Hey Bella! Absolutely wonderful video. It really gave me a good lens on what to expect from an actuary educational path. I'm a business student, majoring in finance but I was thinking about doing a masters in actuarial science. Your insight was really helpful! And I will definitely check out these courses. I honestly think they'd be very useful regardless if I decide to master actuarial science. Thanks! Have a great day :) Also, simple question, how would you describe an actuarial job in a few words?
Hey Noah! I’m so glad you enjoyed the video 😀 If you want to become an actuary, you don’t need a masters in actuarial science - you can just focus on passing the exams! If I could describe a pricing actuary’s job in a few words, I would say it’s “a mixture of statistical analysis and modeling to predict future claims and losses”, where the goal is to be as accurate as possible! Let me know if you have more questions! Have a great day as well :)
Hi Bella, I have a background in Statistics and Data Science (since I'm a Bachelor of Science in Statistical Engineering and a Micromaster in Statistics and Data Science at MIT). I was wondering what would be better. Let's extract the prestige, level, and content components of the master's program. In your opinion, what would be the best path: starting a master program in Computer Science in the US and passing the SOA exams, or starting a Master's in Actuarial Science in UK?
Hi Diego! To be honest, both of those sound like good options. I’d recommend talking with an academic or career advisor to further explore those options.
thanks Bella. just found your vids. my daughter is deciding on colleges now and have acceptances to colleges that have general math depts and some have specific actuarial science majors. is it really important to do the specific major or can she opt for general math major? having a hard time deciding as some of the general math major colleges have other perks overall for her college experience. or should she absolutely go with the actuarial science major at the few college options she has? thank you! [ps: she plans to become an actuary.]
Hi! It is not necessary to major in actuarial science specifically, but it can be helpful to take actuarial science-specific courses to prepare for the exams. However, majoring in actuarial science might not be the best option if you’re not really sure if you want to pursue an actuarial science career. There’s not one right answer - you could go either way!
Hey Bella, just asking about actuarial specialisations. Currently considering becoming an actuary, though I'm not explicitly interested in the insurance industry. I have more interest in risk management, finance, and economics, and I'm not sure if pursuing an actuarial degree and subsequent fellowship aligns directly with my interests. Would love to know your thoughts on actuaries outside of insurance!
Hi Innit! 😀Have you considered becoming a risk manager? Based on your interests, I think you could enjoy that career, as they do a lot of risk management based on the financial market and economics. Many non-insurance companies hire risk managers, although finding cost-effective insurance is usually one of a risk manager's tasks. I'm curious to know what makes you interested in pursuing actuarial science. For me, it's the types of products that actuaries can work on, like autonomous cars and climate risk. Maybe instead of trying to find interest in the insurance industry as a whole, try finding an insurable product that is interesting to you! Hope this helps!
Hey Bella, thanks for your response! I have indeed considered risk management as a career path! I'd say risk is probably what attracted me to actuarial science in the first place, as it's very impactful, and is pretty much a part of everything whether it be anything from component failure to cyber risk. If I were ever in the position to pursue a fellowship, I would probably try to get a CERA designation. Still, my overall concerns about studying actuarial science fall on its focus on general insurance. To my understanding, actuarial accreditations are pretty consistent across the world (I'm from Australia and I'm assuming the accreditation system is pretty similar for IFoA and SOA as they all have mutual recognition agreements), and Uni courses for exemptions have a strong focus on life insurance. Though this is not necessarily a bad thing, as some skills will be transferrable from insurance, I have my doubts about actuarial science being the best pathway to risk management where there is also heavy focus on other business disciplines such as finance and economics, alongside decision-making and industry specific technical expertise. I guess the biggest problem I have with deciding whether or not to become an actuary as a whole is properly understanding if the role of a modern actuary focuses more on risk as a whole or specifically in insurance. Maybe I'm downplaying insurance, so do tell me know your thoughts on the impact and responsibilities of an actuary in climate risk and autonomous vehicle insurance in comparison to risk management!
@@InnitBruvz Thanks for providing more context! 😀If you want to pursue risk management (RM), I'd suggest applying to a college program specifically for that! Otherwise, if you can't find a program for it but still plan to pursue RM, I think studying actuarial science could still be a good option because it gives exposure to the math behind how insurance products work. This could be helpful since risk managers often have to know about the different risk management options (such as insurance) available. Generally, actuaries focus more on the insurance side of things while taking risk management strategies into account; comparatively, risk managers focus on risk financing strategies while taking insurance products into account. In other words, actuaries focus on the statistical modeling of historical data to quantify and predict climate risk, while risk managers focus on the strategy and techniques to be used to reduce climate risk. Does that make sense?
Start researching about MFE programs...i think that it could be a mixture of all tooics you are interested in. And the opportunities that come with that degree are insane
Hi! Great question. I would say that I’ve always needed to work hard and do a lot of practice problems to fully understand a lot of math concepts. That’s why it’s important for aspiring actuaries to actually like doing math (even when it’s hard!) because there’s always more to learn.
Hey Bella! Absolutely wonderful video. It really gave me a good lens on what to expect from an actuary educational path. I'm a business student, majoring in finance but I was thinking about doing a masters in actuarial science.
Your insight was really helpful! And I will definitely check out these courses.
I honestly think they'd be very useful regardless if I decide to master actuarial science. Thanks! Have a great day :)
Also, simple question, how would you describe an actuarial job in a few words?
Hey Noah! I’m so glad you enjoyed the video 😀 If you want to become an actuary, you don’t need a masters in actuarial science - you can just focus on passing the exams!
If I could describe a pricing actuary’s job in a few words, I would say it’s “a mixture of statistical analysis and modeling to predict future claims and losses”, where the goal is to be as accurate as possible!
Let me know if you have more questions! Have a great day as well :)
Hi Bella, I have a background in Statistics and Data Science (since I'm a Bachelor of Science in Statistical Engineering and a Micromaster in Statistics and Data Science at MIT). I was wondering what would be better. Let's extract the prestige, level, and content components of the master's program. In your opinion, what would be the best path: starting a master program in Computer Science in the US and passing the SOA exams, or starting a Master's in Actuarial Science in UK?
Hi Diego! To be honest, both of those sound like good options. I’d recommend talking with an academic or career advisor to further explore those options.
thanks Bella. just found your vids. my daughter is deciding on colleges now and have acceptances to colleges that have general math depts and some have specific actuarial science majors. is it really important to do the specific major or can she opt for general math major? having a hard time deciding as some of the general math major colleges have other perks overall for her college experience. or should she absolutely go with the actuarial science major at the few college options she has? thank you! [ps: she plans to become an actuary.]
Hi! It is not necessary to major in actuarial science specifically, but it can be helpful to take actuarial science-specific courses to prepare for the exams. However, majoring in actuarial science might not be the best option if you’re not really sure if you want to pursue an actuarial science career. There’s not one right answer - you could go either way!
Hey Bella, just asking about actuarial specialisations. Currently considering becoming an actuary, though I'm not explicitly interested in the insurance industry. I have more interest in risk management, finance, and economics, and I'm not sure if pursuing an actuarial degree and subsequent fellowship aligns directly with my interests. Would love to know your thoughts on actuaries outside of insurance!
Hi Innit! 😀Have you considered becoming a risk manager? Based on your interests, I think you could enjoy that career, as they do a lot of risk management based on the financial market and economics. Many non-insurance companies hire risk managers, although finding cost-effective insurance is usually one of a risk manager's tasks.
I'm curious to know what makes you interested in pursuing actuarial science. For me, it's the types of products that actuaries can work on, like autonomous cars and climate risk. Maybe instead of trying to find interest in the insurance industry as a whole, try finding an insurable product that is interesting to you!
Hope this helps!
Hey Bella, thanks for your response! I have indeed considered risk management as a career path! I'd say risk is probably what attracted me to actuarial science in the first place, as it's very impactful, and is pretty much a part of everything whether it be anything from component failure to cyber risk. If I were ever in the position to pursue a fellowship, I would probably try to get a CERA designation. Still, my overall concerns about studying actuarial science fall on its focus on general insurance. To my understanding, actuarial accreditations are pretty consistent across the world (I'm from Australia and I'm assuming the accreditation system is pretty similar for IFoA and SOA as they all have mutual recognition agreements), and Uni courses for exemptions have a strong focus on life insurance. Though this is not necessarily a bad thing, as some skills will be transferrable from insurance, I have my doubts about actuarial science being the best pathway to risk management where there is also heavy focus on other business disciplines such as finance and economics, alongside decision-making and industry specific technical expertise. I guess the biggest problem I have with deciding whether or not to become an actuary as a whole is properly understanding if the role of a modern actuary focuses more on risk as a whole or specifically in insurance. Maybe I'm downplaying insurance, so do tell me know your thoughts on the impact and responsibilities of an actuary in climate risk and autonomous vehicle insurance in comparison to risk management!
@@InnitBruvz Thanks for providing more context! 😀If you want to pursue risk management (RM), I'd suggest applying to a college program specifically for that! Otherwise, if you can't find a program for it but still plan to pursue RM, I think studying actuarial science could still be a good option because it gives exposure to the math behind how insurance products work. This could be helpful since risk managers often have to know about the different risk management options (such as insurance) available.
Generally, actuaries focus more on the insurance side of things while taking risk management strategies into account; comparatively, risk managers focus on risk financing strategies while taking insurance products into account. In other words, actuaries focus on the statistical modeling of historical data to quantify and predict climate risk, while risk managers focus on the strategy and techniques to be used to reduce climate risk. Does that make sense?
@@Bella-the-Actuary Yeah, it makes a lot more sense now! Thank for your help!
Start researching about MFE programs...i think that it could be a mixture of all tooics you are interested in. And the opportunities that come with that degree are insane
Hello Bella. I was wondering if you consider yourself naturally good at math or is it a subject that you needed to work really hard in?
Hi! Great question. I would say that I’ve always needed to work hard and do a lot of practice problems to fully understand a lot of math concepts. That’s why it’s important for aspiring actuaries to actually like doing math (even when it’s hard!) because there’s always more to learn.