Hello, acepedro45. Thank you for responding.
A year ago I picked up study manuals for P and FM. But then I quickly decided to take act sci classes at my local university. I have taken courses in probability, theory of interest, loss models, and statistics. I am really prepared for both exams. I put sitting for them off because I wanted to take the courses first. The math part is easy (I don't find what's required deep at all); I am currently working on my speed. I will probably sit for P in July and FM in August. I know Excel, R, and some Python.
Yes, my current career is dead in the water, so to speak, but I have increased my income. I created a course, increased my rates, and expanded to higher lever courses. Some debt is gone, but not all.
Prior to my focus on actuarial science I had been deeply serious about math. I had been engaged with research as an undergraduate, I took graduate classes, and did some independent study. Some notes I wrote in math (spanning 100 pages) and some problems I wrote for students (typeset) is what got me this gig at the textbook company.
Again, my fear is that once I accept this position, I will not be able to switch into industry which was my goal. The CEO made this very clear (the whole company is designed to help actuaries succeed through texts, study manuals, and online quizzing).
It doesn't help that I have never negotiated a salary before. I thought I would get an offer first before salary talk. It seems he wants a figure and then will still interview others.
Yes, my username is a string of random characters :)