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Being an actuary feels like the perfect fit for me

When I was in high school, I took a career aptitude test that gave me a lot of information about being an Actuary. Math was my best and favorite subject throughout high school and college so it seemed like the best fit. However, once I read about the exam process I was a bit deterred. I wanted to get through college and start working, not continue taking tests. I decided that in college I would pursue a math degree and figure out my career later.

In my 3rd year of college, I signed up for my first actuarial course. I loved all the different applications of Calculus and all the new things I was learning about math. I also appreciated that I could see the real world application of these problems. I decided I would do some more research on an Actuarial career.

A relative of mine connected me with a life insurance Actuary, whom I spoke with on a reoccurring basis about the actuarial field. She gave me insight in the typical day of an actuary and pointed me to useful resources such as beanactuary.org and the SOA website which answered a lot of my questions. I soon took an informational interview at a local company where I was able to speak with a lot of actuaries in the life insurance field.

Shortly after this interview, I signed up for my first exam, FM. In addition to taking a course over this exam, I studied for 2 months, 2-3 hours each day. I used the ASM Manual as well as the free practice exams provided by the SOA website. I believe this fully prepared me for the exam. While I was taking the exam I was confident on nearly all the questions. With the preliminary pass, I decided to fully pursue the actuarial career path, and began applying for jobs. With an exam pass and a math related internship on my resume, I was able to get a job with Western & Southern Life Insurance Company as an Actuarial Analyst.

It’s been almost a year since I started my new job. Since staring, I’ve passed two more exams; Probability and STAM. I used Coaching Actuaries to help me study and am very pleased with their study manual. Although at first a deterrent, I realized just how rewarding exams can be. And with paid study time from my company, studying is a lot easier to manage. I look forward to going to work most every day; I have great friends as well as intriguing projects and tasks. Being an Actuary feels like the perfect fit for me.