That movie certainly had an effect on my son. From that point on, he planned his future in the realm of fire safety. He chose a college that offered a major in Fire Safety, Eastern Kentucky University. He was a young man on a mission.
As a lifelong insurance agent and insurance geek, I realized the proximity of fire safety to my profession, insurance. I knew that Eastern Kentucky University was the only University in the Commonwealth of Kentucky that offered a degree in insurance. So, I planted the seed of him pursuing a double major, Fire Safety and Insurance; or a major in Fire Safety with a minor in Insurance.
As happens with parents and young adults, my suggestion fell on deaf ears. Josh informed me that "just because you love insurance, doesn't mean I love insurance". He adamantly stood his ground - he wanted nothing to do with insurance.
During his sophomore year, Josh had the opportunity to attend the NFPA Convention (National Fire Protection Association) being held in Dallas, TX. His father and I scraped up enough funds for gas, a two-night stay at an economy hotel, and sent him on his way to Dallas, complete with student admission to the Convention.
Upon his return, Josh announced that he knew where he wanted to work upon his entry into the Fire Safety field. Imagine the I-told-you-so-smile on my face when he said: "FM Global Insurance." I am proud to say that Josh landed that job as a Loss Control Engineer with FM Global upon his college graduation. His career path has ended up combining Fire Safety and Insurance. That degree in insurance? Never happened.
The insurance industry has so many career opportunities and yet, young adults think of insurance in very limited terms - salesman, boring, sales. Did I mention boring? Nothing could be further from the truth.
A Loss Control Engineer inspects buildings for fire safety, making engineering recommendations and working with building owners to prevent claims.
An insurance adjuster travels to scenes of destruction caused by fire, tornadoes and hurricanes to help the person or business determine what they have lost, place a value on the loss and get them back on their feet.
An insurance agent interviews families or businesses with an ear for hearing where their pain point is if something unforeseen were to happen. The agent then provides solutions to assist should the unexpected occur.
An actuary analyzes data and numbers, using the rules of probability, to determine the chances of certain types of accidents occurring to a group of individuals or businesses.
A premium auditor meets with businesses to review their sales and payroll figures for a 12 month period. The auditor then assists the underwriter to ensure that everything is rated correctly.
An insurance underwriter works with insurance agents, helping to determine the fair and adequate rate of insurance that a particular client should be charged.
As with all industries, there is also a need for data programmers, managers, service reps, clerks, etc.; the list goes on. The insurance industry employs more than one million people in the United States. Many of those individuals are baby boomers. Like me, they will be retiring in the next 10 - 15 years. That means an explosion of opportunities abound for millennials in the insurance industry.
The insurance industry helps people and businesses protect themselves in the event of catastrophes. There is nothing boring about that. Insurance is a unique and rewarding field that doesn't get the attention it deserves from young adults. Did I mention that the insurance industry provides great opportunity for financial success as well?
Just to set the record straight, once, just once, my son said, "Mom, you were right. I should have taken those insurance courses in college.". Now that makes a mother explode with pride.
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