> That said of all the actuaries I went to school with, none liked their jobs and all eventually moved on to do something else.
Part of that, from my perspective, involves the slow pace imposed by overbroad regulations on the applications of actuarial science.
I personally think that a diverse market of specialized insurance products would be an immense moral good, but in the established jurisdictions where demand for such a thing is high, it is hard to gauge whether your novel insurance products are even legal to sell. My (admittedly anecdotal) impression is that this contributes a great deal to the drudgery and stagnancy of actuarial work.
Your comment points out something important. In finance, there are situations in which you can implement any investment strategy you can reasonably argue will make more money. Great returns are rewarded. Actuarial science has a much more defensive nature. There are many external regulations, but there are also many internal regulations, both on company levels and in the actuarial profession itself. It's still very much a guild and there is an actuarial code of conduct.
I've come to appreciate the value of this drudgery and stagnancy, even though it's not my cup of tea.
Part of that, from my perspective, involves the slow pace imposed by overbroad regulations on the applications of actuarial science.
I personally think that a diverse market of specialized insurance products would be an immense moral good, but in the established jurisdictions where demand for such a thing is high, it is hard to gauge whether your novel insurance products are even legal to sell. My (admittedly anecdotal) impression is that this contributes a great deal to the drudgery and stagnancy of actuarial work.