Machinist or Actuary?

[DW Simpson]

http://forums.craigslist.org/?act=Q&ID=14669986

my experience as a math major

...

i was offered 2 jobs last week (actuarial trainee and machinist- believe it or not i'm taking the machinist job to pursue my passion instead of $$$), and my degree factored into each.

[Malik Shabazz]

I never worked as a machinist, but I worked as a forklift operator. In case you didn't know, let me assure you that being an actuarial trainee is much better than being a forklift operator.

[annabel lee]

Claude, what do you do -- surf the web for "actuary" all day, every day? Where do you find this stuff? Not that I'm complaining. The poll's hilarious. Go Sox!

[A Student]

So Claude, when's your salary survey on machinists coming out???

[Last Train to Skaville]

Originally Posted by Malik Shabazz

let me assure you that being an actuarial trainee is much better than being a forklift operator.

Yeah, but that's only because of the actuarial groupies.

[DW Simpson]

April, 2004:

http://forums.craigslist.org/?act=Q&ID=14068011

actuary is the worst job in the world! i would rather scrape ******** off the sidewalk with a plastic knife than be an actuary. and yes, i passed all the exams i took on the first try.

whether you are a 1 month experienced actuary or a 20 year experienced actuary, you'll probably be doing the same thing--putting numbers into a program that does everything. that profession is an insult to anyone who ever had an original thought.

http://forums.craigslist.org/?act=Q&ID=14069201

Does it pay well?

http://forums.craigslist.org/?act=Q&ID=14071903

which, the ******** scraping or actuarial?

actuarial pays pretty well. google around, actuaries love to count everything, i'm sure there is tons of data on salaries. it's ironic that they can't figure out that the amount of time they spend studying for exams is just not worth the effort given demand for math/stat type people in other industries.

check out soa.org and cas.org

http://forums.craigslist.org/?act=Q&ID=14114300

yep, boooooring. every day i though how much of a running start would i have to take to break through the 14th floor window and soar with the parrots circling the embarcadero center. at least for a few seconds i would be free, before i crashed and had my pockets picked by the local bums.

http://forums.craigslist.org/?act=Q&ID=14094342

i actually dont analyze insurance claims anymore. but have a bundle of priceless memories.

[MarsLasar]

I was an aerospace machinist for a number of years before I turned to the actuarial field. I will say that being a machinist is far more challenging than being an actuary. The work is more satisfying as well. HOWEVER, I changed fields for the following reasons:
1)Bosses and manager in machine shops tend to be uneducated and are quick to play the blame game. Politics in a machine shop are much more intense than in an insurance office.
2)Long 50 and 60 hour weeks which became old very fast. As an actuary, I now work less that 40 hours per week (if I don't count study time)
3)Wages top out at $40,000 to $60,000 for machinists. In the insurance field, this is not the case for actuaries. After twenty years, I want to be making more than this.
Machinists use math at least as much as actuaries, and tend to be a lot less geeky than actuaries, but just don't have quality hours, managers, and income potential like actuaries have. If the money, hours, and managerial quality were all equal, I would certainly still be in the machining field.

[DoctorNo]

actuary is the worst job in the world! i would rather scrape ******** off the sidewalk with a plastic knife than be an actuary. and yes, i passed all the exams i took on the first try.

Emphasis here: "All the exams I took".

I know lots of people who passed all of the actuarial exams they took on the first try. And most of 'em have never even heard of an actuary.

[Happy Eellike Prodigality]

Actuaries have to realize they are pond scum for the first few years. once you get past that, the profession gets awsomer and more awesomer.

[JGatsby]

I agree with everything the dude from Craigslist has to say about the profession. Mind numbing, and not the least bit challenging.