31 years old, graduated college 10 years ago, passed 2 exams. Do I need pass another?

[Blazer]

Do i need to pass 3 or 4 exams to be competitive? I must mention, I graduated college with an Economics degree in 2003... My GPA was very poor.... I graduated with a 2.67GPA. Unfortunately, studying wasn't a priority for me then, and my academics severely suffered.

However, after I graduated, I got a job as a loan officer for a major mortgage company. I was very successful, and did that until mid 2007 but left due to the failing housing market. After working as a loan officer, I got a job in software sales in a giant call center. I performed really well and have been promoted twice.

My current position is a unit manager and I oversee 5 team managers... Each team manager oversees 8-10 sales employees. Over the past year, I have been studying to be an actuary and have passed exams P and FM. Am I competitive for an entry level actuarial job? I really would like to do something completely different, with fewer hours, and much less stress. I realize the starting salary will be less than I make now, but there is potential to make more money than I make now, and a much better quality of life. Any advice? Is my GPA going to be an issue? I thought nobody cared about your GPA unless you were going to grad school, or were only 1 or 2 years removed from college?

Oh, and I am very good with Excel and creating Macros , but I am not a computer programmer

[alekhine4149]

Hi Blazer, your situation was very similar to mine. Same age, GPA within a few percent of yours, good work experience. But your work experience is superior to what I had. Yes, I think you can do it. Yes, the GPA will mean your resume doesn't get looked at in most cases, so it will require more aggression on your part. But definitely you can do it. You'd want your resume to call attention to the computer skill. I do think you should keep taking prelims if you're interested. I think your stress would be reduced, but not eliminated.

I think the salary could prove to be the biggest issue. Most actuarial students have never had nice paychecks before. You would be doing all the nasty studying while working in your 30's for temporarily less money and respect. This could really be a pain. Other than that, you might have a blast. Keep researching it!