I'll try to explain this as best I can, because it's not something I plan on doing more than once in this journal.

For those of you who didn't know, I have been working at an insurance company for over three years. Since last summer, I've been an actuary... or at least, in training to be one.
More specifically, last summer was when I joined my company's accelerated actuarial student rotational program: "accelerated" because the program pushes you to get through the battery of actuarial exams and get your designations quickly, and "rotational" because every 12-18 months you rotate to a new assignment in the company, with the aim of getting to see as many different functions and/or business units as possible.

( But what IS an actuary anyway? )

( And what do you have to do to become one? )

As for the actual job... it's an office job, with all the advantages thereby implied, in which I get to work with numbers all day at my computer. (And if I get to do formula or table coding for the actuarial valuation/projection software packages we use, that's better; if I get to develop new utilities to make our lives easier, even better! But since joining the rotational program, I don't get that kind of job very often anymore.)

Advantages of being on the rotational program include: getting to experience all sorts of different areas of the company and different actuarial disciplines; getting generous study time and reimbursement for all exam fees and study materials; higher base salary than I had before, for the same job title; and bigger raises and bonuses on passing exams.
The main disadvantage is the increased pressure to perform: there are minimum progress requirements that you must maintain (like how you must pass something at least every 18 months), lest you fail out of the program and have only four weeks after that to post to a permanent position before being terminated from the company.

But those who graduate the program (successfully obtain their FSAs) are in a pretty damn enviable position: they can usually post to a Director-level position right away, which is an automatic six figures. And having an FSA affords you incredible job security: actuarial jobs don't get outsourced ever, and there's always some new openings available.

That's why I'm putting myself through this now: I like the work itself well enough, I've proven my ability to get through these exams (the preliminary exams are supposedly the best indicator of whether a candidate will eventually be able to obtain the FSA designation), and I'll have awesome earnings potential and job security once I get through it all.


... Um, any questions?

FAIRY TAIL {54 + 1 BANNER}
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST {42 + 2 BANNERS}
PLUTO {5 + 1 BANNER}
MISC {6}
BLACK LAGOON {2}
BLEACH {2}
BAKUMAN {1}
NARUTO {1}



Find the rest HERE @ narben!

Teasers:


The rest are located here @ divisionsix!

Here's a reminder for challenge 88. We currently have 6 entires, so we need a few more before voting is posted tomorrow. More information is availiable at the submission post, over here. The themes are 'dreaming' and a set of provided images from Dissidia. The deadline is tomorrow, 8th November.

AFFILIATE PIMP
kingdom_chorus, a lyrical icontest community for Kingdom Hearts. Please consider participating!

40 Fullmetal Alchemist manga
→ 40 Envy

Teasers:

See the rest here @ silvercrafted

Teasers

10 FFX Lulu icons for ff10in10




More HERE @ creativestreak

Heya guys. I'm replaying Shadow Hearts at the moment and I've tried putting up a timeline (with lots of help from Icaro.

I believe the game got a date wrong? Otherwise it doesn't make sense orz.

( cut for spoilers )
What do you guys think? Also, it's been a while since I've played these games so if any of the info I have put up in Yuri's entry is innacurate feel free to say so!

PS: If anyone recognizes the media some of Yuri's icons are from (some appear to be fanart or manga, I dunno) please tell me? I snagged most from other roleplay accounts so I have no idea where the original images are from.

So, I'm being all angry with Hachi as I try to reconstruct a box, and suddenly a 'bomb' goes off outside. I'm like "what the HELL was that?" And I go outside.

Traffic accident. Engine guts everywhere. Somebody's front corner hit somebody's back corner at full speed. Though I can't quite figure out where they were exactly when it all happened, glass says one spot, tire marks say another, and car/car parts are conveniently turned about so you can't tell what direction the disaster car was going. I thiiiink the engine-disaster car sped up to make a left turn as the light went red, and the other car's light turned green, she started to go and got whacked (very young looking girl in that car that got shmucked :x poor thing).

This particular corner of badness right below my window (this isn't the first accident, though it has been the loudest by far) is 'conveniently' located across the street from a medical building, so there was some doctor person out there asap. There was also a maintenance vehicle around that put on it's lights and tried its best to block traffic before the cavilry arrived.

Very interesting thing to watch unfold (though, not good for anyone involved - but everyone "walked" away, even if the walking was to the ambulance). The engine oil or whatever it was ended up slicking all over the road, so the fire crews covered it with a pink powder and swept it up later (there was no fire though, they were just there doing what they do at accidents).

And the six lanes of Jasper Ave traffic were reduced to 2 (and covered with glass at that) just as traffic exploded for the noon hour. Niiiightmare. You can't shut Jasper Ave down even if you needed to.

And now I get to go to work.

[35]Fullmetal Alchemist spoilers for ep. 30
-[05]Alphonse
-[06]Edward
-[03]Euphemia
-[04]Mustang
-[04]Hawkeye
-[02]Winry
-[02]Mei
-[01]Ran Fan
[38]Umineko no Naku Koro ni spoilers for ep. iv-i
[20]Yuugiou DM
----
[93]Total


[ h e r e ]

[15] Amatsuki
[25] Fullmetal Alchemist
[10] Karneval
[15] Spice and Wolf



icons are here>>>

Total: 52
axis powers hetalia: 28 (+2 fo)
final fantasy vii: 16
misc: 8 (macross frontier, sukitte ii na yo)

Teaser:



follow the yellow brick road?

Teasers:


The rest are HERE @ divisionsix

[50] Fullmetal Alchemist
[55] Icontest Entries



here @ kheronai

[x14] Episode 30 icons

Preview:


( BANG! )

21 Icons

• 16 FMA (3 Roy/Ed, 1 Roy & Havoc, 2 Ed & Al, 3 Roy, 7 NaNoWriMo)
• 2 Kuroshitsuji (2 Sebastian & Ciel)
• 1 Baccano!
• 1 Ouran High School Host Club
• 1 Misc (kitty icon)

   

Click the fake cut for more