How much maths in actuarial studies? (1 Viewer)

[Shadowdude]

Pretty late reply, so apologies in advance for bumping a relatively old thread but after researching it a bit more I've got a few more question:
-Would just having a major in maths (and maybe even a double major in physics) be viable at all to get a job?
-How about if I had a phd?
-What kind of job would I be looking at (I hear all these things about maths majors being employes in all fields and getting good pay but is this true or merely hype)?
-And one more thing, if I change my mind once I graduate or late in my degree and want to work in finance/as an actuary. How easy is it to switch? Would my mathematical knowledge allow me to land a job/pass the actuarial exams or would I have to re-do a whole degree or take extra steps (what would these steps be)?

Thanks a bunch for all your replies you've already helped me so much in making an important decision

1. Yes, why would you think not?
2. Yes...
3. Search 'maths jobs' there tons of them.
4. To be in Actuary, it's not a matter of having a degree - there's an independent Actuarial society which makes exams, and if you pass those, you can become an actuary. Look at their Institute of Actuaries Australia website to see what exceptions you can have.

 

[kaz1]

Pretty late reply, so apologies in advance for bumping a relatively old thread but after researching it a bit more I've got a few more question:
-Would just having a major in maths (and maybe even a double major in physics) be viable at all to get a job?
-How about if I had a phd?
-What kind of job would I be looking at (I hear all these things about maths majors being employes in all fields and getting good pay but is this true or merely hype)?
-And one more thing, if I change my mind once I graduate or late in my degree and want to work in finance/as an actuary. How easy is it to switch? Would my mathematical knowledge allow me to land a job/pass the actuarial exams or would I have to re-do a whole degree or take extra steps (what would these steps be)?

Thanks a bunch for all your replies you've already helped me so much in making an important decision

no
uni teacher
teach teh kiddies complex numbers and conics
easy to switch, actuary and finance have a lot in common

 

[RANK 1]

At least with actuarial studies/applied maths, you're using your maths skills/knowledge to try and calculate something relevant to the real world (e.g. risk of someone dying).

mate even i can assess the 'risk of someone dying', the probability of that event occuring is 100%

 

[cheschirecat]

You gain all these skills that you won't be able to obtain in a Commerce, Business, etc. degree. It's easy for a mathematician to gain financial knowledge in a few weeks to a few months by reading a few books or whatever, whereas it takes years for someone with a Commerce degree to be able to think like a mathematician.

Fair enough, that's good to hear . Would I be at a disadvantage in the eyes of an employer if I went into finances/actuarial for not having a commerce type degree or do they mostly look for critical thinking skills etc... no matter the degree?

1. Yes, why would you think not?
2. Yes...
3. Search 'maths jobs' there tons of them.
4. To be in Actuary, it's not a matter of having a degree - there's an independent Actuarial society which makes exams, and if you pass those, you can become an actuary. Look at their Institute of Actuaries Australia website to see what exceptions you can have.

Ah I simply thought so because there are a lot of conflicting sources some people say there are plenty of varied jobs available in the field of mathematics with relatively good pay while other people for example Kaz1 say that you'd be stuck with a teaching position and have nowhere else to go.

 

[jaychouf4n]

If you love maths but want the comfort of job prospects outside of academia, do actuarial+statistics. It gives you the opportunity to apply for normal jobs (big 4 accounting big 4 banks) as a commerce student which is nice to know.

There are plenty of job prospects as purely a maths student, but you need to br active in applying for them, things like development days at the big 4 accounting, internships. Otherwise you will end up as an academic with a bachelors, honors and phd which no firm would accept in a graduate position due to over qualification. (yes you can get jobs as a quant at a bank, but do you really want to hold out to the end of 7 years of study to find out?)

I would encourage getting programming skills in languages like Vba and c++ because if you are that interested in maths, you will probably end up in a quantitative role, which will involve lots of programming or at the very least computer work. (e.g. A statistical analyst position that I applied for earlier this year required significant Vba experience, I got to the final round of interviews but got beat out by a guy who had previous work experience in Vba)

 

[kaz1]

mate even i can assess the 'risk of someone dying', the probability of that event occuring is 100%

probability of someone dying/living within a particular timeframe

 

[jaychouf4n]

probability of someone dying/living within a particular timeframe

I'm pretty sure that guy was trolling.

 

[kaz1]

I'm pretty sure that guy was trolling.

I know he was, just giving some insight to people about actuary if they thought what he said was true.

 

[cheschirecat]

If you love maths but want the comfort of job prospects outside of academia, do actuarial+statistics. It gives you the opportunity to apply for normal jobs (big 4 accounting big 4 banks) as a commerce student which is nice to know.

There are plenty of job prospects as purely a maths student, but you need to br active in applying for them, things like development days at the big 4 accounting, internships. Otherwise you will end up as an academic with a bachelors, honors and phd which no firm would accept in a graduate position due to over qualification. (yes you can get jobs as a quant at a bank, but do you really want to hold out to the end of 7 years of study to find out?)

I would encourage getting programming skills in languages like Vba and c++ because if you are that interested in maths, you will probably end up in a quantitative role, which will involve lots of programming or at the very least computer work. (e.g. A statistical analyst position that I applied for earlier this year required significant Vba experience, I got to the final round of interviews but got beat out by a guy who had previous work experience in Vba)

Thanks a lot for the insight it's really appreciated, I've already been learning a bit of c++ in my spare time and plan on taking first year computing next year so I'll probably have that covered. I guess the best course of action would be to start out with a combined degree and if I don't like the commerce component and end up not being motivated like mature lamb said, to drop it after first year, unfortunately that would stop me from having a go at physics to see how I like it. In regard to working as a quant would you recommend an actuarial or financial degree? Is the quantitative risk major at all viable? (although I doubt I could get into that)

 

[ascentyx]

If you want to be a quant you probably want to start with a pure maths degree and just become educated in programming/finance in your spare time.

Mark Joshi's website will provide some insight: http://www.markjoshi.com/

You need to be really smart and hardworking if you want to succeed in a quant type role. The only person I've know that was a traditional quant was one of my previous computer science lecturers and this was after doing pure maths and a PHD in group theory!

There is an actuarial subject (CT8 if I can remember off that top of my head) that is kind of like a brief introduction to the area - stochastic processes, short rate models etc, so it might be worth having a look.

When you start applying for finance type grad jobs you will realise most don't really care what your degree was as long as it was something quantitative and you can show an interest in the field. For some reason it's believed that people studying maths can't work in other fields - it's probably quite the opposite as completing a maths degree shows you have great aptitude.

 

[hungwell1337]

if you like maths go be an academic.

great career