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Angela
Student
Denham Springs, Louisiana
1
Question
Updated
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#fall25 Hi, I'm hoping to became an actuary and planning on majoring in Mathematics! During college, I'm hoping to pass several actuarial exams. For those already working in the field, what does a typical day look like for you? How do you balance work, problem-solving, and collab? Additionally, how rigorous and difficult are the actuarial exams really, in terms of time needed and content-wise? I would love advice for preparing successfully to become an actuary!
I'm a current senior in high school and figuring out my path to college and beyond :)
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2 answers
Donna Weinstein
actuary
20
Answers
Potomac, Maryland
Updated
Donna’s Answer
Getting some exams under your belt while in college is a great plan. I had two exams before I started looking for my first actuarial job. Having two exams was very important in landing a great first job. And the exams are quite challenging. I finished my exams back in 1979 and they were intense. I don't think that has changed although getting through them is not solely by exam anymore (as it was back when I got my fellowship). There have been many iterations of the syllabus but I think that the process is still rigorous and time-consuming. It takes a lot of discipline to get through it. I used to study 4 months for each exam (at that time there were 9 exams) and probably put in at least 400 hours for each of the 7 exams I took while working. I studied all day Saturday and Sunday with an occasional day off and for most of the exams my job provided a fair amount of study time during the week that I took at work but away from my work station. I studied a little in the evenings after work but tried to get most of my studying done early in the day at work. I never minded studying and started taking exams right after college graduation.. I actually got credit for the Part 1 exam based on GRE's and took and passed Part 2 a few weeks after graduation and didn't study all that much for it. My probability classes in college got me through that one. For me, pacing myself was critical as was adhering to a firm study schedule.
Much of your training will come from on the job experiences. Be sure to seek out someone to serve as an informal advisor or mentor. Remember than no matter how insignificant or boring some of your entry level duties may seem, there is always a lot to learn and having a strong foundation will make you invaluable as you move on in your career. I was fortunate to work at a large insurance company for the first 2 years and there were many others taking exams. I am thankful that I had others to commiserate with as well as to learn from. My next job was in consulting and I was in a very small office but by that point I was halfway through my exams and had figured out how to study for them and I had a strong impetus to complete them as my work was getting much more intense (and interesting as well).
Good luck to you.
Much of your training will come from on the job experiences. Be sure to seek out someone to serve as an informal advisor or mentor. Remember than no matter how insignificant or boring some of your entry level duties may seem, there is always a lot to learn and having a strong foundation will make you invaluable as you move on in your career. I was fortunate to work at a large insurance company for the first 2 years and there were many others taking exams. I am thankful that I had others to commiserate with as well as to learn from. My next job was in consulting and I was in a very small office but by that point I was halfway through my exams and had figured out how to study for them and I had a strong impetus to complete them as my work was getting much more intense (and interesting as well).
Good luck to you.
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond and for sharing your experience and advice, Donna! Hearing how rigorous the exams were was really helpful! I'll also make sure to stick to a study schedule, be disciplined, and learn as much as possible from entry-level work. It is very helpful, and it means a lot to hear from someone who has gone through the career path!
Angela
Michelle M.
Actress
3276
Answers
Updated
Michelle’s Answer
Hi, Angela !
I appreciate Advisor Donna Weinstein's advice to you as she has lived the career, but I wanted to contribute some things to consider for your academic path and provide some advice for you. It's an exciting time planning for college !
If you want to apply for and be an Actuary, you should consider Majoring in Actuary Science and not Mathematics. You can always take Mathematics courses as single courses in college to fulfill General Education courses as well as Electives. Mathematics is a skill but Actuarial Science is the career.
My advice is to start looking into these colleges' Actuarial Science Programs in your state of Louisiana: Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College, Tulane University of Louisiana, University of New Orleans, Louisiana Tech University, and University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The direct actuarial program will not only prepare you for the exams but also to compete in the job market.
So, even before you're starting you're jumping ahead wondering about the exams. You'll feel much better about them once you are in an actuarial science program in college and information about exams is shared among professors and students. There's no need to know every thing just yet. Take it a step at a time. But... if you're curious as to the current exams, study guides for Exam P include ASM, ACTEX, The Infinite Actuary, Coaching Actuaries, and AnalystPrep. You can probably take a sneak peek at the prep tests online, but remember, you'll need this information when you're expected to take the test and it may change by then. If you Major in Actuarial Science, you'll probably understand the exams. Try not to jump ahead.
In your Actuarial Science Program, you will find out which exams and when you have to take them as well as if any are State (Louisiana) required. Your professors will guide you with this. You definitely would use your mathematic skills in this work, but you need to gear your degree to the career.
To gain valuable experience, you can apply for Federal Student Financial Aid and select the Work Study option. With that, you can obtain a paid job in the Actuarial Science Department or even in the Mathematics Department if you wanted. This will be valuable to have for your first career job. My Work Study position at college in Theatre helped greatly in obtaining a really awesome first career job out of college. If it's too late to apply for Financial Aid, apply next year. Meet with the Financial Aid office on campus to discuss it and talk about Work Study.
I hope this is something to consider and I wish you all the best moving forward !
I appreciate Advisor Donna Weinstein's advice to you as she has lived the career, but I wanted to contribute some things to consider for your academic path and provide some advice for you. It's an exciting time planning for college !
If you want to apply for and be an Actuary, you should consider Majoring in Actuary Science and not Mathematics. You can always take Mathematics courses as single courses in college to fulfill General Education courses as well as Electives. Mathematics is a skill but Actuarial Science is the career.
My advice is to start looking into these colleges' Actuarial Science Programs in your state of Louisiana: Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College, Tulane University of Louisiana, University of New Orleans, Louisiana Tech University, and University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The direct actuarial program will not only prepare you for the exams but also to compete in the job market.
So, even before you're starting you're jumping ahead wondering about the exams. You'll feel much better about them once you are in an actuarial science program in college and information about exams is shared among professors and students. There's no need to know every thing just yet. Take it a step at a time. But... if you're curious as to the current exams, study guides for Exam P include ASM, ACTEX, The Infinite Actuary, Coaching Actuaries, and AnalystPrep. You can probably take a sneak peek at the prep tests online, but remember, you'll need this information when you're expected to take the test and it may change by then. If you Major in Actuarial Science, you'll probably understand the exams. Try not to jump ahead.
In your Actuarial Science Program, you will find out which exams and when you have to take them as well as if any are State (Louisiana) required. Your professors will guide you with this. You definitely would use your mathematic skills in this work, but you need to gear your degree to the career.
To gain valuable experience, you can apply for Federal Student Financial Aid and select the Work Study option. With that, you can obtain a paid job in the Actuarial Science Department or even in the Mathematics Department if you wanted. This will be valuable to have for your first career job. My Work Study position at college in Theatre helped greatly in obtaining a really awesome first career job out of college. If it's too late to apply for Financial Aid, apply next year. Meet with the Financial Aid office on campus to discuss it and talk about Work Study.
I hope this is something to consider and I wish you all the best moving forward !
Thank you so much for your advice, Michelle! I didn’t mention this in my original post, but I’ll actually be majoring in mathematics with a concentration in actuarial science, which is how the actuarial program is structured at LSU, where I plan on attending. I also don’t qualify for financial aid, but I will be opting into the merit-based work study program instead. I really appreciate your suggestions. I'll try not to stress too much about exams just yet and to take things one step at a time. Thank you again for taking the time to respond and share your perspective!
Angela