Ehle- Feedback to Caleb Unit 4

Accountant vs. Actuary

*Accounting:

Pros:

-Only need a college degree and CPA exam

-If you have a 3.0 GPA, it’s easy to get a job or internship at a big firm

-Accounting is easier than actuarial science

-Good Salary (55k start at big 4 companies)

Cons:

-Boring 

-A lot of courses required for graduation

*Actuary:

Pros:

-High Salary

There is a reason why actuaries make so much more than accountants; they both deal with numbers but actuaries actually make decisions. Actuaries actually access the risk from the numbers they synthesize and analyze them in a way that they can communicate it to a company. In a way actuaries help a company 

-In demand

-while demand for actuaries increase, the number of people getting into the field has stayed the same over the years

-Less class requirements for graduation

To be competitive in the flooded accounting market a college degree isn’t necessarily enough. There are very few “new” accountants without a master’s degree in business(MBA) 

Cons:

-Many exams

-actuarial exams are going to be painful so it requires much studying if you want to be successful in passing the exam but nothing easy is ever worth it. If you’re looking for an easy job go fill out an application at McDonalds. Passing the actuarial exams not only helps you to become closer to becoming an actuary but also proves to me a momentum booster. Knowing that you can pass an actuarial exam boosts your motivation and keeps you motivated on to the next challenge or exam on the road to success. It may be difficult but it is certainly none the less more interesting.

-Commuting/job placement

-where you can live/work is severely limited in relation to accounting

-depending on the person, this may be a pro or con because someone who is a country person and grew up in the same place their whole life might not want to leave their humble abode to go to work but a city person, on the other hand, who loves the adventure found in venturing through new cities will find this to be a great opportunity to travel the world, meeting new people and experiencing different types of lifestyles that couldn’t be done by sitting in a boring  office space doing taxes all day.

Conclusion:

-When it comes down to choosing between these two careers, accountant or actuary, the simpler and much easier route would be to become an accountant. There is very little interpretation involved, less responsibility and you get to play with numbers. But if you instead consider where you will be happier down the road, financially, intellectually, and emotionally, it will be clear as day to see that Actuary is the better career choice. 

Although both accountants and actuaries make a good amount of money, actuaries make significantly more than accountants. The median wages of an accountant in May 2008 was $59, 430 and the median wages of an actuary in May 2008 was $84, 810. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) That makes for an average difference in salary of $25,380, which almost accounts for 50% of an accountant’s salary!

 Actuaries are in demand and are expected to see an increase in demand of 21 %. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) This is because while demand for actuaries increase, the number of people getting into the field has stayed the same over the years. 

Accountants spend several more years in college than actuaries. An actuary usually has an undergraduate degree in a math-such as statistics or in a general business major- such as economics, to be successful in their career. Accountants on the other hand almost always have to attain a master’s degree. 

There is never a dull day at work for actuaries. Accountants on the other hand have a boring desk job. So if routine, tedious work is of interest then accountant is the career of choice. But if instead the person enjoys the interesting and new challenges presented in the everyday profession of an actuary, an actuarial career will be the career of choice.

When it comes down to choosing between these two careers, accountant or actuary, the simpler and much easier route would be to become an accountant. There is very little interpretation involved, less responsibility and you still get to play with numbers. But if you instead consider where you will be happier down the road, financially, intellectually, and emotionally, it will be clear as day to see that actuary is the better career of choice.