Ten years ago I qualified as an actuary. It’s one of those careers that even those who are doing it find it hard to explain what it is! A lot of people have never heard of it, some think it’s to do with bows and arrows and artuary….and others know that you need a whole heap of points in your leaving cert and that these mysterious people are very well paid!
Actuaries are the mathematicians behind the world of insurance. Statistics and probability play a big part…. trying to forecast when people will die or how long they will live for the purposes of putting a price on life assurance or pensions.
This morning I was thinking why did I ever study that. ….not to mention the years and years of study that now seem a waste! But every cloud has a silver lining and trying to look on the funny side this is what I’ve come up with
– At least I was in the life assurance industry….now I’m in the eternal life assurance industry!
– The computer software we used were called ‘Moses’ and ‘Prophet’. So God was having a good laugh giving me His version of prophet!
– At 26 I was worried that I wasn’t putting away enough money for my retirement at 65. Now I have barely enough money to last a week and I never give retirement a second thought!
– As an actuary I was perplexed at how badly people wanted to live and yet all they did was groan about life being so miserable..
– As a ‘life assurance actuary’ I couldn’t help but feel I missed out on half the training. …sure i got the insurance bit, but what the hell was life about?
– As a business planning actuary I spent my time planning 30 years ahead….guess what my biggest challenge is as a Christian….living in the present!
– Life assurance is bloody expensive, Eternal life assurance is FREE!!
– God doesn’t pay well but His retirement plan is out of this world!
I’m out of wind. At times I do miss the big salary I had, the cool sports car, the automatic acceptance and status in society, the posh suits….but do I regret leaving? No, for how would I have a heart for the poor had I not experienced it myself, for the homeless, for the wanderers, for the sick, for the crazy folk, for the unemployed, for the dreamers for the no-hopers…
And the Lord reminds me, my treasure is in my heart, my comfortable retirement is in the next life!