Feel free to ask for advice regarding donations, projects and career choice here. If you just want to put important questions out there without attaching your username, it’s fine to use a different one!
I’ve been tentatively considering a career in the actuarial sciences recently. It seems like the field compensates people pretty well, is primarily merit-based, doesn’t require much, if any programming ability (which I don’t really have), and doesn’t have very many prerequisites to get into, other than strong mathematical ability and a commitment to taking the actuarial exams.
Also, actuarial work seems much slower paced than the work done in many careers that are frequently discussed on 80K Hours, which would make me super happy. I’m a bit burnt out on life right now, and I really don’t want to go into a high-stress job, or a job with unusually long hours after I graduate at the end of this semester. I guess that if I wasn’t a failure, I would have figured out what I was doing after graduation by now.
Are there any actuaries in the EA movement, or does anyone have any insights about this field that I might not have? My main concern regarding potentially becoming a trainee actuary is that the field is somewhat prone to automation. Page 71 of this paper, which was linked to in 80K Hours’ report on career automation, suggests that there’s a 21 % chance that actuarial work can be automated. The automation of certain tasks done by actuaries is frequently discussed on the actuary subreddit, as well.
Thanks for reading, and for any advice or thoughts that you might have for me!
I’m not expert on actuarial studies but I agree with your description that it seems good, challenging, decently rewarding reasonable low-stress and good for people with strong mathematical ability. Regarding programming ability, if you’re a relatively analytical thinker, it’s pretty feasible to learn to program, even without formal study, so doubt that it would be a decisive factor for most people.
“I guess that if I wasn’t a failure, I would have figured out what I was doing after graduation by now.”
Although you’re also clearly giving it some thought, considering that you’re posting about it here, and that you’re reading 80,000 Hours, so maybe you needn’t feel so downcast about things.
Feel free to ask for advice regarding donations, projects and career choice here. If you just want to put important questions out there without attaching your username, it’s fine to use a different one!
I’ve been tentatively considering a career in the actuarial sciences recently. It seems like the field compensates people pretty well, is primarily merit-based, doesn’t require much, if any programming ability (which I don’t really have), and doesn’t have very many prerequisites to get into, other than strong mathematical ability and a commitment to taking the actuarial exams.
Also, actuarial work seems much slower paced than the work done in many careers that are frequently discussed on 80K Hours, which would make me super happy. I’m a bit burnt out on life right now, and I really don’t want to go into a high-stress job, or a job with unusually long hours after I graduate at the end of this semester. I guess that if I wasn’t a failure, I would have figured out what I was doing after graduation by now.
Are there any actuaries in the EA movement, or does anyone have any insights about this field that I might not have? My main concern regarding potentially becoming a trainee actuary is that the field is somewhat prone to automation. Page 71 of this paper, which was linked to in 80K Hours’ report on career automation, suggests that there’s a 21 % chance that actuarial work can be automated. The automation of certain tasks done by actuaries is frequently discussed on the actuary subreddit, as well.
Thanks for reading, and for any advice or thoughts that you might have for me!
I’m not expert on actuarial studies but I agree with your description that it seems good, challenging, decently rewarding reasonable low-stress and good for people with strong mathematical ability. Regarding programming ability, if you’re a relatively analytical thinker, it’s pretty feasible to learn to program, even without formal study, so doubt that it would be a decisive factor for most people.
“I guess that if I wasn’t a failure, I would have figured out what I was doing after graduation by now.”
Although you’re also clearly giving it some thought, considering that you’re posting about it here, and that you’re reading 80,000 Hours, so maybe you needn’t feel so downcast about things.
Thanks for the encouragement, Ryan!