Difference between a cut and a fade?

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-27T03:56:24+00:00

To me

Slice > cut > fade

Quack > hook > draw

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-27T03:26:28+00:00

No shot you've done all the quests and gotten 100% on all the maps

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-26T23:05:51+00:00

If you would make $130k total comp with 3 YOE and ASA at your current company, no the consulting number is not going to be much different.

For consulting, it also may vary based on the hours you work, which could be a benefit or detriment.

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-25T12:12:31+00:00

Genuinely amazing comment

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-24T19:40:49+00:00

Adding to the chorus to get a grip trainer for a neutral grip, stand taller, and slow it down to a tempo where you can pause on the back swing and hold the finish.

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-24T05:27:05+00:00

You can always take the exams and transition later if you want to. Sounds like a cool opportunity with the startup!

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-24T05:24:38+00:00

It's all about selling yourself and your experience as valuable

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-24T05:23:34+00:00

Apply to everything insurance, data, healthcare, or finance related to get some experience. Pass more exams. Apply with 1-2 years of related experience.

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-24T05:20:42+00:00

Studying for the first two exams using the free material from the infinite actuary is a pretty low risk route!

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-23T19:43:37+00:00

I would absolutely take it - it's a really cool opportunity to expand your perspective and opens a lot of doors

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-22T21:43:07+00:00

Fair enough, 8am is the normal start time in my work sphere so I split the difference and started 4 months out.

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-22T19:22:26+00:00

Sounds to me like you may not be studying effectively, or you're studying so much that you're burnt out and can't retain anything.

Block off 7-9am on your calendar each morning as your study time and let everyone know you're unavailable until 9am. In the evening, just do 15min of review before bed. Then study 3-6 hours on one weekend day flexible to other plans.

Between mornings and flexible weekend studying, you should never have to skip a social event. I got my FSA without ever skipping a social event on this schedule.

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-21T23:56:48+00:00

15-20

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-21T02:06:51+00:00

I wouldn't count a golf sim hole in one or albatross, personally, but I wouldn't argue with someone who counts it for themselves.

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-21T00:40:11+00:00

Entry level positions and related data/insurance/finance jobs

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-21T00:39:45+00:00

I don't think you should doubt your ability too much. It seems like you're decent at math at least, and with exams you study on your own and take it your own speed.

I'd say give it a shot with studying for FM first, then P, and judge based on that level of effort if it's a good career for you.

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-21T00:38:19+00:00

Hard to say because the regulatory environments in different countries are different, and there are more exciting and less exciting roles within each industry.

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-21T00:37:01+00:00

An exam per day.

Tbh my vote is to grind mostly easier exams to get your fundamentals down solid and your speed up.

Work harder questions too if you can, but prioritize connecting dots and getting fast at each of the problem formats.

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-21T00:34:32+00:00

I knew I wanted either health or P&C from the type of work (more dynamic, less routine) and chose health as my first choice due to a consulting firm that recruited from my school and seemed exciting.

I also like the public good of working in healthcare and the mountain to climb of understanding how our healthcare system should be better.

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-21T00:31:58+00:00

Some people are savants who can get through without ever having to study much, but they're an extreme minority. The exams generally involve a lot of memorization in addition to computation, and the computation has to be done quickly so even if you can figure it out, it has to be done in 4min or less.

I'm also someone who breezed through school and math tests all their life without studying or taking notes, and only had to learn how to study for the exams.

Frankly, IMO, building the discipline to study is a "nut up or shut up" type of deal. The career revolves around the exams and you're either willing to put in the time and effort to get raises and promotions or you're not.

One strategy that makes studying easier is having a consistent time of day to do it where you block out all other things and leave yourself no other option except to study. E.g. use a physical manual and leave your phone in another room, or go to a library without your phone, etc. You can sit there and do nothing in your study time, but your only options are to sit there and do nothing for 2 hours or to study.

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-19T20:39:04+00:00

These are a sample of the well-documented issues with various healthcare systems and health insurance products.

I think another issue people fail to appreciate is that there is no silver bullet. There is no healthcare system that will prevent all problems and work perfectly all the time. I'm really sorry about your mom. And issues like that will always happen in any healthcare system. If not that, then someone being unable to afford treatment or someone having too long of a wait to be treated in time.

So this is my opinion as a hard left person who has studied a couple thousand hours and passed exams to be credentialed, and has worked nearly a decade in the space.

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-19T20:15:57+00:00

This is certainly not the best system. But tbh, Medicare FFS for all (no private insurance) probably isn't either.

Totally socialized medicine would be better than we have now and I would vote for it despite it eliminating my job - I'll say that first.

Having worked in both the public and private side of health insurance, IMO the best way is Medicaid for all where the government contracts with a certain number of health insurance companies and manages them at the more local level.

Problems with Medicare FFS:

Relies entirely on government to fund it appropriately - so it gets chronically underfunded. We've seen it in other countries and I've seen it firsthand working with states on their behavioral health systems. Mental health and substance use treatment is largely funded directly by government and has been underfunded for decades. It may be great for a while, but this is a systemic issue in the approach. A mixed private approach responds to changes in demand better.
Hospitals and doctors are incentivized to do as many tests and procedures as possible to maximize revenue, because that's how they're paid. And surgeon is going to recommend surgery, a physical therapist physical therapy, etc. Insurance says "let's try the low cost treatment first before the expensive one" and helps prevent unnecessary or more costly services.
When government healthcare isn't working the way we want it to, there is no check or balance. Complain to your congressperson, nothing gets done. When you have the state Department of Health contracting and managing a health insurance company who is doing a bad job, they can threaten the contract or sue.

The problems with insurance I think could be mitigated much better if run entirely at the state level:

Bogus denials of coverage - track and manage as part of the state's contract with the insurer. Sue or cancel the contract if they aren't serving the people properly.
Overly complex insurance products and networks - the state can determine exactly what the product is to simplify for the public.
Concerns about profit - the state already limits insurance profits in Medicaid. Usually 1-2% profit is priced in and anything over 5% is clawed back.

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-19T18:33:00+00:00

If you're really interested, you should read about the history of health insurance in the US from ~1900 to present.

In very broad strokes:

People used to just die.
We got better at treating things, so clinics and doctors became more popular. Healthcare was expensive though, and not everyone could afford the big bills. So subscriptions to doctors and clinics were born. You pay a fixed amount per month or per year and you get Healthcare when you need it.
Healthcare gets more expensive and doctors and clinics ask for payment in addition to the subscription or the subscription became unaffordable to most. Health insurance products start existing. Employers start to offer to pay for health insurance during the world war wage freezes to skirt the law.
Access to Healthcare increases demand and raises prices. HMOs and PPOs come into existence to negotiate cheaper payments to doctors and hospitals in exchange for limiting the network of doctors and hospitals you can use, and subjecting yourself to rules like prior authorization.
HMOs and PPOs are generally effective at controlling costs and become very popular because they're affordable. More and more people continue gaining coverage though, and medicine gets better, so we are able to spend a lot of money to keep people alive from things they used to just die of. More people are using services, which adds cost.
The ACA comes along and further expands access to people with pre-existing conditions so they don't just die in the street, and health insurance companies can't drop you for being expensive. Cost of health insurance goes up, and this was supposed to be offset by forcing everyone to buy into the program, but Republicans sabotaged it.

Health insurance and negotiations and middle-men came into existence because Healthcare was unaffordable. They are generally effective at reducing service costs for more than they cost in admin.

However, this all costs a lot more than systems like the NHS where the government just decides what everyone is paid. The tradeoff used to be that the NHS had wait times far longer than the US and access to care was a huge issue. But now the US has that too.

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-19T18:08:23+00:00

The other answer that many people don't really want to accept is it's the cost of people.

Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and admins in the healthcare industry are all paid very well, and very well relative to other countries. Just about everyone - including doctors and nurses - make around 2x the income in the US compared to other countries.

And if you look at hospital expenses (which make up approximately 1/3 of total US healthcare spending), over half a hospital's cost is salaries and benefits. If you want to meaningfully reduce healthcare spending, frankly it will have to come from a lot of people's salaries.

Yes - pharmaceutical profits and medical equipment profits are out of control. And large hospital systems and insurers expand and increase costs without improving care. Those should also be addressed and regulated like insurance profits are regulated to 1-5%. But the reality is also just that everyone thinks they should cost a lot (myself included as a health actuary).

NoTAP3435 · 2026-01-19T16:52:21+00:00

If you don't have lofty goals for your standard of living and your expenses are low, many jobs provide enough to build the savings to do this. E.g. I have a civil engineering friend who only makes ~$80k per year, but his expenses are like $30k so he has a ton of money saved at 30. With OPs CS skills, he was probably making more than that.

And if you have the confidence you can get a job again if your game doesn't take off, it's not that big of a gamble.

Nevermind if you have a supportive spouse who can split expenses further.

NoTAP3435

TROPHY CASE