Matt Danko has been doing the exact job he pictured for himself since graduating in the spring.
He works in downtown Denver at an actuarial consulting firm, Towers Perrin, with a starting salary of $58,000. Danko said it was the internship experience he received with the company that landed him the job.
He began attending Ball State University's Insurance, Financial Services and Actuarial Career Fair his sophomore year. By his junior year, he had an internship offer for the following summer with Towers Perrin. By the beginning of his senior year, he had a job offer from the firm.
Danko said job security was one of the reasons he chose actuarial science as his major four years ago. He knew he liked math and also knew that it was rated as a stable field with high paying positions.
Even though he has those things, Danko said the job still has its difficulties.
"I am where I expected to be," he said. "But is the job how I thought it would be? Not necessarily."
Danko said he pictured working in a standard 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. position. But he actually works an average of 50 hours each week. Last week, he said, he put in more than 65 hours in the office.
Actuaries also have to take two stringent exams each year to maintain their job title. Danko is studying for one now, putting in about 100 hours for each hour of the test, he said.
"I'm definitely second guessing it," he said of his career choice.
- U.S. national average starting salary for an actuary is $55,000 Source: Salary.com
- Danko's starting salary is $58,000
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