Accountant or Actuary?

[Deal Guy]

Time to look for a profession and will take any advice I can get :
I generally like dealing with numbers, and im trying to figure out where I might do better.

1- Between Accounting or an Actuary,which is easier to obtain a degree in? Less time? I seem to be under the impression that many jewish night classes will offer accounting but not an actuary class. Is this so,and WHY is that the case?

2- Which of the 2 is a better paying job? (generally speaking).

3- I understand that there are many types of accountants. Are there many types of actuaries as well?

4- Which of the 2 requires more patience, which is less boring,ect?

Any kind of descriptions of either of the 2 professions, or comparing  the 2 ,or naming the pros and cons of each, would be so very much appreciated. Thank you for taking the time!!

[bubbles]

Can't answer most of your questions but from my understanding any degree would technically work for actuary, even a BTS or something you get from yeshiva. You just have to pass some of the actuary tests. That being said I'm not sure it will be the easiest getting a job based just on that.

[mercaz1]

this has to be a first!
having a group discussion that will lead to someone's occupation.
can we suggest alternatives to those 2 choices?

actuary is more involved in the manipulation of numbers to figure out a probablity of something happening- i.e. life insurance rates as opposed to accounting
can technically become an actuary when take the tests i think

[skyguy918]

This post assumes you're in NY. If you're not ignore it.

If you're interested in going to school to be an actuary and need to take night classes only, you can do that at Touro. You can definitely do it at the Flatbush campus and probably at the Queens campus (Landers). You can get 48 credits for yeshiva, leaving 72 in class. 12 credits a semester plus 6 in the summer is 30 a year, a total of 2 and a half years. Their program is actually better designed for aspiring actuaries than the majority of colleges. For example, in Brooklyn or Queens College the program is first and foremost a Math major and secondarily gives you some preparation for actuarial exams. In Touro, the classes are very much structured around the actuarial exam process and directly prepare you to take the exams, which are central to obtaining a job as an actuary.

Touro is also very good for accounting, so if these are your 2 choices and you want to do night school, Touro is definitely a good fit.

Both actuarial work and accounting would probably be considered by a lot of people to be boring, so it really depends on you. There's an exam process for both, but they're very different. In general actuaries probably have a higher average salary, but the exam process is longer and in some ways harder. There are many types of specific jobs in both professions.

If you have more questions I'll be happy to try to answer them. I'm not as good at summarizing the whole thing so specific questions are good.

[myb821]

To be able to pass the actuarial exams u need more then to be good with numbers you need to be good with math such as probability and statistics.

[MarkS]

To be an actuary you have to be a much better 'mathematician' than you need to be for accounting. Although I don't know much about actuaries, I am working as an accountant and about to finish my Masters in Accounting. I was told before I went into the field that you don't need to be a math whiz to be an accountant. Everything is computerized, and you very rarely have to do math in your head. It's more of a matter of knowing the laws, and what to input where in the computer.  Obviously it's a plus to be good with numbers, and someone who hates numbers won't enjoy accounting, but amazing math skills are not at all a requirement in accounting.

From what I've heard, actuaries have to be much more math oriented, and as someone mentioned earlier, not just in simple math, but good with percentages etc.

[Simcha89]

Time to look for a profession and will take any advice I can get :
I generally like dealing with numbers, and im trying to figure out where I might do better.

1- Between Accounting or an Actuary,which is easier to obtain a degree in? Less time? I seem to be under the impression that many jewish night classes will offer accounting but not an actuary class. Is this so,and WHY is that the case?

2- Which of the 2 is a better paying job? (generally speaking).

3- I understand that there are many types of accountants. Are there many types of actuaries as well?

4- Which of the 2 requires more patience, which is less boring,ect?

Any kind of descriptions of either of the 2 professions, or comparing  the 2 ,or naming the pros and cons of each, would be so very much appreciated. Thank you for taking the time!!

I have heard that actuaries make more money and there is a lot more demand for them