to be disappointed that my son's Morrisby results say he should look at a career as an actuary.

[Caroline1852]

I want him to do something interesting. It is so hard not to roll round on the floor crying, no no no, nerdy nerdy nerdy. I wanted him to do something I might like. The other suggestions were equally scary: Microbiologist, Chemist, Bio-Scientist. Doctor was the only reasonable suggestion in my book and I wouldn't actually encourage him to do that as it is so stressful. I want him to have a nice life with hot chicks in pursuit. An actuary wtf.

accountancy is a big enough field (like law) to cover most personality types. I don;t think I'm "typical" accountancy material (Lemonaid might disgree!) but ended up in the media world as FD. A different accountant would be financial controller in a bank for example.

I did the BBC test it said Entrepreneurial, Social Investigative. S & I probably true but don;t think I am in the least bit entrepreneurial - too risk averse. They are confusing being a mouthy git with being entrepreneurial

My DH has a very specialised job in custody tax (whatever that is) mostly he has to know all about company tax regulations on investments when they are moved from one country to another (asleep yet) but he loves it and gets paid very well, has just started his new job in Bermuda where I will be joining him soon, living in house with pool etc. He is often asked to dinner and is a fun person who likes sport, pop music, going to the pub etc.

Someone else I know who is an actuary is also a sportsman and very competent musician. Why should these jobs mean a person is dull? I expect some of them are dull, but then there are dull people in every sector of life.

And he may not choose the route of being an actuary anyway. chill out

Caroline - chances are if you end up wanting to be an actuary you will have been interested enough to do maths A level in the first place. If you do A levels that you enjoy you can't go that far wrong.

Most careers don't require particular A levels or even degrees anyway. You can be an accountant, lawyer, teacher etc without having done any particular subject at all.

Where were all these interesting actuaries when I was auditing a Life Assurance company many years ago??? I could be shacked up with one of them now. Instead they were like cleaned up, slightly duller versions of s=Stig of the Dump and didn't come out of their room to mix with the hoi polloi unless forced to.

Caroline - it just got a bit samey after a few years which, to be honest, is probably the same with most jobs. I just don't think I'm cut out for work!

Misread thread title - thought OP had a son called Morrisby. I thought 'How mn'

Am getting quite excited reading about actuaries - wish I could be one now.

is anyone actually what that test said they should be?!
mine said I should be a geologist and I am an illustrator
loads of girls in my school got told they were suited to being a prison warden/parole officer - think if you said you cared about people or something (I obviously didn't!)

this reminds me of my dad who has two career paths to recommend - if he thinks you are quite bright he tells you to be an optician - if not, you should be a pastry chef?! no idea where he got this from

What are you worried about! My DH is an actuary - he earns £300k pa and loves his job. He always loved numbers and maths.

Yes, the training is very, very hard and there are a lot of nerdy actuaries, but in our experience the ones we meet are funny, intelligent, good company and highly successful.

Working in life insurance and pensions is not nearly as interesting or well paid as general insurance or reinsurance ( which can be fascinating - all earthquakes, global terrorism and tidal waves) .
Salaries in the City and especially for reinsurance companies are much higher.

anorak - you missed morris dancing off your DH's list of hobbies .

Maths degree every time. I did a law degree and it was tedious. Many of the best lawyers don't do a law degree but do another subject - e.g. English, History or Maths and then do the conversion course. I'm pretty sure that BP would prefer the Maths graduate.

This is his life not yours.............

He could just become a drug addict on the dole.

And whats wrong with nerds?

Oh and anoraks hubby is a wonderful, funny, witty, smart, fun bloke not at all nerdy of boring.........

Can I come to Bermuda now

I think YABU. There are far greater things to worry about in this life than will your child become an actuary. I hate to say it, but several of the actuaries I know and love are far from blinking dependable, and certainly haven't lacked in female attention , so if that's what's worrying you, I can allay your fears. Maybe I like them though because my degree is in biomedical science

Agree with some of the other posters Morrisby i only a starting point and should be administered by those qualified to do so - I think a 2 week intensive training prog on top of 2 yr pg training as careers adviser - not your average "careers teacher" then!
The test takes 3 hrs and the feedback session should form part of a careers guidance interview and provide some insight into strengths and weaknesses as well as offering a range of career suggestions which usually involve some careers that students may not have already considered. It is MUCH more detailed than your average 10 min online test. It is not saying what you should be! It should be a catalyst for further research and discussion.
and oh yes ..........whose career will it be???!!!
It is of course much more important that your son makes a flexible choice of AS levels which will leave various options open to him as well as leaving him with a programme of study which will interest him and in which he can excel.
He could as many people have said do much worse than being an actuary but the really important thing is of course that he goes into something that HE enjoys!

PMSL!!!!

I am an actuary.

I have a lovely life with a career I enjoy.

I am one of the few out of my friends who enjoys their job including doctors, lawyers, designers all sorts. Plus I get paid well and work fewer hours than most of themm allowing me to enjoy life outside of work as well.

I think you should find out more about it before passing judgement. It is a challenging and rewarding career.

It is a long slog to get there as an actuary though I think - my ex-h dropped out after several years of trying and failing exams, and one of his friends was still taking the exams well into his 30s! Maybe they just weren't cut out for it.

You said, Caroline, that there's no point doing arty subjects if you want to be an accountant - in fact, I did arty A levels and degree, and still ended up an accountant and feel that I'm quite suited to it (terrible admission). The same applies to a fair few other jobs I'm sure.

Myself, I would do what I was best at for A level with only half an eye on the future. Good results will open more doors.

(I am impressed, I did that test Marthamoo posted the link to, via the fasttomato site, and as I did it I was thinking, 'load of crap, there's no way this is finding out anything about me' and then when I pressed 'results' it came up with a long list of suggestions -- and top of the list was my job. I am quite .)

Yes, I'm thinking I'd like to be an actuary too. Like the sound of the money. The sticking point would be that I am utterly crap at maths.

I think ds1 or ds2 (or even better, both of 'em) can be actuaries. Then they can keep me in the manner to which I would like to become accustomed.

I did the BBC test (got bored with the Doggsby Morrisby one). I am artistic and investigative but not realistic or enterprising.

Oh, I was artistic and investigative (and social ) but not realistic or enterprising either Very accurate for me I must say

Hey, I'm social too

When we did something like this at school mine said

librarian (for a noisy chatty person)
and
graduate nurse (for someone who is sick at the drop of a hat, esp when other people are being sick, and wtf Graduate - arent all nurses pretty good?)

I ended up as a Geography teacher, then a SAHM and now a Theology student.

FWIW, actuary would scare me for my kids too, But worse would be doctor (their Dad is one) when I see the stress and the hours involved.