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W00T! I just won a $25 000 scholarship! (pg. 4)
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| Kaz |
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ_Elyot
Any other mathematically-interested TAs out there?
~ Elyot |
Not me but I was always secretly jealous of my friends who wrote those Waterloo math tests and stuff.
CONGRATS! :toothless |
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| karim |
| quote: | Originally posted by fayraree
Huh? |
Simpson quote.
:)
Karim |
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| Tordan |
| Congrats man, that's awesome news! |
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| andielips |
Congrats WTG!!!!
Andie :tongue3 |
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| JRinger |
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ_Elyot
Truthfully, I have no interest in actuarial sciences. IMO it's a really dirty industry...
True story:
There was some GM car (I forget the name) that was discovered during testing phases to have a certain flaw due to the positioning of the fuel tank. When the car was involved in a rear-end collision, there was a frequent occurrence of explosions in the car that would likely kill any passengers in the backseat (which are usually children).
The GM people calculated that at that stage of the development cycle, it would cost tons of money to develop and implement a solution to the problem that would make the car more safe... millions of dollars in fact, because of the delays and changes in scheduling that would have to be made. The actuaries worked it out to cost about $6.00 per car.
The alternative was to leave things the way they are. The actuaries calculated that the flaw would kill perhaps 500 people, and cripple many others, and at an estimated $500 000 per lawsuit, leaving the fuel tank where it was would cost only $2.00 per car. The actuaries also factored in the loss of reputation and demand for their product that would subsequently occur, bringing the total to perhaps $2.50 per car.
As a private enterprise driven by the interests of its shareholders, GM was of course forced to pick the alternative that saved the most money. The fuel tank was left where it is, hundreds of people died, and GM minimized their losses and externalized their costs.
I don't believe in externalization (the corporate policy to divert expenses outside of the company whenever possible... ie if it costs $5 million to treat your waste and an estimated $3 million lawsuit to dump it, the company will dump it).
Actuarial science is a truly dirty industry. I'd never even consider it.
Actually, I'm looking into getting a double degree in math and computer science, perhaps with some physics in there as well. |
I'm an actuary, and I have to laugh at this a bit.
You're basing your conclusion about an entire profession on one particular (rather dubious) story.
I've heard a lot of things about actuaries during my 7 years in the profession, but "its a truly dirty industry" isn't one of them. Do a bit more homework before coming to a conclusion based on one anecdotal story.
As an aside, as someone who graduated with mathematics and statistics degrees from UofT, I can tell you that high-paying jobs are limited for pure math students, unless they branch out into other areas such as financial engineering, actuarial science (which was my case), etc. Unless you're looking to be a prof or researcher, make sure you don't just take pure math. My 2 cents. |
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| Sunquest |
| Congrats indeed , I think you diserve a big one! good job |
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| zoogla |
| quote: | Originally posted by karim
Simpson quote.
:)
Karim |
OH! :rolleyes: |
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| zoogla |
| quote: | Originally posted by JRinger
during my 7 years in the profession |
Damn, you're old!!! LOL!!! (so am I :() Which exam are you on? I think my cousin only has 2-3 more to go....what a rigorous process!!!! Studying your whole damn lives!!!! |
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| TheVrk |
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ_Elyot
I'm so happy and relieved. I won one of 3 $25 000 math faculty scholarships from the University of Waterloo. |
HEY! Congrats and continues success!:D |
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| Durafei |
Congratulations !
25K scholarship is awesome, but participation in the US Math olympiad is even more important if you are applying for a job to companies like Google, MS, Amazon etc.
So once again congratulations !
Wishing you success tomorrow, and hopefully you'll make the Canadian IMO (international math olympiad) team ! |
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| DJ_Ampz |
Sounds like you need to join us at the Vault on Thursday!!!!
Ampz |
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| St_Andrew |
Congrats man :D:D:D:D
Thats so awesome :)
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ_Elyot
Any other mathematically-interested TAs out there? |
Me, I love math :D |
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