<p>I thought I would check in to this board since posting in September. </p>
<p>I’m happy I’ve been able to help some students with their decision about engineering vs actuary. </p>
<p>I’ve also noticed some weak arguments and some weak jabs at my advice. </p>
<p>If you haven’t read my initial post, then let me remind everyone that I actually worked in engineering for close to 15 years, in R&D an in management, so I am not talking out of my A… about the profession. Also, I have an MSEE and an MBA (ivy league), so again I know more than most about how far you can go in engineering with a great education. </p>
<p>I changed careers last year into the actuarial profession, mainly since I wanted to do something different and also get into a profession that has more career options. </p>
<p>After one year, I have 4 exams and I got close to $25K in raises. Honestly, I never saw an entry level engineer get such increase in pay after one year. </p>
<p>I know that I might be the exception (the actuarial exams are easier to anything I did in engineering school), but hey the opportunity is there. </p>
<p>In terms of job openings on job boards and listing statistics of how many students are taking/passing tests. What is the point, that there aren’t jobs or that there are too many candidates?</p>
<p>Getting a job has more to do with being aggressive and with networking. Do you think I was able to get my current job by just sending out a resume? No, I networked, and I asked for an informational interview, and I was prepared when the recruiting cycle opened up. They knew who I was before I even went in for the interview. </p>
<p>Look, I don’t want to tell anyone not to study engineering, I actually think it is an excellent educational background that gives students many options upon graduating. I enjoyed my engineering studies and would recommend engineering to anyone. </p>
<p>But, if you want to compare engineering to actuarial, sorry but actuarial is better on average. The keyword here is on average. Maybe you will be the exception.</p>
<p>Good luck everyone.</p>