Quit my job to study full time?

[SolsticeGXP]

Hey all, I'm 25 years old. I graduated with BBA in Finance and Economics with 3.0 avg. Familiar with economics and finance end. Loved Algebra and Statistics, had an evil calculus teacher, so I would consider myself very weak in calculus area. I love analytical and problem solving work. I used Excel extensive at work, formulas and some knowledge on how macros work.


I'll worked in the financial industry for almost 2 years of that, i worked 1 1/2 years settlement of trades for institutional clients. Realize there is limited upward mobility, should I give my two weeks and go ahead and study full time for the exam #1 P which is coming up in Jan 5th?

I read some of the insurance companies in NYC posting salaries for recent college grads who passed their 1st exam. Are finding actuaries that hard?

[mtg]

I don't think you should quit your job. Actuaries have to work full time and study for exams, so you should try to do the same. It also might look bad to a prospective employer if you're not working at all when you apply for a position. Quitting your current job is too much of a dive; you can probably pass the exam without having to do that.

[drparliament]

Hey all, I'm 25 years old. I graduated with BBA in Finance and Economics with 3.0 avg. Familiar with economics and finance end. Loved Algebra and Statistics, had an evil calculus teacher, so I would consider myself very weak in calculus area. I love analytical and problem solving work. I used Excel extensive at work, formulas and some knowledge on how macros work.


I'll worked in the financial industry for almost 2 years of that, i worked 1 1/2 years settlement of trades for institutional clients. Realize there is limited upward mobility, should I give my two weeks and go ahead and study full time for the exam #1 P which is coming up in Jan 5th?

I read some of the insurance companies in NYC posting salaries for recent college grads who passed their 1st exam. Are finding actuaries that hard?

Quitting a job right now just to study for an exam would be a huge mistake. Also, being "very weak" in calculus is suicide for these exams. You need to have a good grip on that before you begin studying for the exam material.

[JS1]

Oh sure, it's all the evil teacher's fault you didn't pass calculus.

The real world is much tougher, in any field. It's far easier to switch classes, or just don't bother, than to switch bosses, because that means switching jobs. And there are a lot more evil bosses out there than evil teachers.

When I was in university, I had only one professor who was a weirdo, and that was a law class. I didn't let that stop me from continuing to learn law -- to this day! I'm not a lawyer and not interested in being one, but to turn your nose up in an important subject matter because you didn't like the teacher is juvenile.

[drparliament]

Damn, did I just find myself nodding in agreement to a post by JS1? :wideyed:

[SolsticeGXP]

Oh sure, it's all the evil teacher's fault you didn't pass calculus.

The real world is much tougher, in any field. It's far easier to switch classes, or just don't bother, than to switch bosses, because that means switching jobs. And there are a lot more evil bosses out there than evil teachers.

When I was in university, I had only one professor who was a weirdo, and that was a law class. I didn't let that stop me from continuing to learn law -- to this day! I'm not a lawyer and not interested in being one, but to turn your nose up in an important subject matter because you didn't like the teacher is juvenile.

I have to agree with the first posting on their constructive criticism it sounds rational and reasonable, but after that it is pointless to read further because not helpful but more spiteful.

Lets hide behind our blog postings, I would have expected comments from some kids on youtube, but on actuary blog?

I didn't say anything about not passing Calculus, I did fail to mention the class average was D so it was not one or two students hatred for the teacher but entire class that did not learn.

It maybe harder to switch companies now than teachers, but I don't want to be looking back think why I didn't do it when I had the chance. Also when you see CEOs changing more than the seasons and the big boys who are next in line jumping ship doesn't give much comfort in what you do.

Only one weird professor in college? Come on there is much more than that or has it been that long that you forgotten the rest. The weird law professor did deter you from being a lawyer. Not to mention a lot of people learn law, from convicted felons with their next court case, to neighbors property dispute.

Did I say I thought I was better than Calculus? I did say I'm not strong at it because it wasn't a major requirement for Finance majors. I was only required to take one Calculus class, vs several economics and several accounting classes. I don't know what you gaining by bashing other people, unless it makes you feel better about yourself?

[NoMoreExams]

Look, you need to know Calc 1-3 (parts of 3 but still) like the back of your hand. Given your background in Calculus, you will need to study a lot. You are also competing against the kids that probably got an A in the Calc. class you didn't. Realize what you are up against, take the first exam. Realize that it's one of the easier ones to come. You will take them while working FT (yes you will have study hours). Think about all this. Not saying you don't have what it takes but a lot of people go into this thinking it's easy and then complain about having to balance everything.

[Stodd]

FYI, if you're good at self-studying, the calc on exam 1 doesn't have to be that scary. I took it after only taking one semester of calculus. I had to study like crazy to pass, but then the calculus I had to learn for the exam made my calc 2 class a breeze. I'm now looking forward to calc 3 next semester, which also should be fairly easy because I already learned so much of the material while studying for the exam. Plan to dedicate the time, that's for sure. It wasn't easy, and I worked my tail off to get ready, but it's very possible to learn the calculus on your own. KhanAcadamy.org was one of the sites that helped my quite a bit with the calculus side of it. Khan has posted many many videos explaining different concepts in calculus in a very clear way.
Good luck!

[Y2A]

Terrible idea to quit your job when you don't even know for yourself what it takes to pass an actuarial exam. Even with a few down it is difficult to get a job.

[drparliament]

I have to agree with the first posting on their constructive criticism it sounds rational and reasonable, but after that it is pointless to read further because not helpful but more spiteful.

Lets hide behind our blog postings, I would have expected comments from some kids on youtube, but on actuary blog?

I didn't say anything about not passing Calculus, I did fail to mention the class average was D so it was not one or two students hatred for the teacher but entire class that did not learn.

It maybe harder to switch companies now than teachers, but I don't want to be looking back think why I didn't do it when I had the chance. Also when you see CEOs changing more than the seasons and the big boys who are next in line jumping ship doesn't give much comfort in what you do.

Only one weird professor in college? Come on there is much more than that or has it been that long that you forgotten the rest. The weird law professor did deter you from being a lawyer. Not to mention a lot of people learn law, from convicted felons with their next court case, to neighbors property dispute.

Did I say I thought I was better than Calculus? I did say I'm not strong at it because it wasn't a major requirement for Finance majors. I was only required to take one Calculus class, vs several economics and several accounting classes. I don't know what you gaining by bashing other people, unless it makes you feel better about yourself?

I apologize. The point I was trying to make in my first post was that you MUST understand integration in order to take the probability exam, and passing that exam wouldn't guarantee you another job anyway. Giving up a job in the current climate of 10% unemployment is dangerous to your financial well-being.

My agreement with JS1's post was more based on growing up with a teacher in my family, it wasn't aimed at you. They take a lot of flack for stuff that is really not their responsibility (and then they bring it home and complain to their kids about it at the dinner table.)

Anyway, good luck with your decision.