Actuarial Science, Comp Sci, ChemE, Physics help!

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Hi, I'm not sure if this is the correct majors division to use but I need advice on the major I should take in college. Basically, I love math. I thoroughly enjoy learning all I can about it and will be taking Calc BC and Linear Algebra next year (already took AB). At my particular school, in regards to science curriculum, they teach intro to science fr year, bio sophomore, chem jr, and physics sr. I really hated the intro class and biology class and not having previously been exposed to chem, I made the conclusion that I hated science. While looking for majors and careers in the beginning of this year, I found that math usually pointed towards engineering. Because I thought i disliked Science, i figured Actuary would be a perfect fit for me since it was generally more math orientated rather than science. It seems like such an enticing career when you weight out the salary, hours, act but i feel as though it might get boring or confining and I've heard it gets very lonely.
After taking a little more than half a year of chemistry, I can say that I love it. Compared to bio and intro to sci, it's a complete 180. This is why Ive started to consider ChemE. I figured it would incorporate both math and chem as opposed to a chem major.
On top of the Actuary v ChemE major, there is another option
Im self studying AP Computer Science this year and can also say without a doubt that this is something i love. Just coding and seeing you "inventions" come to life. I also heard that Comp Sci also includes high level math classes which I'm interested in.
This is why I'm considering Comp Sci as a major. </p>

<p>Basically, Id be perfectly content with going to an office job everyday working on a computer as would be involved with Comp Sci and Actuary, but theres a certain feeling inside me thats telling me that I want to do research in ChemE and Physics. I feel as though the Comp Sci wouldn't get as monotonous as the Actuary route because you are constantly doing new stuff everyday.</p>

<p>Im wondering what Dual Majors would be best for each scenario
I feel that Physics would be a good second major for any that will allow me to do the certain career and possibly research
The careers are ChemE(which a major in ChemE is required obviously, minor could be physics, possibly comp sci?), Comp Sci( physics), Actuary (Math major, major in Comp Sci, keep the options open), or go the actuary route by just majoring in CS and taking the exams?</p>

<p>Basically, taking the Actuary route eliminates all research possibilities.</p>

<p>Thank you for reading my rant and please offer any incite you may have.</p>

<p>Also, I know that the actuary route wouldn't require any further education. If you could include what further education I would need if I went the Comp Sci or ChemE route, that'd be great. Also if you think it'd be better if i did something like BS in Comp Sci, Masters in Physics or Math, include that. Sorry for being so confused haha</p>

2

<p>A lot of colleges do not have a specific actuarial science major, but many students considering actuarial careers just major in applied math or statistics, being sure to take the VEE courses and other recommended courses listed in [Be</a> an Actuary](<a href=“http://www.beanactuary.com%5DBe”>http://www.beanactuary.com) .</p>

<p>Chemical engineering tends to have a lot of required courses, so it may have little room to fit in other courses of interest. Math and statistics tend to have fewer required courses, so it tends to be easier to fit in other courses of interest (or a minor or second major in a related field – math/statistics, math/economics, and math/CS are fairly common).</p>

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<p>Do you think it would be suffieient to major in CS then take the exams? or would i have to dual major in Math and CS?</p>

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<p>“Do you think it would be suffieient to major in CS then take the exams? or would i have to dual major in Math and CS?”</p>

<p>It is not sufficient to major in CS to take actuarial exams. If you decide to become an actuary, a CS isn’t even necessary. You want to find a program that will prepare you for as many exams as possible. That would mean majoring in math with an act sci concentration or majoring in act sci. I do think that CS goes well with Act Sci, but your focus needs to be on passing exams.</p>

<p>“I know that the actuary route wouldn’t require any further education”</p>

<p>Perhaps not formal education. But the more exams you take, the more you will have to be educated. This can be done with formal education or self study.</p>

5

<p>A computer science/physics combination or physics/applied mathematics combination is often popular with my physics majors at [Illinois</a> Institute of Technology](<a href=“http://www.iit.edu%5DIllinois”>http://www.iit.edu) They find that the physics is complementary to the other two and they also have a possible jumping off point if they choose not to go into a graduate program for a research career.</p>

<p>In the past years, we have had students graduating in physics and going into the software development field and the financial field (insurance, energy markets). The computer science and mathematics skills learned in their second major have been very useful.</p>

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<p>You would have to carefully pick out-of-major elective courses (statistics, math, economics, etc.) in order to fulfill the VEE requirements and get good preparation for the actuarial exams.</p>

7

<p>I’m almost done with my freshman year and I’ve bounced through several of these fields, so perhaps I can be of assistance.</p>

<p>First, you need to determine whether you enjoy mathematics. The computation, find-a-right-answer math you do in high school has nothing to do with higher-level university math courses. Do you enjoy reading the proofs in your math textbooks? Have you studied math contests such as the AMC/AIME?</p>

<p>Second, are you interested in business? Actuaries use math and programming extensively, but act. sci is still a business field and I have trouble seeing someone without interest in finance, insurance, and/or business being successful.</p>

<p>Third, do not expect to like every course you take. You’re making a lot of judgments based on individual course experiences, and that is 100% guaranteed to screw you over in a university setting. Trust me, my current curriculum-planning difficulties are entirely a result of lacking the discipline to stick with a plan in the face of boring or unpleasant courses.</p>

<p>Fourth, actuarial exams are not easy and you will have to study for them one way or another. It’s obviously easier to do this as part of your university workload. Also, there are specific VEE course requirements you need to meet.</p>

<p>Fifth, look for universities with strengths in all of these areas. Once you pick one that is right for you (which involves much more than academic rankings or whatever) you should download the official catalog and/or curriculum planning sheets. I can tell you with certainty that it will be easier to change from ChemE to almost any other field than the other way around.</p>