The following is a question asked following the webinar I did for the alumni of Georgetown University entitled “Resumes, Interviewing and the World of Work” along with my response:
Dear Mr. Mulberger,
I enjoyed listening to your webinar this afternoon and thought that your presentation was very informative and interesting.
I would like to receive your suggestions on how to go about changing careers from teaching math to working as an actuary. There are certain skills that overlap, however, there are other desired skills that do not show up on the resume. How could the cover letter and resume be enhanced to highlight qualifications? Would you recommend going back to school for an additional degree?
Thank you very much and I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
“Webinar Attendee”
Dear “Webinar Attendee”
Glad it was of value for you!!
Before you sign up for another degree suggest you find a way to talk to a few practicing actuaries and and/or those who run such a department or internal program.
A quick google search for “actuary associations” brought up: http://www.actuary.org/ with this contact information – 1850 M St NW #300, Washington, DC – (202) 974-6007
The search also brought up other entities…all fertile ground for research.
Suggest you make some phone calls…you will note that the association President slot changes annually.. so they are volunteer leaders…practicing actuaries…. the Executive Director runs the association (is a salaried employee).. Track down one or more of them and ask them the questions that will give you the answers as to what your challenges will be to make that change. http://www.actuary.org/content/messages-president
“I am very interested in making the change from teaching match to being an actuary. Can you spare a few minutes to give me some guidance and answer a question or two?” Most will say yes!
BTW – creative google searching is a great way to find and then gain access to people… I cover it extensively in a full chapter in my book….
Let me know if I can be of further assistance!
Good luck!
Robb
As a matter of note – use google searches to find trade association professionals you can talk to such as I advised this person. I have a very detailed chapter in the book – “Basic and Advanced Internet Search Techniques” –detailing the Boolean Operators and how to get the most results with the least effort.
Do a google search – just copy and paste this string into a google search window; substitute your area of interest for “actuary” and “actuarial”. Note the this search string follows google algorithms – google search “rules” – type it EXACTLY as it appears here if you can’t copy and paste it.
(actuary OR actuarial) (association OR society OR “professional society”)
From there – make contact as I suggested to my “webinar attendee”!
Good luck!!