From looking at Bama website this is accomplished througn Finance?
Could this also be done through math w/ statistical track and adding business minor?
Anyone have experience w/ this?
Researching other schools and have seen many go through the math department.
Usually through the math department. Any math heavy major (math, applied math, engineering, econ, etc.) can start you on the path toward the actuarial exams. Keep in mind that the math required is very advanced. I have a finance degree, and I can’t even decipher the first line of an actuarial exam. Looks like a foreign language. To pass those exams, you need to understand calculus and beyond like second nature. Most business majors don’t have that depth of higher math.
FYI, my son’s girlfriend just graduated Bama with a math degree, takes her first actuarial exam next week.
math major is good prep for grad work in actuarial science
@laralei my daughter will graduate next May with a double major in math and economics and a masters in applied statistics. She has passed 2 actuarial exams and is doing her 2nd actuarial internship now. She is the next president of the Alabama Insurance Society group on campus, which has been a great group for her to be involved with. If you’d like more info from her PM me and I will put you in touch.
^ big Roll Tide for her! Where is her internship?
@chardo Since there are so few in her position I don’t want to identify her too much, although maybe I already have. But last year she was with a major health insurer and this year she wanted to try property/casualty so she is with a large company for that. If your son’s girlfriend wants any info feel free to PM me. My husband is also an actuary so he would have good info for a recent graduate.
My wife is also an actuary, so I know the drill…
Right now just looking for preliminary information. On another thread it was a suggestion at Bama, so I started looking into it.
So from what I am reading, a student doesn’t have to go through the Finance dept as proposed on UA website.
Also, a few have mentioned grad school. Would that be necessary or is a BS degree enough?
A BS degree is enough. My husband has a BS in math. It is passing the exams that is important. My D didn’t know she wanted actuarial until she had already started at UA and she was already on the path to get the bachelors and masters in 4 years.
My younger son attends UAH (his older brother is a UA grad), and he has been interested in actuary science since his high school AP statistics teacher sent him some information about it. She also was interested in the field, and she mentioned that a strong background in economics, finance, statistics and math are essential. So my son is thinking about taking an exam or two in the coming year. Right now, he is working a banking internship.
I would just like to chime in that I find Actuarial Science very interesting. It combines math with business which is very intriguing. My UG degree is in engineering and eventually I went back for an MBA because I really liked the business side as apposed to just being a designer.
I have had a few stats classes throughout my career and they have been way more useful then the Calc classes I took for engineering.
To pass the exams you need to be really good in mathematics. My father graduated in Math from NU and Grad School for Economics/Statistics at the Sorbonne in Paris. He passed four of the tests and has told me many times they were extremely challenging. He actually is very proud he passed four of the seven.
Actuaries that pass the exams have my utmost respect!!
Extremely challenging is an understatement. They are incredibly difficult, probably the most difficult exams in the world. They require literally hundreds of hours of studying, and more than half will fail despite being a genius. Pass the exam, and you’re rewarded with another one even more difficult. Pass about ten of them and you’re finally done.
Those that pass even 6 tests are well compensated. Knowing even the low level of Stats that I learned has been incredibly beneficial not only for engineering/manufacturing, i.e. SPC, etc. but also reding between the lines when statistics are quoted in print.
Articles always talk average but never the Mean, SD, curve shape because the general population would not appreciate what those terms mean.
I always try to remember the old adage “figures don’t lie but liars figure”.