Figuring Things Out.

Assalamualaikum,

UW-Madison hosted its Fall Career & Internship Fair today from 4:00pm – 8:00pm, where approximately 300 companies were present to talk to students about possible internship and/or full-time career options.

I went along, just to see what it’s like (not to mention that all newly admitted business students would have to go to at least one career fair this year). I did a couple of research last night about the possible companies that I would like to talk to (mostly those related to Insurance and/or Actuarial work like consulting and all), but I ended up speaking to a bunch of others that were not originally on my list.

It was a very informative session all the same. I mean, even though I was the one who appealed to MARA to allow me to change my major to Actuarial Science (I was originally an Economics student), I am still not yet sure on the path I’m taking. Like, seriously. You should’ve seen me last night after all the research I did. I was on the phone with a friend for >30 minutes, talking about how I’m confused about the thing that I’m taking right now and yada yada yada.

But, yeah, I went along to the fair and talked to some companies about possible internship / full-time career with them. I also learnt a lot about the companies that I’ve never heard of (or was never aware of), and about what some (if not most) companies look for in their applicants for internships and so on. I’m not yet set on whether or not I would want to pursue an internship this coming summer (I’m still finalizing on my plans and all), but if I do, at least now I’ve gotten some practice in talking to actual recruiters and all. Hopefully by the next career fair (there’s going to be an Actuarial Science / Risk Management & Insurance Career Fair next month), or by the Spring Career & Internship Fair next semester, I’ll be more confident in approaching the recruiters and talking to them about what I want and what I’m looking for and all.

So, yeah, that’s basically it for now. I know currently I’m declared as an Actuarial Science student, but I’m still figuring things out and seeing how things go. Since I’ve never actually thought about going into the business path until I actually started my A-Levels/ADP, I am still learning and building up the interest. Fortunately enough, the few business classes that I’m taking this semester (Intro to Financial Accounting and two Actuarial Science classes) are interesting enough to keep me going.

Oh, talking about my Actuarial Science classes. I’ve also registered myself for the FM Exam this December. If you’re wondering what the hell the FM Exam is, well, basically, to become a professional actuary (like I’m planning on becoming, insyaAllah), you’ll have to be certified by the Society of Actuaries in your country. For the SOA in Malaysia, they do not have their own examinations, so we’ll have to take it either through the SOA in US, UK or Australia. There’s like some examinations / professional papers that we’ll have to take, as well as fulfilling some other requirements through the courses we take in college.

The FM Exam that I would be taking is one of the few that I’ll have to take, should I continue on my Actuary path. I decided to take it in December since the two Actuarial Science classes that I’m taking are actually prep classes for the exam, so since I’ll be studying for the final exam in December, I might as well study a little bit more for the real FM Exam anyway. I’ve registered myself for the slot on December 17th, 2014 at 9:00am in the morning (yes, I actually opted for a morning paper instead of the 12:30pm or 1:00pm paper, since it’ll be a 3.5 hour-long exam, and I might have to rush to pray afterwards). Pray that all goes well please, insyaAllah!

Alright then, I’m off for now. Need to review some readings for my Philosophy quiz tomorrow, as well as getting some of the questions for our Actuarial Science homework done and over with. Until next time, stay safe and awesome people 🙂