To consider retraining as an actuary or statistician?

[Iorderedyouapancake]

Hi all, not strictly an Aibu I guess but just wondering if anyone who works in either of these roles would advise a 40 something to retrain into them? Currently fairly senior in IT but hate every minute of it and have done for years. I’ve always loved working with numbers/data and have considered retraining on several occasions but never had the guts to make the decision, the current situation is making me rethink things a bit though. I’d have to go back (I believe) and do another undergraduate degree before I could even get started on professional qualifications as my current degree is in an arts subject. Are these professions where middle aged people are welcomed as new starters? How do you find it fits with work life balance (I’m happy to work full time but appreciate the flexibility in it roles to be able to work remotely on a regular basis)? Any advice or opinions welcome, even ones along the lines of “it’s a stupid idea, forget it” 😄

Have you considered accountancy? You can do that purely through professional qualifications

Hi MrsA - yes I have considered accountancy but have always been more drawn to the idea of being an actuary - also on a slightly more mercenary note as far as I can see becoming an accountant would be less likely to get me back to the salary level I earn in IT now - although I’m happy to take a fairly long term pay cut to retrain I would like to have the ability to work my way back up if I can (first world problems I know!)?

I haven't but want to follow this thread as I've been considering retraining as something or other but I'm looking for some success stories to inspire me. When I hear anyone else talk about it, I think they should just go for it. I lack the confidence to follow my own advice though. So, just go for it op!

www.actuaries.org.uk/become-actuary/how-become-actuary

You can have any degree or not

Hello,
I have just left an actuarial role to work in a data role. Whilst there is always a big demand for actuaries (in particular in General Insurance), I am getting approached a lot more on LinkedIn now that I work with data/numbers, so my recommendation would be to consider retraining as a data scientist. The actuarial exams will take years and a significant amount of commitment. (You don't need to have a uni degree to be able to start studying the actuarial exams. My old boss did them straight out of college. But even if you have an arts degree, the profession could still accept you as a student member.) Data/big data is becoming/is already a hot topic and there is a huge demand for data scientist/analysts. I feel this would be an easier path to make your career change and you would get quicker "results". Good luck with your decision.

Fair enough! Out of interest what do you hate about your current position?

You say you love working with numbers and data...are you really good at it? Did you find maths A level stats easy etc? I know three actuaries and all very intelligent and they all found the exams difficult and they lasted a number of years after their maths based degree. Have you looked into how long it would take you to actually become a qualified actuary?

I agree with a previous poster. Various data roles (data science, data analysis) could be suitable and there is not the same requirement in terms of having qualifications - much more about what you can do, ie having projects to show on GitHub to highlight skills
Lots of good online courses for free like edx and Coursera to give an insight and then it is a case of mastering something useful like python plus maybe some off the shelf tools like Microsoft power bi or tableau.

(I can do the latter and am now working on the python part)

Being an actuary is a great profession and you wouldn’t need to get a new degree as long as you could demonstrate a high level of numeracy. A level in maths would help but even that probably not essential. Roles are very varied though so look into it really closely because you can get client facing consulting roles, business development roles or very techy back office jobs. All can be very highly paid if you are successful. Exams are tough but you are earning and progressing in your career as you take them so it’s not like you don’t start until you qualify.

Half of my MSc is in data analysis/stats and they let me on with a Ba (rather than a BSc), and I didn't do maths a-level.

I did have to resit 2 stats units though but some of it was due to not having enough time to study due to toddler/work/pregnancy illness.

I’m an actuary.

My route was very much the “traditional” one - maths degree, joined a firm as a trainee, took the exams, qualified.

There are various people who go into the profession from other routes though. (I know quite a lot of ex maths teachers!)

When I joined the profession (2000) you either needed a maths degree, a degree with “significant mathematical content”, A level maths at grade B or A level further maths at grade C. These days there are no official requirements. But without one of these I think you would struggle with the maths in the exams. I know a lot of people who have decent maths degrees and still struggled with the maths in the exams! It’s a common joke that without people who failed to become actuaries your average life company would collapse.

I wouldn’t advise going back and taking a maths / actuarial degree. That is a huge commitment and you have no guarantee of a job at the end.

There are a couple of actuarial exams that you can take without having to join the profession. So cost if limited to cost of materials and exam fees. (Not cheap - far from cheap - but nothing like the cost of a degree.) You could study them alongside working in your current job and see how you find them. If you hate the work study combination, or hate the exam syllabus or find the maths too awful then it is a fairly risk free way of discovering actuarial is not for you.

If you do pass then you could start looking for jobs. The easiest route is to find a company to take you on as a trainee. But if that doesn't work then you could look at starting off working without study support in an actuarial based role, take the exams yourself and over time you would start getting study support. Where I work (big life company) we have loads of staff who are semi supported to take the exams. There are then routes for them to become official trainees as well.

Hi all, thanks for the replies. In answer to some of the questions- yes, I did find a level maths fairly easy to be honest, it was always my strongest subject although a long time since I’ve done any formal study. The suggestions re data science are really interesting actually and it’s an area I’ve had some (loose!) connection with in my current role. In terms of just launching straight into actuarial qualifications without doing another degree- does this tend to be frowned on by employers? I’d read somewhere that they generally require you to have a mathematical degree.

I am aware that this is a path that would take years to go down- my current assumption is 10 years ish to get back to anything like my current salary. In answer to the question what do I hate about IT, most of it 😀 but probably primarily some most of the people I have to deal with.

One thing to add - my work/life balance is pretty fabulous. I work school hours three days a week, one full day and one day off. It works out at 60%.

I am lucky though - I had my first child just as there was a huge national shortage of actuaries (gotta love S2! - a massive regulation change that meant that every firm in the country was desperate for actuaries) and so I was able to negotiate pretty much anything as long as I went back.

Having said that - as finance jobs go actuarial is pretty flexible - I know a number of part time workers - both male and female - I have a (single, childfree) bloke in my team who is thinking of going part time to enable more time for his am-dram. (Note - I work for a life company - consultancies are a very different beast.)

Cross posted with mum of- thanks, that’s interesting- so it sounds as though the degree is unnecessary. I am definitely quite excited to try doing some of the exams as you suggest- will probably be a good test of whether this is the right route for me. I’m actually really excited at the idea! Do you enjoy the role now? Does there tend to be much uptake of flexible working? (I worked for a life company a long time ago and the actuarial teams were very male dominated but believe this is gradually changing?)

Another cross post, thanks - that’s really helpful!

I'm a statistician, and I didn't do a maths degree (but did get a bsc). I ended up here by accident rather than design - started working in a bank as admin and took a side step into analysis, then moved up the tree through various analytical roles.

The roles I most get approached on LinkedIn for are BI and data science roles. With your IT background these could be good options as the hardest bit of BI for me is the underlying data structure haha. Are there analytics jobs in your current work you could step across into?

There's very many different realms of statistics. DS did a maths degree, but has always been interested in modelling and went into credit risk analysis, but is now getting more and more statistical. I'm wondering whether a similar route could be possible from where you are now.

I agree with the suggestion of data scientist. That's going to be a big field.

Use the current situation to read around and see what you could feel passionate about. A 1-year subscription to Significance magazine (published by the Royal Stats Soc and American Stats Assoc) could be useful, or just browse the articles that are free-to-view.
www.significancemagazine.com/

Thanks all, this is what I love about Mumsnet- no matter what you want to know there’s always some amazing women on here with the answers! And @Bluebooby- go for it! All of the current uncertainty is really making me rethink a lot of things and the fact that it’s more often the things we don’t do that we regret rather than those we do

Another one here who thought data science as soon as I read your OP.

I'm an actuary, and like the other poster went straight into it from mathematical degrees. It can be a great job with great flexibility, but I wouldn't have it in me to start from scratch at this point of my life (mid 30s, small DC). It's a long road and to be frank I'm not sure that it's always worth it - there are lots of interesting, well paid mathematical jobs that don't require years of study towards a formal qualification.

The profession won't require a new degree but most employers will have a basic requirement of a 2.1 in a mathematical degree IME. It would be a very long, expensive route to try and qualify without a job as a trainee, and you would find the later exams difficult without the practical experience anyway.

I don't want to be overly negative - for starters, you may just have more energy and motivation than me! I just think going the actuarial route wouldn't be the most efficient route at this stage of your life.

I am another actuary with a maths degree (working in GI / capital).
To add to the above, you can now "try before you buy" with some professional exams available to non-members (assuming you are in the UK and looking at the IFoA route), or alternatively you can opt for the new Chartered qualification (a bit lighter weight, but can be progressed to the Fellowship should you want to later).
You also don't have to choose between data science and actuarial, there is a new data science qualification available from IFoA. Sounds quite thorough from the look at the syllabus.