Actuary jobs?

Kadiv · 12-10-2013 2:09pm #1

Hi guys I was wondering how does employment and life compare of an actuary and that of a doc. Not sure between the 2 am applying to cao this year so don't know what do go for really but I really love math and app.math. Is it really that hard to get a job as an actuary after you graduate and does it have a bad employment perspective compared to a doc's

Donnielighto · 12-10-2013 2:13pm

Kadiv wrote: »

Hi guys I was wondering how does employment and life compare of an actuary and that of a doc. Not sure between the 2 am applying to cao this year so don't know what do go for really but I really love math and app.math. Is it really that hard to get a job as an actuary after you graduate and does it have a bad employment perspective compared to a doc's

It's a course that needs work. Youd need to be used to working on studies in secondary rather than coasting. I got into actuary with virtually no study and the work is pretty intense. a large number of people use it as a top drawer financial qualification more than anything else.

Kadiv · 12-10-2013 2:15pm

So your saying it isn't a great job compared to med?

Eathrin · 12-10-2013 2:22pm

Same as Donnielighto, I coasted through secondary school and the difficulty of Actuary overwhelmed me.
That said, it's an excellent degree to have. There's 100% employment if you graduate with a B.Afs degree from UCD as far as I know.
Also, between pay, working hours and workload, it's meant to be one of the best careers you can have.

Kadiv · 12-10-2013 2:47pm

how does that work the employment thing do you get like an offer while your studying or do u have to go off and search for a job once your done? in BAFS I mean

12-10-2013 3:07pm

both good options - the main question to ask yourself is what you see yourself doing - working in an office or being a doctor. Should consider the options of what work you can get down the line....

Actuarial studies
- actuary and if you want going into general mgt in insurance
- trading in banks (would have to go to London)

Doctor
- GP
- Surgeon, anesthesia and other branches and becoming a consultant
- Phd - research
- Do an mba later to go back into business world

Kadiv · 12-10-2013 3:11pm

Well I'd really like to do aactuarials but I don't know if I could get into employement as surely as in medicine
that really is my only conscern

12-10-2013 3:16pm

Medicine is surer as a guaranteed job I guess I would say.
Getting a job is one thing, how far you progress in anything is down to work, interest and talent.

Kadiv · 12-10-2013 3:25pm

but how does employement work as an undergraduate in actuarial science do you get like an offer while your studying in BAFS or do u have to go off and search for a job once your done?

Eathrin · 12-10-2013 3:53pm

Either way works.
Some big companies will come in and headhunt the most promising of BAFS students.
Also, the school finds us work placements in 3rd year and many of those companies would like to hire you if you do a good job.
If you go applying for a job yourself, a BAFS degree will stand out and will make finding employment much easier.

They're very different fields. Pick what you'll enjoy more, employment shouldn't be hard to find with either degree.

Kadiv · 12-10-2013 4:19pm

if I do graduate from actuarial science how long does it take to pass the exams to become a full actuary and how many exams would I have to pass?

Eathrin · 12-10-2013 7:14pm

There are 13 exams I think and you can get 9 exemptions from UCD.
It will take 2-3 years more of exams while you are a trainee actuary to complete the rest.

Kadiv · 12-10-2013 9:32pm

Thanks for the info everyone!

useless · 12-10-2013 9:42pm

I work in insurance and in my experience, you will have zero, I mean zero, difficulty getting a job with any kind of decent BAFS qualification. Either you'll go on and continue training and doing the exams to become an actuary, with an insurance company or consulting actuarial firm or big 4 audit practice, or you'll get a highly paid non-actuarial job with an investment bank or hedge fund in London who will be in the market for people (not just actuaries- maths grads, engineers etc) who have good quant skills.

Medicine and actuarial science are very different disciplines. I might be wrong, and I apologise if I am, but it sounds like you're making a career choice now based exclusively on your ability to get a job immediately after graduation in 4-5 years time. My advice to you is to think of the bigger picture- what do you think you'll enjoy doing, both in university and as a career, and choose that path.

Kadiv · 13-10-2013 10:00am

well I enjoy maths and really want to study actuarial science but my parents have only known medicine to be a guaranteed career
my parents just needed to know if I can get a life after college after a maths based degree.

Vorophobe · 13-10-2013 10:08am

I think a bigger problem you may have is that you'd let your parents force you into studying something you don't want to! It's your life dude, study what you want to study, or you could end up with a lot of regret! ^^

Fad · 13-10-2013 1:41pm

Kadiv wrote: »

well I enjoy maths and really want to study actuarial science but my parents have only known medicine to be a guaranteed career
my parents just needed to know if I can get a life after college after a maths based degree.

Both are fairly guaranteed.

They're also guaranteed to be very high pressure jobs where you will be training for longer after college (medicine especially) than many other jobs.

Both also afford you plenty of flexibility. With med you could go into research, BAFS gives you a pile of quants skills that'll be handy in many different places.

A maths degree would probably give you the same amount of flexibility as BAFS.

Kadiv · 13-10-2013 4:11pm

im sorry what are quants?

Fad · 13-10-2013 5:20pm

Kadiv wrote: »

im sorry what are quants?

Quantitative skills.

Mathsy ones.

coffee_cake · 13-10-2013 5:22pm

Kadiv wrote: »

well I enjoy maths and really want to study actuarial science but my parents have only known medicine to be a guaranteed career
my parents just needed to know if I can get a life after college after a maths based degree.

Of course you can, there's always actuary jobs

Christ, don't do a job just because your parents want you to. You don't want to be a doctor just because they said so! It's the rest of YOUR life.

Kiltennel · 14-10-2013 1:24am

BAFS is very hard to beat for job prospects. I know several people who have done and all had job offers prior to graduation, they're all getting paid a lot too.

misslt · 20-10-2013 4:27pm

I've just finished the BAFS degree in May just gone.

I got my job offer in April, and started with the companys grad programme in August, and I'm just outside London.

The consultancies will start their recruitment drives pretty much as soon as final year begins, the likes of Deloitte, PWC, etc, along with London insurers.

Dublin insurers are later, normally around March-April time.

Out of the class of 2013, I believe there are only 5 or 6 that don't have jobs yet, and a few of them are travelling. Just under half had jobs secured before the end of our exams. There were only around 10 that didn't have jobs by graduation in early September.

There is a certain amount of having to look for your own job, but there are actuarial recruiters that will circulate all the grad jobs to anyone registered with them.

There really isn't anything to worry about getting a job with an actuarial degree.

If you want to be an actuary, don't let that hold you back, and tell your parents the same - it's a non-issue!

ironclaw · 20-10-2013 6:49pm

Kadiv wrote: »

Hi guys I was wondering how does employment and life compare of an actuary and that of a doc. Not sure between the 2 am applying to cao this year so don't know what do go for really but I really love math and app.math. Is it really that hard to get a job as an actuary after you graduate and does it have a bad employment perspective compared to a doc's

Have you reviewed both courses? Being a doctor and being an actuary are completely different. The only thing in common would be the work load for the course.

And as Vorophobe said, make your own mind of what you want to study. Don't let parents persuade your choice and certainly do not choose a career based on job prospects. Whats the point having a job if you absolutely despise what you do?

24-10-2013 1:01am

duplicate

24-10-2013 1:07am

By the way as another poster said a maths degree is probably as good as a bafs degree. Either medicine or the other side you will get a job. Depends on what work environment you think you'd like to work in. Office jobs can be a bit boring at times. Medicine probably has more job satisfaction in the long run as well as good cash.

eyescreamcone · 08-12-2014 5:15pm

Would getting an Engineering degree be a good idea?

As well as the quantitative skillset you will develop, you have the option of working as an engineer or doing conversion couses for finance/acturial science.

Which Engineering degrees have the most maths?

ironclaw · 11-12-2014 9:38am

eyescreamcone wrote: »

Would getting an Engineering degree be a good idea?

As well as the quantitative skillset you will develop, you have the option of working as an engineer or doing conversion couses for finance/acturial science.

Which Engineering degrees have the most maths?

Engineering is one of the most universal degree's you can get especially given the Masters options at the end. You could do anything from work on a site to a boardroom. The skills are very in-demand in all sectors and the further studies options are also massive. But all the channels have a lot of math, if that is a concern. But as long as you are reasonably motivated and leaving certification math at higher level isn't too phasing, you'll be grand.

But once again, a 'good idea' is to study what you love and really want to do. There's absolutely no point having a 'good degree to have' if you have no passion for any of the sectors or jobs it lies in.

ucdperson · 12-12-2014 2:19pm

There is no shortage of jobs for people with quantitative skills and the range of jobs and shortage of qualified graduates is only increasing.

Apart from the BAFS, the BSc Economics and Finance and the new BSc Business Analytics lead into these careers.

But really the OP needs to think carefully about what he or she wants to do, medicine is quite different from these careers. The issue is not job shortage, it is what type of work does the OP want to do?

dmooney7291 · 24-08-2015 10:26pm

I'm in a similar position, making my CAO decision thsi year, my main concern is work/life balance, Money is good but certainly isn't my objective. I'm looking at actuary or accounting, and I'm just wondering what the work hours are like for both, inside college and afterwards. Thanks

Actuary jobs?

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