Sorry this is long.
I am about to graduate as a math major, with a 2.8 gpa, from a top 10 school. I had a very unhappy and unfruitful four years - wrong school, wrong major, no accomplishments. I didn't slack off in college. Instead, I didn't understand what was going on in my math classes even after I tried hard. I could digest all the preliminary definitions and lemma but never the major theorems. My math grades went downhill over time - A-'s in calc, B-'s in analysis, C's in algebra and pretty much everything else. These were all proof based classes and contained literally zero calculation.
Since I struggled a lot in math, I was very depressed in the past four years. I didn't do well in other classes, didn't engage in many activities, and didn't have many friends. However, I still managed to pass P, FM and MFE and secured a job. The exams were quite easy. I spent 4 weeks, 4 weeks and 6 weeks studying for each exam for 2-3 hours a day. I got 7's and 8's in all of them.
For technical skills, I am very good with Excel. I have basic knowledge of R and Access - graphs, linear regression, tree models, time series models in R and merging, extracting, filtering entries in Access. I took a few programming classes, but I can't really code beyond loops and conditionals.
I wasn't happy in the past four years, but I really wanted to start anew and don't want to f**k up again. Now that I secured a job, I feel my normal self again. However, I still have some doubts about my abilities to perform well on the job.
Sometimes I think I will be fine - I passed exams, know Excel, passionate about the profession, received positive feedback from my previous managers during (non-actuarial) internships, and read a lot about the industry in my free time. Sometimes I think I will screw up again - I enter the industry without an actuarial internship, I am not particularly good with computer as most math majors around me are, I did poorly in math so I don't know if I can understand my work or pass the more difficult exams.
Given my background, is the actuarial profession reasonable for me? Do I have the hard skills to do well on the job, especially when I need to handle more complicated projects beyond entry-level? Any suggestions on some last-minute preparation?
I am about to graduate as a math major, with a 2.8 gpa, from a top 10 school. I had a very unhappy and unfruitful four years - wrong school, wrong major, no accomplishments. I didn't slack off in college. Instead, I didn't understand what was going on in my math classes even after I tried hard. I could digest all the preliminary definitions and lemma but never the major theorems. My math grades went downhill over time - A-'s in calc, B-'s in analysis, C's in algebra and pretty much everything else. These were all proof based classes and contained literally zero calculation.
Since I struggled a lot in math, I was very depressed in the past four years. I didn't do well in other classes, didn't engage in many activities, and didn't have many friends. However, I still managed to pass P, FM and MFE and secured a job. The exams were quite easy. I spent 4 weeks, 4 weeks and 6 weeks studying for each exam for 2-3 hours a day. I got 7's and 8's in all of them.
For technical skills, I am very good with Excel. I have basic knowledge of R and Access - graphs, linear regression, tree models, time series models in R and merging, extracting, filtering entries in Access. I took a few programming classes, but I can't really code beyond loops and conditionals.
I wasn't happy in the past four years, but I really wanted to start anew and don't want to f**k up again. Now that I secured a job, I feel my normal self again. However, I still have some doubts about my abilities to perform well on the job.
Sometimes I think I will be fine - I passed exams, know Excel, passionate about the profession, received positive feedback from my previous managers during (non-actuarial) internships, and read a lot about the industry in my free time. Sometimes I think I will screw up again - I enter the industry without an actuarial internship, I am not particularly good with computer as most math majors around me are, I did poorly in math so I don't know if I can understand my work or pass the more difficult exams.
Given my background, is the actuarial profession reasonable for me? Do I have the hard skills to do well on the job, especially when I need to handle more complicated projects beyond entry-level? Any suggestions on some last-minute preparation?
Doubts in my abilities to do well on the job
