19yo DD passed SOA FM exam on her first attempt today

[SnowballCamper]

Sorry to gloat, but this might be one of the few places I can, and a few of you will know the significance of her accomplishment in the title. As someone who had a rather slow start on the career ladder, I'm overjoyed. This is the best day of my life after getting married. On top of that, I'm pretty sure the tax deferred accounts break $1M today. I'm waiting for end of day fund pricing to post. Thanks for reading!

 

[Koolau]

Congratulations to your daughter (and you!) on passing the exam on her first try. What c@reer path does your daughter plan? I'm guessing with her background in the field, she might even end up helping you charge ahead on your quest for financial independence. Good for the both of you!!

Keep us posted on your (and her) progress.

Thanks for sharing this milestone with the folks here who can appreciate it.

 

[audreyh1]

What exam is that?

 

[RetiredHappy]

What exam is that?

Actuary Financial Mathematics exam.

 

[audreyh1]

Actuary Financial Mathematics exam.

@RetiredHappy Is your new avatar from Butchart Gardens by any chance? It looks like the sunken garden.

 

[RunningBum]

Wow, that's impressive! The exam, I mean, but congrats to both of you. I looked into that when I was in college. I think I looked at a sample exam or some questions and it was beyond me, and I was damned good at math. A's in Calc, Stats, Diff EQ, though Matrix Theory was a struggle.

 

[audreyh1]

Congrats!

 

[pb4uski]

Congrats to your DD. That is a great accompishment, especially at 19 yo.

What kind of actuarial science is she interested in? I worked with many life actuaries during my career, to the extent that some of them accused me of being a wannabe life actuary

 

[RetiredHappy]

@RetiredHappy Is your new avatar from Butchart Gardens by any chance? It looks like the sunken garden.

Yes!

 

[SnowballCamper]

At 19, she hasn't pinned down one of the standard tracks yet. If there is a path that includes Korean language proficiency and library science, then that's the one she is interested in. She isn't Korean, but is going there for summer school in a week or so. Thanks for the positive replies! It's amazing to watch a young person have success finding their path.

 

[bbqcoder]

At 19, she hasn't pinned down one of the standard tracks yet. If there is a path that includes Korean language proficiency and library science, then that's the one she is interested in. She isn't Korean, but is going there for summer school in a week or so. Thanks for the positive replies! It's amazing to watch a young person have success finding their path.

Interesting and congrats to her on passing the exam. My daughter (26) is fluent in Korean. She studied it in college and has done:
Korean Immersion Program through Middlebury College
Critical Language Scholarship Program (US Gov)
Fulbright Scholars program (Taught English in S Korea for 1 year)
Semester abroad program in Seoul
Discord chats with other students of the language

Those were some of the things that helped her develop language proficiency. Of course watching K-dramas and reading Korean books also helped.

It is her dream to work as a software developer and live in S Korea but that hasn't happened. She did have a summer internship for the largest food company in the country (CJ CheilJedang) but that didn't pan out to a full time lead.

 

[athena53]

That's impressive. I took the first exam when I was a senior in college and failed it. I didn't prepare very well- I think I had a sample exam and that was it. It took me 8 years to get through them. DS started on them after 10 years in Claims and just passed his 4th, but he's got 3 little kids. He passes them about half the time, which is darn good considering his other priorities.

She might want to double-major in Korean and Math. I know a lot of actuaries whose other major was something totally unrelated- Music, Theology, Classics- even a Masters' focused on the native language of Greenland's indigenous peoples.

 

[street]

That is something to be very proud of and thanks for sharing.

 

[wrigley]

Congrats to her!
I somehow successfully made it in life sucking bad at math!

 

[latexman]

19yo DD passed SOA FM exam on her first attempt today​

On top of that, I'm pretty sure the tax deferred accounts break $1M today.

Congratulations to her and you!

 

[Car-Guy]

Congrads. I suspect the vast majority of adults could not pass.

 

[athena53]

Congrads. I suspect the vast majority of adults could not pass.

I actually DID pass these exams years ago and I couldn't do it again- well, except for the compound interest calculations. That's a skill I've used ever since.

 

[SnowballCamper]

That's impressive. I took the first exam when I was a senior in college and failed it. I didn't prepare very well- I think I had a sample exam and that was it. It took me 8 years to get through them. DS started on them after 10 years in Claims and just passed his 4th, but he's got 3 little kids. He passes them about half the time, which is darn good considering his other priorities.

She might want to double-major in Korean and Math. I know a lot of actuaries whose other major was something totally unrelated- Music, Theology, Classics- even a Masters' focused on the native language of Greenland's indigenous peoples.

Thanks, esp about the other interests. I was initially slightly surprised when she got advice that developed skills in any unrelated subject would be good, as opposed to something more tangential like coding or accounting. But as I've thought more, I think the completely unrelated topics develop some perspective and communication skills that are certainly an advantage. And math people do know that math is boring after a while...

 

[pb4uski]

Having known many life actuaries over the years I can tell you that the stars were those that had great math/actuarial skills and good communication skills so they could explain things to non-sctuaries.

 

[SnowballCamper]

And today she is on her way to Korea for summer school. These are exciting times for me. I wonder what she'll bring back from her pottery class.

 

[athena53]

Having known many life actuaries over the years I can tell you that the stars were those that had great math/actuarial skills and good communication skills so they could explain things to non-sctuaries.

Yes. We called it "boardroom presence". The ones with sales and marketing skills were hugely successful in consulting firms and the C-suite.

 

[gumshoe]

This thread piqued my interest because I had never heard of a "SOA FM" exam. Had to google it. Wow - and your daughter passed it at 19! My two neighbors are both actuaries that work for an insurance company, but I now see that actuaries are employed in varied and numerous sectors: "While insurance and pensions remain the traditional stronghold for actuaries, their skills in risk assessment, data analysis, and predictive modeling are increasingly valued in technology, healthcare, climate, finance, energy, and consulting sectors, making the profession highly versatile and in demand across diverse industries." Congratulations to your very talented daughter and wishing her every success in whatever field she chooses! (I envy those who are good at math. I did horribly at high school calculus and never got an A in any of my accounting/finance classes at university. I guess me and numbers just don't mix well - lol.)

And congratulations to you SnowballCamper for nearing or reaching the $1 million mark in your tax deferred accounts!

 

[scrabbler1]

I passed Part One back in 1985, on my last official day as a college student. (Later that day, I took my last final exam.) I had a conditional starting salary at my new job I would begin at 6 weeks later. The results came out the weekend before my first day. I passed with a 9 (out of 10), so I got a raise on my very first day of work! I learned later that my salary bump actually exceeded the company's exam raise by a few hundred dollars.

In 1986 I passed Part Two on my second try and got another raise. I never passed another exam but I had already gotten my foot in the door of a 23-year career in the actuarial field at my company, making myself indispensable in other ways.

Nice going passing an exam at such a young age.

 

[athena53]

One thought I had recently and you and your daughter will need to check out the market to see where things are now- it's possible to have too many exams when you're applying for an entry-level job in some companies. DS got his foot in the door with two, which is probably the minimum. I've seen employers pass up an entry-level candidate with 5 exams because they don't fit into the structure. It's a huge advantage that they'll need exam support for fewer years and certainly a good indicator of their ability to pass exams, but if the salary scale implies a high salary not justified by their experience, they won't quite know what to do with them.

There's at least one actuarial discussion board in Reddit so you might start there.

 

[SnowballCamper]

One thought I had recently and you and your daughter will need to check out the market to see where things are now- it's possible to have too many exams when you're applying for an entry-level job in some companies. DS got his foot in the door with two, which is probably the minimum. I've seen employers pass up an entry-level candidate with 5 exams because they don't fit into the structure. It's a huge advantage that they'll need exam support for fewer years and certainly a good indicator of their ability to pass exams, but if the salary scale implies a high salary not justified by their experience, they won't quite know what to do with them.

There's at least one actuarial discussion board in Reddit so you might start there.

Thanks. The current word "on the street" is that two exams and an internship is the sweet spot, and the career is most competitive at the entry level. I get why too many exams passed isn't optimal... If you have any other insights on P&C vs pension & life or private vs public sector work I'd love to pass them on to DD (even if they're dated opinions). It seems to me that working in one of the consulting firms would provide more variety and then later on maybe she develops a niche. She probably wants to stay in the Pacific Northwest, but any entry level exam track position would be awesome.