School or Exam, which matters in the field of actuary?

College Search & Lists
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<p>It seems that what schools offer is actuarial science PROGRAM, which helps students to get through their exams.</p>

<p>It also seems that anyone, with almost any bachelor degree, could become an actuary so long as they manage to pass all the exams required.</p>

<p>As a somewhat motivated student, I suppose that exams are all the same: study hard at home, pass;not, not. Or am I wrong?</p>

<p>Moreover, does having a degree, say applied math or statistics in so-called “more reputable” school, do me any good? </p>

<p>And is it actually that actuarial science PROGRAM is just a program to help, and I would still graduate from school with for example a bachelor degree of mathematics (in the case of UIUC)?</p>

<p>I apologize for my somewhat messy thoughts, but I am sincerely seeking help here.</p>

<p>Thank you for any helpful replies.</p>

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<p>There may be other advantages to an actuarial science program than passing exams – the school may have connections that help facilitate getting internships and a job. </p>

<p>However, I would strongly recommend getting another degree. As you suggest, there is no required college degree to become an actuary. My background is science, for instance. Get a degree in statistics, math or some other area, pass exams, and thus give yourself a broad range of job opportunities when you graduate. </p>

<p>Finally, don’t underestimate the difficulty of the exams.</p>

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<p>thanks for your reply! Hum, I believe that I’m quite determined in the pursuit of actuary, so your point of other advantages of act sci program really enlightens me. </p>

<p>But can I say that those schools WITHOUT the program may also offer some internship?</p>

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<p>An Actuary certification is test based. It doesn’t matter where you get your degree, or what you major in. Emergent is right that an actuarial program may have some specific internships available in the field. That being said, math students get all kinds of internships as well. My DD2 math major has had two internships in the last three years that gave her good experience.</p>

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<p>Berkeley has no specific actuarial science major. But graduates still get actuary jobs:
<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Statistics.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Statistics.stm&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/AppMath.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/AppMath.stm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Actuarial majors are somewhat rare, yet actuaries come from all over. What does that tell you?</p>

<p>A math degree of some sort (plus at least 1-2 passed exams) is all you need. Companies that hire actuaries recruit at hundreds of schools that don’t have an actuarial major. Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton (to name a few) don’t have an actuarial major. Think their future actuaries have any problem finding internships or jobs?</p>

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<p>You can search through some of my prior posts on this exact topic. IMO it all comes down to how determined you are in becoming an actuary. </p>

<p>One thing I want to point out is 1-2 exams =/ internship/job. I can honestly say, recruiters I’ve met are no longer impressed unless you’ve got 4+ exams under your belt. </p>

<p>A Harvard grad with 1 exam after 3 attempts will be passed over in favor of a state college grad with 3 exams any day.</p>