Actuary

Okay so this time on my blog I will be exploring the career choice of becoming an actuary.  Now for those of you that may not know, an actuary is a person who compiles and analyzes statistics and patterns and uses them to calculate insurance risks and premiums.  This is something that was just introduced to me not to long ago actually.  My dad gave me the idea one day while we were watching tv and started explaining to me the kind of work and reward it would be.  At that point, I didn’t think much of it, but now that I read into things, it seems that it could be something that I like and could be good at.

I am really good at strategizing and calculating in my head what I must do first or to do something next or what would give me the best opportunity to put me in a good situation.  Ask my friends, I’m great at projecting what I got on a test or assignment in a class and how it will impact my grade and change what I must do on the next assignment to compensate for what I would like to achieve.  I can get things down to the exact percent.  Also, one exercise I already do a lot to prepare myself for these actuary-type situations is play Bloons Tower Defense 4 on my iphone (That game is the shit).  This actually really does help because it teaches me how to manage certain projects and figure out a plan that will prove to be most successful both at that moment and in the long run.  You should see me, I go hard.  You ain’t never seen a better bloonsman than me.  I stay poppin’ them and making bank.

Now as far as the education goes to become an actuary, there are a lot of necessary courses that would be of great benefit to you while you’re in school.  These classes include finance, microeconomics, macroeconomics, marketing, computer science classes, calculus, statistics, communications, and much more.  These classes mainly center around a computer science degree and a business degree.  It is vital to take as many helpful classes as possible though because it could very much increase your pay and increase your chances of being hired.

One thing that really stood out to me though was definitely the starting average salary of most actuaries right out of college and the salary progression over time.  It turns out that most actuaries start of making around $50,000.  According to the Payscale.com report, the median expected hourly wage for actuaries with between one and four years of work experience falls between $50,797 and $69,828. That salary range increases to $73,103 through $103,826 for actuaries with between five and nine years of work experience. Those who have been on the job for between 10 and 19 years can expect to bring home between $92,748 and $140,528.  These are the kind of numbers that I don’t mind seeing on a paycheck!

Anyways I fell that being a professional actuary would be a very interesting and fun job that I could definitely spend my time doing. Also, download BTD4 to your phones now cuz that game is legit.

Architect

Side Note:

First of all, I hope that this entry seems a bit more organized than the previous ones.  Don’t count on anything but I mean I’ll try.  If there’s something that anyone’s unhappy with, just leave a comment addressing your opinion and possible improvements, or anything else for that matter.  Due note that I read all comments.  And due note that I probably won’t change a single thing that you propose.  That’s just the way I am.  Alright thank you!

Overview:

So this time on my blog, I will be talking about becoming an architect.  This has been one of those options that I always leave in the back of my head, kind of like a back-up plan.  I find being an architect would be very interesting and would never get boring.  There are so many different ways to design a building or house or anything for all I care that I feel you will always keep yourself guessing.  This would bring out the artistic side of me and test my creativity.  Also, this job may involve traveling, which is something I do not mind at all.  Real quick, for those of you that don’t know (most likely none of you), an architect is someone who designs things and often supervises their construction.  The type of architecture that I am interested in is a building designer, also a home designer (there are a bunch of different positions in architecture).

What Professional Building Designers Do:

Professional Building Designers, or Home Designers, specialize in designing single family homes. In some cases, they may also design other light frame residential buildings, agricultural buildings, and decorative facades for larger buildings.  Unlike architects, Home Designers are not legally required to pass examinations or receive special licenses to design. However, a designer who carries the title "Certified Professional Building Designer" or "CPBD" has completed training courses, passed a rigorous certification exam, and practiced building design for at least six years.  Typically, they begin by creating working drawings, which are later turned into actual construction plans, or “blueprints”.  However, CPBDs follow a strict code of professional ethics and discipline, as governed by the American Institute of Building Design.  So the only real bummer so far is that I cannot do ANYTHING I want… technically.

What to Study in School:

There are no specific education requirements for building designers.  Many building designers train as architects but have not completed the licensing requirements.  So they generally don’t work as hard, nice!  Although, developing building designers take classes in architecture or structural engineering to study construction, architectural design, and even analytical problem solving. These courses are usually completed at vocational schools, community colleges, or other schools of architecture.  Some schools to keep in mind that are known to have good programs for this profession are Michigan University, Arizona State University, Northcentral University, and ITT Technical Institute.

How Much They Make:

Money is of course something to be aware of.  I mean it’s great if you love what you do for a living, but you need some sort of financial stability. Anyways, I was at my desk crunching some numbers, and apparently, according to a study done by Salary Expert, the median salary of a professional building designer is just shy of $70,000.  However, this number may rise or lower depending on how well business is booming… or if it isn’t, cuz maybe you’ll get a bonus, maybe you won’t.  Nobody knows.  Architects on the other hand, the guys with more pre-requisites, make just under $80,000, so maybe that might be better for me.  I would have to pay more in school however to take the best classes and pass the exams.

Final Thoughts:

I think being an architect could be really cool! (:

Pediatrician

Alright so this time I am going to focus on the profession of being a Pediatrician.  This has actually been an option that I have been considering for a very long time.  The idea of being around kids a lot and helping them out sounds really fun to me because I love playing around with them and working with them… but of course I’d be in it for the money as well.  Duh.  These guys make bank!  The average starting salary of a pediatrician out of residency is $135,000, but overall salary averages out to just over $175,000.  However if you want to get technical about it and go into the specific high-paying positions of pediatrician specialists like neurologists or surgeons, they can make sometimes $450,000 a year.  Of course in order to make all this money in the first place I would have to go through medical school for way more than the average four years and eventually probably pay off some super bogus outrageous bank loans.  But it’s whatever.  Kids are cool and I think I could have a blast.

Now being a pediatrician would require A LOT of work, something I’m not too fond of…  BUT, after everything’s said and done and all the hard stuff is over with, the fun begins.  As a pediatrician, I would perform all the necessary procedures that a normal doctor would too, just the same way they would, only with children, mostly children (technically they are allowed to be the doctor of anyone under the age of 21, but I don’t wanna deal with some old dude, it’d be weird).  “Pediatricians diagnose and treat infections, injuries, and many types of organic disease and dysfunctions. They work to reduce infant and child mortality, foster healthy lifestyles, and ease the day-to-day challenges of those with chronic problems,” according to About.com (don’t know if I cite or not?)  Now doesn’t that sound nice!  I’d be like a super hero and everyone would love me!

Anyways, that’s all I really have time for right now.  Sorry if it’s shitty, it probably is.  I’ll try to make a better post next time, when I talk about some other serious job I like, or maybe it won’t be serious, who knows.

The Intro

Hello to all of you who are reading this right now.  This is my first blog (and post as well) so i am just going to give you all an overview.  This blog is about what the future holds for me as i grow and develop and search for a career.  Quite frankly, i don't exactly know what i want to do with my life right now.  The job life holds so many opportunities for me, and in my opinion, it is just too difficult to decide at this point.  There are over 100,000 different professions and positions in a working world.
This blog will cycle through all the possible professions that i might want to consider.  I will talk about a different job every post, and perhaps more. There is a wide range as to what i would like to do, whether it is from working at a circus or being CEO of a huge corporation.  I hope you enjoy what this blog talks about.
By the way, it will not be boring... I hope.