<p>I've been hearing a few times that this field of Risk Management is becoming more popular now. I'm not exactly sure how popular it was back a few years ago, but I've been reading a few things online and it doesn't seem too bad.</p>
<p>I was originally considering to be an accounting major, but, as of now, it doesn't seem that much fun. However, that isn't going to stop me from continuing to take courses in accounting. I plan to go through at least Intermediate Accounting before I can completely say that I don't want to do accounting at all. I don't know if that's a bad place to draw the line, so let me know if it is or isn't!</p>
<p>Lately, I've been becoming more interested in the field of Economics. From reading past threads on this forum, many people say that it's pretty important to get the degree from a "name brand school," though many others will say that "you are what you make of your life," or something to that effect. Well, though I'm not completely sure where I'm headed in my life, I want to know more about this degree in Risk Management. For example, do any of you think that this degree is just another name for what people from another major can do (in the sense when people say that accounting majors can do finance jobs)? Or is it unique in its own way, and is worth studying? When I say is it "worth studying," I mean is it distinct enough to go into a program like that, or would I be better studying something like economics?</p>
<p>As I previously stated above, I've heard that Risk Management is growing. Does anyone else know much about it? I looked at the BLS for the projection rate, it says that financial managers (well, that's the key word search for what these guys are under) are expected to grow at the average rate. It also distinguishes that:</p>
<p>
Employment of risk managers, who assess risks for insurance and investment purposes, also will grow.
</p>
<p>Sorry if this is long, but I'm just looking for opinions/insight.</p>
<p>What sort of risk management are you looking to get into? Finance, insurance, other?
From what I’ve heard, even if it is growing expect good competition.</p>
<p>Intermediate Accounting seems to be the jump off point for people that decide against accounting. It is a tough class.</p>
<p>I enjoy economics as well. As far as opportunities, if it is in the business school at your university and recruiting is solid it might be an option. However, If I were going into econ I would hedge my bets with a lot of math/programming to keep grad school as an option. If you find decent employment, getting an MBA later can get you a lot of the same type of jobs.</p>
<p>FYI, I am by no means an expert. Just a Accounting/MIS sophomore that ■■■■■■ the forums a lot.</p>
<p>Well, as for the field, I’m not exactly sure yet, but I would definitely know by the time I take more courses that relate to those fields. I’m assuming that I’m going to go into finance, though. Things like that are never set in stone for me.</p>
<p>As for your recommendation about going into grad school if I were to major in econ, I don’t understand why people say to take courses in Computer Science. Sure, you learn “quantitative skills,” but the programming aspect of it will not be that useful. Maybe I’m missing the point, but I just don’t see programming having an advantage over any other courses, such as extra math, or even a natural science. When I say don’t see, by the way, I just mean that I can’t think of more pros that favor CS.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, right now, I’m attending Queens College, but I may transfer to Baruch (if I get in. The application is in already, though). Recruiting isn’t anything compared to Baruch, I assume. From what I remember, Aflac and the IRS are the “big name” companies that came to the fairs, but my memory isn’t serving me well at the moment. I do think that there are probably a couple more recruiters, or the IRS takes many of my school’s accounting majors. Apparently, about 10% of the students at my school are accounting majors, and that’s 10% out of more than 16k students. I’ve had a dilemma whether to stay at Queens and save commuting money, or go to Baruch for opportunities. So far, I’ve decided to go to Baruch if I get in because it’s already well-known. I just don’t know how great their economics department is because I highly doubt it’s on any ranking list (not being biased on the list, but just the fact of whether they were mentioned or not).</p>
<p>Besides any further advice, how versatile do you think risk management can be? It sounds sort of like a narrow career compared to, say, accounting; it does, however, seem somewhat like finance.</p>
<p>Well are you referring to risk pertaining to insurance (actuarial science) or risk pertaining to wall street (financial engineers)? Because they are very different fields.</p>
<p>The above poster has it right. If you want to do risk management for an insurance company, major in actuarial science or statistics. If you want to risk management for a wall street firm or a hedge fun, major in pure math and get a masters in financial engineering. If you want to do risk management for a commercial bank or an accounting firm, major in accounting or finance.</p>
<p>While I go and read up on these things, I have a quick question: are these fields even large? Would any company or firm need many risk managers? I assume that they won’t be needed in large quantities, but I don’t really know a definite answer.</p>
<p>The way I see it, even if the field isn’t particularly large, you should be able to find some form of solid employment options if you major in math/stats/accounting/high ranking finance assuming of course that you do well in school.</p>
<p>Most of these fields are large enough to find sufficient opportunities. However, you don’t have a great chance at working on wall street or for a hedge fund unless you go to an ivy-league level school. Also, forget actuarial science unless you really enjoy math. If you’re comfortable with accounting or finance as a major, you will have plenty of opportunities for risk management in commercial banks.</p>
<p>I know that those majors are the suggested or advised ones if I want to go into this field, but are you opposing economics as a major (meaning that I could major in it if I wanted to, but I would need to take a load of other courses to make me more “marketable”)?</p>
<p>Well, to be honest, I enjoy math very much, but I’m not the A student in math. I first started off as a major in engineering, though I didn’t know which. In my first three semesters, I had Calc I-III, and I unfortunately got a B- in each one of them (I find it odd how I received the same grade in each course). Although calculus is barely “real” math, I think I would enjoy it even if I didn’t do well in the course. However, just enjoying it isn’t enough to find a good job.</p>
<p>I feel like going into actuarial studies is very narrow, leaving employment opportunities very low unless I strive when taking my actuarial exams. I do, however, like the idea of working as an actuarial, and dealing with math and paradigms. I’m just too worried about whether I’ll be able to encompass that exam at the end because I heard that the first couple of exams encompass math, but the higher exams cover other topics. I forgot which topics, but, for some reason, my memory is telling me that it deals with business.</p>
<p>So I ask, again (because what I’m more worried about is the employed population and its rate, compared to whether I like the work load or not), is the actuarial field large? I remember reading that it’s not that large. I mean, according to the BLS, it’s supposed to grow largely, but the total estimated number of growth is only about 4k jobs. I don’t think that’s very large, especially if that number is representing the national growth.</p>
<p>Oh, and I just thought of it: does an actuary’s school matter as much as a finance or economics major’s school? Or do employers mainly (90%+? I don’t know, I"m just blabbering) care about the number of exams passed (and do they care about the percentage you got correct)?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, people usually don’t realize how bad the ENTRY LEVEL market for actuaries is. If you’ve passed all the exams, you will never be unemployed. However, if you do not have a 3.5+ and 2-3 exams at graduation, you will not find a job. The reason I know this is because I am an actuary, and we don’t hire people below those qualifications, unless they have spectacular communication skills.</p>
<p>actuaries always can get jobs. For recruiting purposes, i would recommend going to a school in the northeast tho. The quality of ur undergrad school is not important, although ur screwed if u cant pass ur actuarial exams. those exams are the only things hiring businesses really care about. They are extremely difficult. Thats how people are weeded out from the field. Both my parents are actuaries so u can ask me any other questions about the field i guess</p>
<p>Yes, I’ve seen things like that a few times on those “Best Careers” articles. However, those things never really show statistics or anything, so I never took it for granted. I just thought of it as “literature,” if you will. The CERA is interesting though. How new is that? I’ve never heard of that until you mentioned it, but I did hear of the SOA before.</p>
<p>@jaysorenson19</p>
<p>I believe every word you’re saying because of the current economy, though things are slightly picking up. Question: When you say “spectacular communication skills,” are you referring to networking connections, or are you referring to speaking, reading, and writing abilities?</p>
<p>Also, would you say to sort of “stray away” from this field at the moment? It seems as though the average person would have great difficulty obtaining a job.</p>
<p>@kgoscohockey027</p>
<p>Well, if you’ve noticed my location, I’m in NYC, so that’s hopefully a good location (I can’t really think of why not). However, what you’re saying conflicts with jaysorenson19’s statements. Do you know if your parents do any recruiting, or have any co-workers that do recruiting? I’d love some advice on any information. In this case, the more, the merrier.</p>
<p>@meteman</p>
<p>While I did get a good laugh out of that (Seinfeld fan), it wasn’t really informative other than the fact that Risk Management isn’t easy (disregarding George’s character), though it does come in handy. I guess I’m just looking for more of an academic breakdown, you know?</p>
<p>New York City is perfect as thats where most life insurance corporations are. School factors probably come into play at the top corporations as tie-breakers between applicants, although if you can pass 2-3 exams before graduating (EXTREMELY DIFFICULT) you will get a good job. I know my dads company (large NYC Corp) recruits at many schools other than ivies and equivalents. Most people entering the field of actuarial science that pass 2-3 exams in college will have a high gpa because they are taking mostly math classes and are for the most part mathematically gifted.</p>
<p>“When you say “spectacular communication skills,” are you referring to networking connections, or are you referring to speaking, reading, and writing abilities?”</p>
<p>By spectacular communication skills, I’m referring to speaking and writing abilities. People often forget that an actuary is a business professional who uses math, not the other way around. However, if you do have great connections, you can land a job despite having less-than-stellar qualifications. </p>
<p>“Also, would you say to sort of “stray away” from this field at the moment? It seems as though the average person would have great difficulty obtaining a job.”</p>
<p>If you think an actuarial career is a great fit, and you are prepared to go through ~10 years of grueling exams, then I say go for it. However, this is not something you can half-###. The opportunities are there, but you will have to work for them.</p>