Future Plans

There are many things I have to take care of before I can become a full-time actuary. Right now I am honing my mathematical skills by taking math classes. In order to continue honing my math skills, I have decided to declare a minor in math (I am a finance major). Also, I will hopefully fulfill my VEE credits before I graduate since attaining a B- in a class is easier that taking exams. For those of you that do not know, SOA/CAS requires members to fulfill VEE credits in Economics, Applied Statistics, and Finance. The easiest way to get those credits is to take the classes at your university that is approved by SOA/CAS. The list of VEE approved courses is linked below.

http://eande.soa.org/vee/approved-courses-experiences-for-vee.html

I am planning on taking ExamP/1 in November 2008. Even though the 175 dollar fee is very pricey, I am willing to pay it. After getting opinions from posters on Actuary.com and Actuarialoutpost.com, taking this test allow me to become more comfortable with the exam process. Plus, I have experience in calculus and with enough studying, I can definitely pass. As I have posted before, I have already ordered the ASM manual and it should be arriving at my home in a few days.

As far as the exam process as a whole, my personal goal is to complete at least 2-3 exams before I graduate sometime in 2010. If I fail Exam P in November, I can take it again in 2009 and I'm almost certain that I'll pass P before the end of 2009. Then Exam FM, from what I have heard, should not be a big problem, especially for a finance major like myself. I still have to study but it won't be as math heavy as Exam P.

During my remaining tenure in college, I'll be looking for extracurricular activities that will help gain a better understanding of the insurance/risk/actuarial industry. The newest chapter of the Gamma Iota Sigma fraternity has just formed at my school. Hopefully, enough student interest in the frat will exist in order to keep the frat around till next semester. I'll be looking into that frat since they can offer me amazing networking opportunities with industry leaders and students in the same field. I may also consider joining the Finance Association in order to gain a better understanding in the field of finance as a whole. These extracurricular activities will not only improve my resume, they will also improve me as a person and professional.

As far as internships go, I am gearing towards getting one for the summer of 2009. Hopefully by then, I can get 1, maybe even 2, exams under my belt. I've been reading around in forums about internships and many candidates that were accepted had only 1 and sometimes 0 exams under their belt. Thus, I hope that I can pass an exam or 2 in order to put myself in a better position in receiving an internship offer.

Once I graduate sometime in 2010, I may take a couple weeks off in order to rejuvenate myself and celebrate the end of my undergraduate academic career. I do not forsee myself attending graduate school. Once those two weeks are up, I'll be applying to different companies in search for an entry level job. Hopefully by then, I'll have 2-3 exams under my belt. I know this is kind of far into the future and many things can happen in two years. But imho, having goals will help keep myself more organized and motivated to accomplish what I need in order to become an actuary.