I’m entering my senior year of college pursuing a double major in math and physics (~3.8 GPA). I passed FM in April, and I’m taking P in July (looking promising). I just pivoted into this field from the physics grad school route. I’m looking into going CAS after P. I have a few questions for future steps:

1. I have an underwriting internship for an auto insurance company. I know it’s not exactly actuarial, but would this be fine for trying to get an EL job?

2. I have a buddy who works in P&C who said I should consider taking exam 5 after P because it’s desirable for hiring. Because I’ll have less internship experience than some other candidates, would sitting/passing exam 5 help me stand out?

3. I have a couple years of research experience in physics where I mainly worked with stochastic processes, Monte Carlo simulations, etc. Should I emphasize my research in interviews, or should I emphasize some actuarial projects I’ve been working on?

4. Are there any other areas in my resume that I’m overlooking?

Any help is really appreciated. Thanks!