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> If you're good at math, and really good at standardized math exams you can advance through the various levels and work your way up the pay-scale ladder

I was able to more than double my starting salary (ending at around 135k with bonus) 3 years out of school.

I worked in consulting and thought the work was incredibly boring. The main issue is that a lot of people in the field, even those good at passing exams, aren't particularly good at advanced modeling or programming. This means no one can or is interested in peer-reviewing complex models and as a result you end up spending most of your time shoveling numbers around in Excel. It was also very stressful. Leaving the profession, despite the time I sunk in it, was the best decision I ever made.




>> If you're good at math, and really good at standardized math exams you can advance through the various levels and work your way up the pay-scale ladder

> I was able to more than double my starting salary (ending at around 135k with bonus) 3 years out of school.

Have you considered software engineering because current pay starts at around 150k in big tech and I'm now making 215k 2.5 years out of college? I say this because I work with a bunch of math and physics major people so it is definitely possible to switch careers (a lot of the advanced software we use utilizes complex concepts in physics and math so they are highly valued, though, you will definitely need to know basic algorithms and data structures but that isn't too hard to learn especially compared to advanced math and physics in my opinion).


> Have you considered software engineering because current pay starts at around 150k in big tech and I'm now making 215k

This is highly area dependent though, surely?

In the UK, outside of London, those figures would likely be $50k and $60k


Yeah, I work in Gherkin area of London, many insurance companies there. The actuarial types I overhear at the coffee-shops are earning around 3x my software dev salary.


/waves from just behind St Kats Docks by Tower Bridge

As a contractor, I'm making about 3x what I was for my last perm salary. But only if I work in London. I'm lucky to get two thirds of this near where I live, and AFAICT the perm staff in most places I've contracted nearer to home get paid really terribly.


Ah, nice, I used to work there, in the royal mint. /wave Enjoyed watching yachts prepare for races; now I watch insurance people.


Or inside


What kind of systems are you working on that require math and physics? Aviation? Rockets?


I actually made the switch to software almost 5 years ago!


> I was able to more than double my starting salary (ending at around 135k with bonus) 3 years out of school.

Care to disclose locality?


Mostly the midwest and not in any major cities like Chicago. The key is finding a good company with a strong student program.


What did you leave the field for? What do you do now and are you happier since leaving?


I left for software development and am now working on a PhD in CS. It was the best choice I ever made. Being an actuary was a valuable experience though, mainly because I learned money really does not make you happy (as long as you have enough to live comfortably) and I won't be happy in a job where I do not feel challenged mentally. I also got really good at self-study, which has turned out to be an incredibly valuable skill.


"money really doesn't make you happy"

I've come to this conclusion as well after losing a loved one, helping others makes me truly happy. Good luck in your future endeavors.




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