Do you really believe that?!
I studied maths and physics at uni, and, to be honest, its been of very little direct use as an actuary, but it (hopefully) proves I have a good mathmatical/problem solving/logical way of thinking, as well as the wider softer skills of ability to learn, manage workload, commitment over 3-4 years etc. (I may have had some of those abilities before university, but alot of them were learned and improved by 4 years of university study).
If I was an employer i'd have a lot more confidence in a candidate's potential if they have a good relevant degree behind them, compared to a candidate that doesn't. It's just less of a risk I suppose. An employer looking for an entry level actuarial trainee will surely be much more interested in ability as opposed to directly relevant knowledge (i.e. they're more interested in your medium-long term potential than what you can do on day 1).
That said, any candidate for an entry level acturial position having two or three CTs behind them should be taken seriously I would say. There was a thread on this forum a couple of months ago speculating that major actuarial employers may start employing more non-grads, as a consequence of the increased uni fees etc. It would seems pretty sensible to me, but surely any such employer would be taking more of a risk if they chose to take on less "proven" employees.
Last edited by a moderator: Feb 22, 2011