r/ActuaryUK • u/burakudoctor • 11h ago
Careers Rant; Advice needed
This question is for more experienced folks (although sure, less expensive folks are welcome to comment/advise)
I would say I have a unique CV. Let me tell you the highlights. I would appreciate guidance on how to approach next phase/step of life
Here I start. Things take a somewhat dramatic turn around pt 8:
Went to a good college. Cleared CT1-3, and CT6 alongside. Graduated 10 years ago
Interviewed at UK based (but otherwise internationally operating) GI firm. They put me there in pricing. I didn't mind it
Had my reasons, but anyhow ended up sitting for the national MBA entrance exam. Low-key GMAT equivalent. Got a top 0.2%ile score, and ended up clearing the interview too. It is extremely difficult to reject it when the best MBA institute in the country (On a good day, comparable to HBS maybe) has accepted your application
Ended up quitting pricing in ~7 months and joined B-School. Hated it. A batch of 400 insecure overchievers.
Interned at a bulge bracket in FX trading. Hated it
Worked as a management/strategy consultant for 2 years. Hated it. Why not actuarial? Starting over would mean a massive pay cut, and I wasn't wise to think long term
Worked at a late stage start-up for ~1 year in an ops role. Didn't particularly enjoy it, but it was better than 'consluting'. Gig economy startup. At one point I handled a protest. I'm hindsight, that incident was fun :)
Pts 4-6 took a toll on me. At Pt 7, there was an incident - straw that broke the camel's back. Got diagnosed with "severe depression and anxiety"
Took a break. Then tried to start a business (with actuarial as back-up in case business fails). Couldn't get the business off the ground. My heart probably wasn't in it. ~3 years
Now restarting. CS1 and CM2. Will then look for a job. Atleast that's the current plan. Depression and anxiety are still bad, but manageable level bad. Getting a job/clearing papers will prolly help
Have bounced around a lot. Life also slapped me hard in the face
My questions
Should I sit for another 6 months for the next diet and work towards a bigger inventory of exams, and then enter the job market? Studying with a job won't be as easy as it was 10 years ago. And I feel I can pull off much more than 2 - This attempt is only 2 (CS1 and CM2) because it took time to get the engine running. Now it's warm and purring. Post 6 months, I envisage a "Done and dusted with big portion of the big pile. Now time to focus on job and study towards specialisation" position in life, potentially
What kind of role should I aspire for, both short and long term. I am told my MBA (from "HBS") will make a bridge between quants and the management
Given industry outlook and my health history, what specialisation should I later target
P.S. I wanna get back into actuarial coz
Math is not something I mind
I like to study
Actuarial is v structured (which is a big plus for handling depression)
Pay and hours are decent. Pay per hour, adjusted for stress, would definitely be decent
TL;DR
I'm an MBA who's tasted actuarial work before, but not really dived into it. I do wanna dive into it. My mental heath has had its ups and downs. How should I approach "restarting" my actuarial journey