Things I Sacrificed to Become an Actuary

Becoming an actuary isn't easy!

In this video, I discuss the things that I had to sacrifice in order to get through this wild actuarial journey!

Thank you for calling!

[paul]

Recently passed FM, and let me tell you that when I pressed end exam and saw a survey before I got my result, I almost fainted.

[justinwr]

About to take the p exam (in six days effing shoot me). I've sacrificed time with my wife and baby son. My wife sacrifices more than I do really. She will stay with the baby all day long while I'm in my office studying, and I feel guilty all the time about it. I grew up really poor and worked in the blue collar world my whole life before deciding to go back to school and become an actuary. I just keep telling myself that soon my son will see his daddy coming home from work wearing a tie and that's what he'll grow up thinking a man does, not go put on a hard hat and sweat all day doing dangerous work in a refinery.

[sofiem]

Her: Im anti social. Its a high paying job and low stress. Sounds like the perfect job!

Also her: I couldn't go out with my friends because of the exams 😭

[fiveandtwoball]

Congratulations to becoming an FCAS! I passed four exams, and so I had a taste of how hard they are. I learned that as you progress through the exams, the cream rises and the competition you need to beat to score in the top 50% gets very tough.

[Ellellevlog]

Hello, me-on-a-different-channel! Just remember that all those sacrifices were worth it #actuary4life

[hollygrant]

I've definitely sacrificed my waistline by stressing over the exams too... I can't help it! I get stressed out easily and have had to work on integrating good habits into my life instead of eating nonchalantly. Thanks for making this video!

[timrunke]

Great video! This was probably the most inspirational thing I've watched in a long time. Your first hand account of hardwork was may more motivational than all the motivational specific stuff on YouTube. Mainly cause you achieved my specific goals. Thank you so much.

[davidfreeman]

Finally! Finally! As an actuary student I'm recommended a YT channel about actuarial context for the first time! Nice job Elle, hopefully you'll walk us through the journey as an actuary!

[UnlimitedSky]

Recently they've been changing the exam, I took the new MFE the 2nd time 2 days ago, didn't feel I could pass it, they made it even harder. And after talking to the experienced actuaries, I feel like the actuarial society just wanna make it unnessasarily hard to reduce the supply, and if they make this profession hard, people will respect them. When I asked them(from different companies) if the exams really help them a lot in work, all of them told me "No", at the end of the day it's about business experience, some exam knowledges are helpful, but most are useless. What do you say?

[mehulverma]

I don't know but your voice gave me motivation to become an actuary

[gluespill]

Wow, so very articulate and expressive. Cudos for all the work you've put in over the years.

[jerryesque]

Yeah, I recently got my bachelors degree in applied math, and just recently, ive been considering to be an actuary for reasons you said in the beginning of the video. Ive always been a good test taker, but this does sound like a big sacrifice. So, I think i am going to pursue this.

[davehackey]

I'm going to take exam P this June and I have put in a lot of time, effort, and money into making this actuary idea of mine a reality. All of it worth while. I taught myself all of the multivariable calculus required, mathematical statistics required, and probability theory required. The feeling of knowing it's possible to teach myself this stuff is the most rewarding thing of all. It's been a grind and a goal for the last 3 years, but it's finally going to happen.

Cheers. I am very happy for your success and glad you made it work so well for yourself. Also glad to hear the ends justify the means.

[anamariareynosoramos]

I'm an actuarial student, I just had a very bad exam for which I studied so so hard and I swear that I love finding your youtube channel cause I finally feel that someone understands me!

[chitransh_kapoor]

Exactly....😂 My dad aslo said the exact same thing ... There is a whole lot of people who don't understand that journey towards being a professional Actuary is not like graduation. You can't complete it within 3 years while studying only 2 weeks before exams.
Thank you for your video. It really helps to know that I am not the only one stressed out.. 😇

[leanadehaan]

Thank you so much for making these vlogs, they give me hope! I'm a final year undergraduate Financial and Actuarial Mathematics in South Africa, its going... so far so good....I envy your confidence :)

[ritesharora]

In India, there is a exam called IIT JEE. Usually around half million people take it and 10, 000 gets in. This exam requires 2 years of hardcore preparation (7-8 hours a day). Nothing less than 2 years will do it.

[actuariahl]

Thank you for addressing the problem on how you can't cram the night before the exam. People just don't understand it.

[karolmatamoros]

I’m studying for FM and just had the worst time ever with annuities. Going to try again tomorrow but it definitely has me down. Watching your video made me feel like I’m not alone. Thanks for your videos!:)

[Pew_Meister]

Your videos have actually been super helpful! I'm in my first semester of college and am quite struck in terms of degree paths. I know I'm getting an associates of science here and transferring to a 4 year university. I'm not amazing at math but I like the simplicity having a "right" or "wrong" answer. There isn't much of a "gray" area.. also I'm a realist and a person of logic that treats others how they treat me. So perhaps that cancels out a career involving face to face contact with a consumer of sorts. And I'm not worried about accruing much debt because my tuition is funded by the GI Bill. But hey thanks for the insightful videos!