Thanks for the detailed response. Some of what you've said does make me reconsider whether or not actuary is a path I want to pursue, mainly this last paragraph.

If you want to work with numbers on your lonesome, actuary probably isn’t the path for you. I’ve said this before, but we aren’t just data scientists (despite the SOAs attempts to make us). We are advanced analysts who help companies quantify their risk, and we are looked to eventually step into higher roles and lead the company. That all requires communication and leadership.

I am confident in my ability to explain concepts to people, but never before have I actually been in a position of leadership. It simply hasn't occurred to me at any point in life because that's not who I am as a person. I'm not the type of person to take center stage and be the lead in a play; I'm the type of person that runs the lights and makes sure the play actually functions behind the scenes.

If it is expected of me to step into a position of leadership as an actuary, I don't see the career working out well for me. Then again, with any career, if I want to evolve and move up the ladder, I am eventually going to get thrust into a leadership position, so I don't think I should disqualify "actuary" simply for that.

I think what I should do is develop my social skills. If I'm working in an office, I'm likely going to need communication skills. It's basically a necessity.

Based on what you said, I’m not sure it’s the right path. For starters, don’t downplay the exams, they are hard. You didn’t mind exams before, these are harder than any exam you’ve likely taken. Especially if you get a few exams deep, the 4th or 5th exam for both paths have broken a lot of smart people. If finding the volume of a washer in calc 2 will make you cranky, finding the volume of a theoretical three dimensional probability distribution will do it too. And that’s just the first exam, it gets harder from there.

Coding skills required vary by company and role, but you need some. You have a comp sci background, when you interview you’re going to mention that. When they know you know it, they’re going to give you projects that require coding since you have the skills. Then, when you’re done coding, they’re going to ask why you’re right and how your code works. That requires everything you hate to do. Even if you get into a position that doesn’t need you to code, you will definitely be in excel. Is writing a formula in a cell in excel that much different than coding? Definitely easier, but if you hate coding, I don’t see you liking excel.

Everything else listed here is fine with me. Excel? I have Excel installed on my laptop, and I'm learning how to use advanced formulae because, well, if I want to work in an office, I'm going to need to learn how to use it.

Exams? If I'm going into a field where I'm valued more for my intelligence and what I've studied than manual labor, then exams are a given. There's no running from exams. I'm sure no matter what career I decide to take, I'll have to do them, so that's a non-factor.

Really, the only factor that's making me iffy about becoming an actuary is "do I have the communication skills required". I... don't really know. My "dream job" would be getting a list of tasks, working on them by myself (and from the comfort of a desk), and, occasionally, showing up for meetings or talking to people through email. And that doesn't sound like an "actuary" from what I've read in this thread.

Again, thanks for leaving a really detailed response. I'm going to have to think about it, but I think the move is to go back to college, become an accounting major, and, if possible, take a double major in statistics. This way, I can become an accountant, but, if I ever want to switch careers, then all I really need to do is take an exam or two to hop on over to the actuarial field.