When I visited the Chicago Actuarial Society's meeting last Wednesday, my hope was to network. And I did that part quite well. What went even better than expected was the positive vibe I got regarding future employment in the field.
I didn't have a single person tell me that it'll be very hard for me to get a job. Even in this economy and in this market (Chicagoland), no one said that I couldn't land employment.
Many people told me to visit soa.org (Society of Actuaries website) and look at their job boards. I have not visited the job boards yet, but I have made a database of actuaries at big companies in my area. One well-respected actuary told me to find the chief actuaries at each company and contact them with my situation: someone with high school teaching experience and two passed exams, but no on-the-job actuarial experience and no longer a college student.
Another guy was very friendly and offered me to come in for some discussions. He works at Deloitte and was the past president of the SOA!
A recruiter told me that it's very hard to find entry-level jobs through recruiters, but only because companies don't like going through recruiters for those positions. This explains why DW Simpson was so negative with me; they basically told me that I won't be able to get a job and there's nothing they can do about it.
Another recruiter told me that if I learn five particular programs, I'll land a job.
This is great news! Especially because Riverside Publishing never called back. If I wanted that job, I would've followed up. But I've got a better feeling about my chances in the actuarial field now.
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Okay, I'm aware that I'm not always sticking to the topics outlined in this blog. But it is a job steeped in math, and there is an art to landing a job.
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