Hi friends! I’ve been lurking through this forum (particularly the posts by @Mountainhawk and @now_samantha) but I’ve finally decided to try to make an account and reach out to people. This is also my first time interacting with the actuary community, so please bear with me
I go by Ann online. I’m currently eight months on hormones and currently a college sophomore.
I’ve just had a few questions:
How is the current industry towards trans individuals?
If I were to come out later on, how would that be viewed by others? I fully intend to transition physically while working if I were to opt to not tell anyone I am trans.
And on a more unrelated note:
What is the timing for internships? I plan on sitting in the probabilities exam in May and the financial mathematics exam in June.
I also don’t really know much about the process for obtaining an actuary job and I am a bit worried since I have heard the market isn’t doing that well. I still want to try my best though!
Anyway, I hope everyone here has had a wonderful week! I’m also open to questions about trans stuff as well (though admittedly I have opinions that differ from Samantha and Alyssa it seems). Feel free to PM if anyone would like to talk
Hi @dr_t_non-fan! Thanks for commenting! I really do appreciate it
Pass some exams and get back to us.
I know this wasn’t intended to be but I find this to be super supportive I’ve been dooming about the exams but I took this as a positive statement that I could pass some exams
How many exams do competitive applicants usually do? I’ve heard that they normally do P & FM, but I was wondering if other exams are usually done? I know that there’s SOA vs. CAS and that some people decide which exams to take after the internship they get
Are you going to make a big deal out of this in the interview process?
No, I wasn’t planning on making a big deal. I currently wear male clothing (like any reasonable “boymoder” would) but I do have some feminine features which are noticeable so I’m not entirely sure if I needed to say that I am trans. I fear it may get harder to hide as time goes on so I’ll update the thread when I can
I am also curious what qualifications people usually have (mind me, this is the first time I’ve been researching this information and any threads you could point me towards would be appreciated)
I also forgot to mention that I currently am homeless and in community college, so I’m not sure how that would impact the hiring process at all
I also assume you are a cis person working in industry – how do you personally view trans people in industry? I don’t find myself to be a snowflake so feel free to share whatever’s on your mind
“Pass some exams and get back to us” is part dismissive (you’ll need some exams on your resume to be equal or surpass your competition), but mostly truth. We can give you all the rah-rah you might need, but exams are the priority. It was also my catch phrase on a prior board for people without any knowledge of the profession, so it is an inside joke to the folks already here.
Some kind of STEM major is necessary, due to competition. Math or high-level science. It gives hiring people an idea of how smart you are. But the exams, again, are key. I’m not sure where candidates are these days in term of number of exams passed, but i think it varies on the type of business and geography.
Homeless and CC? Survival should be your priority at the moment.
While I am not an average industry person, i don’t care one way or the other about your current state of gender. I also don’t hire people, so moo. If i were, i would want the candidate who can do the job with a minimal amount of drama and who i wouldn’t need to replace for a few years.
You are two years or more from starting your career. So, as i already wrote, pass some exams, which means taking a lot of calc and stats. Check the SOA for a practice exam to see if you have the knowledge, and get the knowledge you don’t currently have.
Final note: at entry level hiring folks get usually get a large pile of resumes. Step one is culling down to some number. If it is not obvious by now, the number of exams passed is one way of separating into piles.
What is the timing for internships? I plan on sitting in the probabilities exam in May and the financial mathematics exam in June.
I’m not sure about timing but you can probably start looking for internships the fall before - that’s probably a critical time. Although maybe more will get posted between fall and Jan-Feb but I’d focus on getting started early. but in addition to DTNF’s advice, you probably want to keep your grades up as that’s another typical way people sift through resumes. Once you pass some exams, time to make sure you are prepared for interviews.
Can’t answer the other questions unfortunately as probably the best people to answer them are other trans individuals. The most I can say is that the bigger companies will all have diversity training for employees in which they attempt to teach people some do’s and don’ts about interacting with people who may not look or act exactly the same as them.
I suspect you’ll find the actuarial industry will be moderately welcoming to trans individuals. Some employers won’t care one whit, while some if they believe you to be trans will entirely disregard you. Obviously the latter shouldn’t happen, but insurance is somewhat of a conservative industry on the whole.
You will struggle to find employment relative to cis people, but with good grades and exams should find a position.
The CAS unfortunately has a small group of people called We Love the CAS who are akin to a Freedom Caucus with no real power. They are focused on removing DEI and trans erasure. Thankfully, in the last CAS election every single member who ran for the Board lost by a decent margin. Nonetheless, it points to some endemic bigotry that I assume you’ll encounter at some point.
But altogether, I think actuarial is a decent path. There are stodgier, more conservative office jobs you could go for.
I’ve noticed some of my coworkers automatically switch to respect pronouns upon noticing without asking. Not every coworker seems so accepting though.
As someone from outside the profession a big advantage of the actuarial profession versus other professions is the exams. The exam structure levels the playing field for all candidates to some extent.
I’m recently retired, so take my comments with a grain of salt. But
the insurance industry tends to be conservative, which can be awkward
the actuarial field is highly merit-based, at least for the first several years of employment. Do well on exams and do decent work, and you’ll get ahead. This is great for “minorities” of various flavors, because if you pass exam 5, everyone knows you can do that, and no one will assume you are “just a diversity hire”, or whatever.
the insurance industry is a microcosm of the society it’s within. So insurance companies in liberal parts of the country are likely to be more friendly to stuff like transitioning than ones in more conservative places. My North-East employer was a little clueless, but basically supportive.
good luck with everything, especially in these times and dealing with school.
My company is heavily into DEI and has included sexuality and gender identification into the training.
Many people put their pronouns on emails.
Being trans is your business, if you don’t want to mention it, don’t, if you want to announce it to the world, do. People are people and will react as they do and that doesn’t change by industry.
The trans people i know have tended to come up in their late 20s through mid 30s. It is hard to switch your identification of how you knew someone.
Ask about DEI training, you don’t need to explain why. When you come out, if people misidentify you, be forgiving, at first, try to determine intent.
Most people will want to be supportive. Don’t let the jerks get to you, I would hope a work environment would be safer.
Passing exams already is really how to-be-hired people show they are serious and should be considered seriously for an actuarial internship/entry level job.
Our internships (huge company) are already set for next summer. So start looking next fall. Ideally after some exam success.
You are at CC - assuming you are looking to finish a bachelor’s degree after this school. If you know one that is local and it has an act sci program, get connected to their actsci club NOW and the employer announcements they put out.
Employer and welcoming atmosphere could vary by location (even within the same company) and could change over time. When you interview, that’s something maybe to feel out. I’d defer to the people with experience along this inquiry how to feel out if a company could be a good match,
You mentioned homeless - good luck on that front. And all the other fronts the world is throwing at you right now.
Can I ask what does homeless mean exactly? Because if it means crashing with a friend or relative who’s ok with you there, maybe you’re contributing a little too, that’s one thing, but if you’re sleeping in your car or outside that’s another. If the latter, maybe going to a place with mandatory shelter laws like NYC would be a good idea? Or asking the admin at your school about some student aid/loans, assuming you are in an in-state college, with a STEM degree, and plan to keep school to a reasonable length of time eg 3-5 years, so you’re not borrowing too much?
Hey, sorry, I haven’t been checking this forum, so I missed the tag.
The industry is slowly getting better. The vast majority of people aren’t supportive but also aren’t hostile. They aren’t going to understand the additional challenges trans people face, and they aren’t going to go out of their way to make the industry safer for us. Once you are qualified, getting CE in a place where it’s safe to do things like ‘rent a car’ or ‘use the bathroom’ can be a real challenge, as the societies value money and relationship over the welfare of people.
I hope you manage to keep going forward and join our industry. The less cis white dudes and more diverse the profession comes, the stronger it will be. If you want to reach out and talk about anything, feel free to DM here or on Linked In (Alyssa Gambone).