20/20 Hindsight for 2020 Career: Reimagining My Formal Education from 7th Grade to the Present

7/7/2019

Ken Marciel is an Actuarial Candidate (3 Exams) who is getting a step closer each day to a career involving actuarial science, data science, enterprise risk management, underwriting, or financial analysis

by Ken Marciel, MS, PRP

Gotta concentrate, against the clock I race
Got no time to waste, I'm already late, I got a marathoner's pace

—from the song, "Fall," by Eminem

One step ahead, one step behind me
Now you gotta run to get even
Make future plans, don't dream about yesterday, hey
C'mon turn, turn this thing around

—from the song, "Right Now," by Van Halen

Secondary Education: Grades 7 through 12

Magnet or Private

From preschool through 6th grade, I attended a sectarian private school. From grades 7 through 12, I chose to instead attend public schools. If I could do it over again, I would have attended a magnet public school or nonsectarian private school from grades 7 through 12.

College Admissions Exams

In the summer between 10th and 11th grade, I would have created a schedule and strategy for taking the ACT and SAT exams through the fall of 12th grade

Postsecondary Education: Undergraduate

Location

As I did originally, I would only apply to schools in California, my lifelong state of residence at the time

Major

I would have majored in Mathematics
I would not minor nor double major in another subject. Instead, I would invest more time studying for my major to make sure I graduate with at least a 3.75 GPA (A-), and to retain more of what I learned in the degree. The choice to not have a minor or double major would also ensure that I do not take longer than four years to graduate, and it would reduce the total financial cost of my undergraduate education.

School

I would apply to the following 9 schools, ranked in my order of preference, based on the US News rankings of their graduate programs in Mathematics, Statistics, and Economics:

Using the US News College Compass, I would refine my ordered list if necessary
I was admitted to UC Santa Cruz and UC Riverside in 1993, then by UC Davis in 1994. Currently, UC Davis edges out UC San Diego in the US News rankings of national universities. Therefore, I am confident that I would have been admitted to at least one of my top 4 picks above.
If not admitted to schools higher on the list, I would consider reapplying to them as a transfer student

Student Athletics

Baseball

Baseball was my favorite sport growing up. I played for 9 years, from ages 7 through 15, ending with 10th grade in high school. If I had to do it over again, I would have played through 12th grade in high school, then for the team at the university of my choice if given the opportunity, then professionally if possible.

Student Athlete GPA Goal

As a student athlete in a single sport, my goal would be to maintain at least a 3.25 GPA (B) in high school and college
Otherwise, I would reconsider being a student athlete

Student Non-Athlete GPA Goal

If not a student athlete, my goal would be to maintain at least a 3.75 GPA (A-) in high school and college
For the class of 1993 in high school, I graduated with an academic GPA (grades 10-12) of 3.67 (A-). This is consistent with my hindsight goals, as a blend of the two, given that I played on the junior varsity baseball team for grades 9 and 10

Postsecondary Education: Graduate

Master's Degree

After receiving a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Mathematics, my next step would be to earn a Master of Science (MS) degree in Statistics—which I am currently pursuing.

Beyond Master's

Subsequently, I would either:
- Complete the full series of exams to become an Actuary; or
- Earn a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Economics

Right Here and Now

For Fall Semester 2019, I applied to the online program at Texas A&M University to earn a Master of Science (MS) degree in Statistics. If admitted, I plan to take two courses per semester and graduate in August 2021.

The best thing about being a statistician is that you get to play in everyone's backyard.

--John Wilder Tukey

Don't want to wait 'til tomorrow
Why put it off another day
One more walk through problems
Built up, and stand in our way, ah

—from the song, "Right Now," by Van Halen

But Wait, There's More!

For more details about my fully enlightened career path that I am in hot pursuit of, click on the following button:

Career Path

Ken Marciel, MS, PRP

Highly Recommended Starting Points for Career Planning

Occupational Outlook Handbook
US News Best Jobs Rankings
US News College Compass (for undergraduate education)

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