job advice for ex-math student: accountancy or actuary

[Ultraworld]

It is already a while ago I obtained my master degree (research master in mathematics pure) from University. Since then I try to make my way on the labor market, without much success I must admit. Traditionally people with an academic background in math start in teaching jobs, ICT jobs or at insurance companies. I have a slightly different interest in jobs. When it comes to jobs I prefer jobs for people with a background in economy or related fields.

Right now I am at an important moment in my life where I have to choose between 2 kind of jobs:

1. Accountancy
   PRO'S: already started doing some courses about it and I really enjoy it. It is a good mix between numbers and the interaction with business. Also you meet a lot of dynamic people you probably won't meet in ICT or other fields a lot of science people start in.
   CONS: have to enroll in a tough 3 year during work/learning program to become a certified accountant.
2. Actuary
   PRO'S: easy to start for people with a background in mathematics. A lot of my former study friends have a job in actuary. Probably I would enjoy it a lot as you have to work with numbers.
   CONS: not really "sexy", most jobs are at insurance companies.

If anyone of you could give me some good advice I would benefit from I would be very grateful.

When I look back at my life in retrospective I would have been better of doing doing econometry which is in fact a mix between economy and mathematics.

 

[AL_DA_GREAT]

I might have gotten in wrong but don't actuaries make insane amounts of money?

 

[stormerne]

I've meant a bunch of Math-based people in your position before. They wanted an enjoyable job, a sexy job, a potentially high earning job, a job with a lot of business interaction and one with a chance to meet a lot of dynamic people. The ones that seemed to do best in fulfilling all of those took a direction that you haven't mentioned. They went into the analytical side of investment banking.

 

[JerichoHill]

Why not a statistician?

 

[Fifty]

Idea 1: Trick economists into giving you money by showing them papers with lots of fancy-looking math on it (economists believe anything written in fancy-looking math they don't understand) and telling them its a proof that it would be in their interest to give you $10,000. The AEA has about 21,000 members, which means potentially $210,000,000!

Idea 2: Become a quantitative finance guy, contribute to the next economic meltdown by tricking economists and business types with fancy math.

 

[Perfection]

Aren't those the same ideas, basicly?

 

[cubsfan6506]

My dad almost did exactly the same thing when he was in college. He started out as a math major to become an actuary, then he decided that sounded boring and became an accountant at an insurance company. I believe he makes more money than the actuaries but he also works a substantial amount, in the upwards of 60 to 70 hours a week.

 

[Hygro]

I've meant a bunch of Math-based people in your position before. They wanted an enjoyable job, a sexy job, a potentially high earning job, a job with a lot of business interaction and one with a chance to meet a lot of dynamic people. The ones that seemed to do best in fulfilling all of those took a direction that you haven't mentioned. They went into the analytical side of investment banking.

The catch, of course, being that you get to work 110 hours a week. Hey, that leaves 58 hours to sleep--enough to get 8 hours every night

 

[ParadigmShifter]

Both are boring but well paid.

I went for the games programmer route myself.

 

[Kozmos]

Go into research and solve one of the problems for many monies.

 

[Mise]

@OP: Yeah, both are boring and well paid, but, from what I understand, accountants have a higher variance in salaries and career prospects than actuaries. That is, an actuary is fairly certain to earn, like, £50k per year when fully trained and qualified and with 5 yrs experience, but have very little actual sway over the direction or strategy of the business, whereas, once fully trained, qualified and experienced, an accountant's salary can range from £30k to £80k, with a corresponding variance in how much influence you have on business decisions.

From what you've said in your OP about being more interested in economics than academic research, I'd recommend accountancy, since it can be a great route into more strategic roles.

One thing to note, in this country at least, you don't need to have completed your accountancy qualifications before you can get a job. Many companies accept "part-qualified" accountants (e.g. with the first years' or even just the first term's exams completed), and then allow you study leave for exams etc while you work for them. This of course doesn't pay particularly well, but it does guarantee you work afterwards, and will probably help to be actually doing accounting while you're writing the accounting exams.

I've meant a bunch of Math-based people in your position before. They wanted an enjoyable job, a sexy job, a potentially high earning job, a job with a lot of business interaction and one with a chance to meet a lot of dynamic people.

I totally have those things, and I don't even have to work 110 hours a week. Although it's not as high paid as investment banking. I don't know what analysts earn but I'd imagine it's an assload.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

"A lot of dynamic people" = a load of asshats?

 

[Mise]

I can't imagine investment bankers not being a load of asshats. I think it's due to selection bias.

 

[Hygro]

/is aiming for an investment banking internship the summer after this one

 

[Mise]

Please report back on the level of asshattery. It suits me to think of investment bankers as asshats.

 

[Hygro]

It might change me. Check member photos in 18 months to see how many popped collars I am wearing at once.

 

[really]

Accountancy is for people who find economics too exciting.
Actuary is for people who find accounting too exciting.

If you like maths and do go into accountancy try to do it in financial services / pensions / insurance / banking or the auditing of the same.

If you aren't all that pushed about maths and want to see business I would suggest not going into audit and trying to train in industry.

I trained in industry and over the years I have worked with sales people, project managers & engineers, customers, suppliers, logistics, auditors, tax authorities etc.

Not every industry role will expose you to this though.

 

[Ultraworld]

"A lot of dynamic people" = a load of asshats?

nah, that is the other side of the bell curve
say something in the middle

 

[Bast]

It is already a while ago I obtained my master degree (research master in mathematics pure) from University. Since then I try to make my way on the labor market, without much success I must admit. Traditionally people with an academic background in math start in teaching jobs, ICT jobs or at insurance companies. I have a slightly different interest in jobs. When it comes to jobs I prefer jobs for people with a background in economy or related fields.

Right now I am at an important moment in my life where I have to choose between 2 kind of jobs:

1. Accountancy
   PRO'S: already started doing some courses about it and I really enjoy it. It is a good mix between numbers and the interaction with business. Also you meet a lot of dynamic people you probably won't meet in ICT or other fields a lot of science people start in.
   CONS: have to enroll in a tough 3 year during work/learning program to become a certified accountant.
2. Actuary
   PRO'S: easy to start for people with a background in mathematics. A lot of my former study friends have a job in actuary. Probably I would enjoy it a lot as you have to work with numbers.
   CONS: not really "sexy", most jobs are at insurance companies.

If anyone of you could give me some good advice I would benefit from I would be very grateful.

When I look back at my life in retrospective I would have been better of doing doing econometry which is in fact a mix between economy and mathematics.

Actuarial is much more mathematical. Accounting isn't very mathematical at all.

Once you're a qualified accountant, you have A LOT of options in terms of where you work: government, corporate, public accounting, not-for-profit or even non-accounting business roles. But like you said Actuarial pretty much means you need to work for an insurance company. Eww.

It depends on your interest and where you yourself down the track.

 

[warpus]

[*]Actuary
PRO'S: easy to start for people with a background in mathematics. A lot of my former study friends have a job in actuary. Probably I would enjoy it a lot as you have to work with numbers.
CONS: not really "sexy", most jobs are at insurance companies.
[/LIST]

I had an internship at a large Canadian insurance company 10 years ago or so. Half of the interns (including me) at the office downtown were in computer science, the other half were actuaries.

Based on my interactions with those actuaries-in-training, I learned that

- actuaries are really boring people
- actuaries can make a LOT of money
- actuaries wear ties
- actuaries don't have souls