Career Day

I looked fabulous in my suit, but realized that I should have "practiced" wearing it before the event. The skirt kept slipping up the liner, I was out of my comfort zone, and I felt like I kept pulling and adjusting too much. There were a lot of other students also totally decked out, so I'm glad I didn't go the dress casual route.

The event was a seminar. First a presentation of basic information about what it takes to be an actuary was given. Then, a panel of people who have just started the profession and have one, two or three years experience talked about what their day was like (sorting and resorting spreadsheets in excel all day with a few meetings here and there,) what the exams were like (there is a sequence of them to accredit and the students all study 2-3 hours every day for their next one but their employers pay them for some of their study time.) Finally a panel of actuaries (who have the ability to hire) talked about what it is like to be an actuary. These people were really impressive. They just command respect and you can tell that they are important. They said they spend all day in meetings and rarely get to the computer. They talked about what they want in candidates they hire. They made me very excited and very nervous.

The interview process sounds like several panels of people who ask very good questions. I've never been in a panel interview. And they talked about questions they ask and, well, lets just say that I am going to do some role-playing before I go on any interviews.

During the breaks, people milled around passing out resumes. Three of the employers have internships in the immediate future, and one employer even brought their HR rep with. I waited in line to talk to people but never made it before the next panel started. Luckily, after the panels were all finished, I was in the front row and had a better idea which employers I would want to have an internship with. So I got to talk to everyone I wanted to and in most cases, no one was behind me waiting for their turn. I also avoided wasting the time of people who require an exam first. (I can contact these people after May if I pass.)

I also realize that a lot of people don't expect to pass the exams. There is only a 40%-ish pass rate. I still feel good about the level of studying I am doing and if I keep up this pace, I think I will at least come close to passing.