Major & Career Choice (1 Viewer)

[Stu]

++ [ originally posted by Martin ] ++
ac·tu·ar·y Audio pronunciation of "actuary" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kch-r)
n. pl. ac·tu·ar·ies

A statistician who computes insurance risks and premiums.

Sounds dull but whatever.

This term we had career day at school and I quote actuary Simone Thompson:

"Actuaries make financial sense of the future, adding value by enabling businesses and individuals to make better-informed decisions. They also balance their role in business management with responsibility for safeguarding the financial interests of the public."

You're right, sounds boring.

But I think you could make it as an actuary :geek:

The following are necessary:

- Mathematical proficiency
- Communication skills
- Keen analytical, project management and problem solving skills
- Knowledge of statistical analysis, economics and finance
- Computer literacy

PS. The job actuary is consistently rated as one of the top four jobs in America

 

Buy on AliExpress.com

[Stu]

Sally, I know! You can be a mortition! Those peeps get like $800 per body.

 

[River]

Sally first of all id drop the Oxford idea. To be honest its pretty unlikely you will ever get in, you need to be a bloody genious.

Although there is ALOT more great Unis in England. If coming here decide where abouts you want to go south or north etc. London will be more expensive.

Then when you know what city or area you want to go to, pick a uni. Otherwise you will be completely overloaded with choices.

Course choice? Wait until you have studied more, you will get a better idea then.

To be honest i hate university, i hate studying, i hate learning. I love the rest though

 

[Srecka]

I'm ready to study fine arts

 

[Jessica]

I think I wanna study medicine, but it's too hard get into the university here in Venezuela

I have to study one year more in high school...I don't have a dream career, but my dad is a doctor and my mom is a nurse, so I think that would influence in the moment that I have to make the decision

 

[nosubstitute959]

++ [ originally posted by BigIzz ] ++
Again though, don't do something just because you think it will get you a good job if you won't like doing it. There are many many more important things in this world then money. Think how great it would be to have a job that you loved, so you looked forward to going to work everyday. Would it really matter that it paid a little less then another job you couldn't stand? It wouldn't be a contest for me. Follow your heart and your interests and be confident it will work out.

:thumb:


Although I didn't consider this when I choose my major (Mechanical Engineering), I agree 100%. But how the heck would I know I enjoyed doing this? I just knew I was fascinated by machines (esp. heavy hydraulic machinery).....very stupid way of choosing but oh well. Even though I'm doing quite well, looking back, I would've enjoyed being a naturalist more (isn't that what Steve Irwin is? ). But I'm not about to change my career with 1 year left.


Bottom line......make sure you do what you enjoy. Money should come last. You're definitely not going to starve to death.

 

[sallyinzaghi]

I dunno.. is there any right way to determine what you want to major in ? Because I'm quite blurry in what I want to do.. maybe a career quiz or something ? I hear some high schools actually give career tests. I wish there was a black-and-white way to determine what course you are right for. What aspects should I look at to know what's right for me ?

Am I asking too many questions ?

I need helppp

ps - how is college/uni life compared to high school ? I know people are more mature etc but is it drastically different ? How ?

okay one more question :

Did any of you have the urge to 'rush things' ? Because I feel like once I graduate I want to go straight to a levels and college etc. My cousin did it all fast but she says she regret rushing into things because she did everything way earlier (and younger) than her friends.

 

[Tom]

++ [ originally posted by River ] ++
Sally first of all id drop the Oxford idea. To be honest its pretty unlikely you will ever get in, you need to be a bloody genious.

A mate of mine got four A grades in his A levels and oxford turned him down. Enough said.

The subjects were Maths, Further maths, Physics and I think Geography,,I mean I really can't understand how you could say no to that

 

[sallyinzaghi]

Yeah, I've read bout few controversial rejections. It was scary

I know Oxford is far, far away, but, well, I'll just dream anyway. Not like I expected to get in.

But is it true that they look at the family you come from ? Like if you're royalty or super rich ?

 

[BigIzz]

From what I hear though, Oxford isn't even the top school in England, just is the most well known overseas. For example, if you were an excellent student and actually lived in England, Oxford would not be your top choice. For those of you who live in England, is this true?

 

[aressandro10]

Damn those universities where u can change ur course evrytime u feel like it




Sally .. learn economy and be a Secretary.. they pay lots these days...

 

[Tom]

++ [ originally posted by sallyinzaghi ] ++
But is it true that they look at the family you come from ? Like if you're royalty or super rich ?

They're not supposed to but sadly it appears to be the case

matt as far as i know oxford and cambridge are still very much the places to be, but there are a few others catching up big time, not even sure if there isn't another uni in the top two, can't remember which though.

You'd probably be better off asking someone else though, i was never interested in going to uni myself

 

[River]

Yeah Cambridge is number one as far as i know, Oxford number 2.

But then again who the hell wants to live in cambridge or oxford

Sally I would dump the idea of getting in there, it wont happen. They choose people who have had family members there etc, unless your amazing intelligent id forget it.

But like I said its no big deal. There are perhaps 30 great British universities and atleast another 20 good ones. If you study in any decent one, in a course with good prospects you will easily get any job.

Also I wouldnt worry much about extra-curricular. Thats aload of balls. They offer you a conditional offer, if you get the grades your in, spending time in retirement homes helping out is a waste of time.

My extra-curricular section was empty. And even if you wanted to you could just make up some stuff, they dont check that.

Check out www.ucas.com for info on all the Unis and how to apply.

 

[Martin]

I know of someone who got into Oxford, dunno what college though. She went to the
International Baccalaureate here in Trondheim and got 36 points (equivalent of a 6 in each of your 6 courses, scale is 1-7).

++ [ originally posted by River ] ++
And even if you wanted to you could just make up some stuff, they dont check that.

That's great news because I think they could get a kick out of my Nobel prize in nuclear physics

 

[baggio]

Advertising anyone?
And sally, dont get ahead of urself. Imo you can never find yourself so early, it takes some time and a state of maturity before you settle in on what you want to make of your life. Give it some time.

 

[sallyinzaghi]

Lol. My extra curricular is a load of unimpressive stuff. Debate, stage manager for drama, best storyteller (wtf) *HOPEFULLY* future president for photography club, editor of photography club, human resource director for the school company, member of the interact club.

Oh, I've read bout National Honor Society in America. What the heck are they ?

and does cheerleading captain count as extra curricular activity ?

someone still hasn't answered my question on how different college/uni life is from high school

 

[River]

How different college uni life is from high school?

ALOT. It couldnt be more different.

Im high school teachers give a shit how you do, because it goes back on them if you screw up.

Im uni lecturers couldnt care less, you also never know the lecturers on a personal level.

In high school people chase you up if you dont go, in Uni they dont.

In high school you can hand things in late and they let it go. In Uni if you hand it in even 1 minute after the deadline you fail.

In highschool life is boring and long. In uni you have few classes, you skip alot and spend most of the time in a bar

In university you have ten times more fun while spending 10times more money.

That about it?

 

[«ƒÕ®zå JüV€»]

hey sally
i know excatly what ur going thru, i myself have one more year to go at highschool and ill be finish at the age of 16, in my case t isnt that hard to get a scholorship, many tend to ignore it becuase it has far to much regualtions
we have two known ones, one for those whoe are majoring in It , its actually a nokia scholarship and another one that the sheiks sponsors..
thing is i msyelf am confused,i really would love to major in marketing and advertising or law but my problem is my pearnts dont really like the idea theyre pushing me more into finance or international buisness
The problem is may people end up taking such major in the U.A.E and they never find good decnet jobs, esp dubai its all about the buisness
well buisness dosent seem like a bad idea but i would minor in sumthing i really like and i was hoping psychology....
although there are many things i want but im really confused myself
and sally i dont really think u can rush into uni, i mean once ur sure of ur major why dont u jsut go right ahead..

 

[nosubstitute959]

++ [ originally posted by sallyinzaghi ] ++
I dunno.. is there any right way to determine what you want to major in ? Because I'm quite blurry in what I want to do.. maybe a career quiz or something ?

Here's something you might want to try, but I wouldn't swear by it.

 

[swag]

There's a big difference between education and job training. Education is critical, because it seeps into many aspects of your life -- including many that have nothing directly to do with your career. Job training is more about getting the training and skills needed to pursue what you would like to do when you graduate.

A few people go in to college knowing exactly what they want to do (and some of those end up changing their minds not long after). Others, and this is the category you seem to fall in (which is the majority of us), don't have ourselves 100% committed to a single field, subject, or career. In those cases, I think it helps to create situations that get you more exposure to learn about the possible things you might want to do.

While I was very successful at university (undergrad, some post-grad, and grad school), I'm something of a cynic about how much a given school really matters. I attended a lesser-known, mostly commuter university in Chicago for my undergraduate degree, got a grad degree at UC Berkeley, have taken grad classes at Harvard, and worked at Stanford and Johns Hopkins.

As I've seen it, these brand-name schools are good if you're really focused and targeted on a specific field or position coming in (and employers will look for that in those targeted fields, unfortunately). And the influence of smart peers certainly helps.

But I also think they're grossly overrated. I wouldn't have traded my undergrad experience in Chicago for any of the others. None of these great schools can make you learn -- you do. They just get a lot of the public credit for that (those bastards!). And never underestimate how much you will learn outside of the classroom while in college -- I argue it's far more than you'll learn in the classrooms.