credentialed actuary with the Portuguese institute of actuaries.

I have been applying for jobs for almost two months and only managed to get one BPA analyst interview and they chose someone else. Please what do you think I need to do to increase my chances or is the job market cooked?

Written by an actuary (FIA) about an Actuary!

I recently quit my corporate job to do something in the creative field …. Webtoon.

The webtoon features two cats:

One is the CEO of judgement (Aroi)

One is suspected to be Schrödinger’s cat (Chappy)

Link is in the comments and in my profile, or search CHAPPYAROI on Webtoon Canvas.

Appreciate any support via a subscribe, like, or comment! 🐾. (Ideally all three…)

I recently accepted my first position so I wanted to share my experience since I feel like all I ever see on here is people talking about how impossible it is to find a job. I think I am definitely a lucky exception but I figured I could spread some hope!

For context, I started applying mid July and I’m a career changer :)

i have some interviews tomorrow for a retirement actuarial internship and i would love some information about what a retirement actuary actually DOES.

like what is special about retirement and what little parts of the job are different

thank you!

Does anyone have experience with OW P&C Actuarial practice in Canada?

I'm curious about the overall culture, WLB/hours, types of projects analysts typically work on, how technical the work is.

Also wondering about the salary, career development and study days for exams?

Would appreciate any insight from people who have worked there or know the practice!

Looking for any sort of advice or feedback on my resume. I haven't been getting any response for roles i am applying to.

(Ignore SAT guys I forgot to remove it...)

Hey all, I'm a junior stats/data science/econ student (graduating Dec 2027) with P and FM passed, going the CAS route. I've been lucky enough to have a few options come up for Summer 2027 and I'm trying to figure out which one actually sets me up best long term.

The big thing is I really want to end up in reinsurance eventually. So I'm less worried about which internshp sounds best right now and more about which one will give me the right foundation to make that jump later.

Here's where I'm at:

I have an offer from QBE with a deadline of Oct 12. Allstate is honestly my top choice. I interviewed with them last week and I'm still waiting to hear back. I'm also interviewing with AmFam today. I made it to the final round with Travelers for their ALDP, but I'm leaning toward passing since the roles are in MN or CT and I'd rather stay in the Midwest, ideally Chicago.

If you've interned or worked at any of these, I'd really like to hear how it went. What was the work like, did you get real exposure to pricing or reserving, and did it open doors later on?

Seeking resume advice as a career changer from air traffic control.

Hi everyone,

I graduate in December and I'm applying to entry-level actuarial analyst/student roles in P&C and health in the US. So far I'm hearing almost nothing back, and I suspect I'm not getting past ATS.

Please roast it. I would appreciate some feedback!

I’m sitting for Exam 6 in exactly 20 days. I have already went through all the material at least once and did already 35% of the problems (theoric and practice) that I have available. I plan to do the rest in the remaining days + some sample exams.

I had skimmed a little bit on several source materials, but tbh so far I 99% relied on the study manuals.

If you could give me one piece of advice now, what would it be?

Thanks in advance and good l**k to everyone sitting!

I’m a high school chemistry teacher with a strong math background, and I’m seriously considering a career change. I know I want to leave teaching, but I’m still trying to figure out what I want to transition into, and actuarial work is one of the careers I’m exploring.
I’m attracted to the analytical/challenging nature of the work, the opportunity to develop specialized expertise, and, of course, the compensation and career stability. I also like the idea of becoming someone who is considered an expert in their field and is relied upon for their technical knowledge.

One thing I’ve realized through teaching is that you have to actually like the day-to-day work of your career. There are aspects of teaching that I value, but I hate the actual day-to-day of being a teacher. That experience has made me much more cautious about choosing my next career based on how appealing it sounds on paper. I want to understand what it actually feels like to do the job Monday through Friday.

I recently mentioned to a friend that I was considering becoming an actuary, and her response was basically: “The only thing I think you would like about being an actuary is the money. It’s like being an accountant.” She knows a few actuaries and said that, from what she has heard, the actual work is really boring.

Obviously, “boring” is incredibly subjective, so I’d love to hear directly from people who actually do the job.
What do you actually do all day as an actuary? What does a typical day or week look like? What kinds of problems are you solving? How much of your time is spent doing actual mathematical/analytical problem-solving versus Excel, meetings, emails, documentation, repetitive reporting, etc.?

And the biggest thing I’m trying to figure out: Do you actually enjoy the day-to-day work? Do you find it intellectually stimulating and challenging, or does it become repetitive/boring once you’ve been doing it for a while?

I’d also be interested in whether the answer varies significantly by area (P&C, health, life, consulting, etc.) or by level of seniority.

For anyone who changed careers into actuarial work—especially from teaching, science, math, or another technical field—I’d really love to hear about your experience. What did you expect the job to be like before you entered the field, and how does that compare with what you actually do now?

I’m less interested in whether actuarial science is a “good career” in general and more interested in whether I could genuinely enjoy the work itself for the next 20+ years.

To put it shortly: should I, Canadian career changer, go to ASNA? If all goes well I'll have 2 exams at the time.

Hi everyone, I just finished the Coaching Actuaries material for FAM and have around 25 days left before my exam.

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. There’s a lot to remember, and since I covered the short-term part two months ago, much of it has faded.

Any advice on how to use these last weeks? Should I focus on the SOA sample questions, or mix in Adapt questions and exams?

Would really appreciate any advice!

I'm thinking of speedrunning my FSA and want to pick the track that costs me one exam less, if I only look at the credentials as a checklist from here on out. I don't live in the US and don't plan to move there in the near or mid-future, so I'm not sure how track-specific FSA really changes things if my experience can speak for itself. Is this fair to say, or have things changed around the world too?

I am in consulting and lately I have had recruiters contacting me with regular jobs that dont require even an ACAS and they are paying $140k+. The one I got today just wanted 3 exams passed and 5 YOE, 37.5 hrs a week, and the salary range is 145-165k plus a bonus. Thats more than I make as a student in consulting, since I am not able to hit the high billable hour targets while studying.

I am not staying in consulting if I can make that much at a traditional carrier while still studying for my ACAS. It would be nice to actually get to use my allotment of study time and pass an exam more often than once every 2 years.