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I didn’t dream about becoming an actuary when I was growing up. I didn’t research it as I was applying to colleges. I didn’t even plan on it when I started college. However, once I discovered the career a year into college, I decided that it was the path I wanted to pursue. Learning that my school didn’t have an actuarial science program seemed to pose a challenge at first, but I learned that by getting involved in on-campus activities, I was able to gain experience and skills that would identify me as a well-rounded candidate and make me marketable to an actuarial employer.

Here are a few ideas of activities that I have found to be beneficial in preparing for an actuarial career:

Join An Industry Related Club

Actuarial Science Club: If an Actuarial Science Club doesn’t exist at your school already, it is usually pretty easy to set up. To get a club started at my school, all you need is eleven other students and a professor willing to serve as an advisor. Our club was founded just a few years before I began attending meetings, and I was elected as president my third year of school. The club’s main purpose is to be an academic resource since our school does not have an Actuarial Science program. We host speakers from various companies, coordinate workshops to study for exams and to learn computer programming skills, rent out exam study manuals, help students find internships, promote actuarial science around campus, and advocate for relevant courses and VEE course approval.

Gamma Iota Sigma: Gamma Iota Sigma is the international professional fraternity dedicated to insurance, risk management, and actuarial science. You can check out their website to see if your school has a chapter, learn about the organization, and see the events and resources it offers for students. If your campus doesn’t have a chapter, the website walks you through the process of creating one.

Strengthen Your Technical Skills

Join clubs related to math, business, computer programming, or economics to improve your technical skills and knowledge relevant to the insurance industry. I am a member of the Math Club, for example, which has professors speak about their work and organizes for students to complete challenging problems and puzzles together.

Enhance Your Soft Skills

Join organizations that can improve your “soft” skills.  A skill of increasing importance is the ability to effectively communicate ideas and processes to businesspeople who are not highly trained in our field. My sophomore year, I joined our university tour guide organization, which allows me to practice my communication skills and increase my comfort level in front of large groups of strangers. You can also work in jobs that require customer service for practice in this area.

Go Outside Your Comfort Zone

Trying something out of your comfort zone is where you will be challenged and learn the most about yourself. You’ll also gain unique skills that may give you an advantage over your peers. Freshman year of college, I was a research assistant for a federally funded program called Proactive Recruitment in Science and Mathematics. Although this kind of research had nothing to do with actuarial science, I learned to use some new computer programs and techniques for working with data that are still applicable to the work actuaries perform, and I always have something interesting to discuss in interviews!

Be True to Yourself

Building your resume is great, but only if you are enjoying yourself in the process. Recruiters will want to hear about what you are passionate about, even if it isn’t always math and computers. You never know what you may have in common that starts a memorable conversation. For me, this includes reading for book club, dancing at ballroom club, playing flute in pep band, volunteering internationally, and playing intramural sports.

Develop Your Leadership Skills

When being involved on campus, look for ways to step up as a leader. This may mean holding a position as an officer in a club, such as President, or Chief Administrative Officer, or being a mentor to younger students in a shared major or program.

Get Paid for Your Work

If you are looking to make an income simultaneously, look for a work-study or part time job around campus. You may be able to find opportunities such as grading for the math department or tutoring in various subjects that can be relevant to your future career—while also filling your wallet each week!

This is a lot to consider, and obviously you cannot be part of dozens of activities while also focusing on schoolwork and enjoying your college years, but don’t be afraid to try new things to find out what you enjoy. Even the experiences and activities not related to actuarial science paint a picture of your personality and interests. Recruiters want to know that you will be able to juggle work and other activities. Most importantly, be yourself and enjoy the activities you pursue!

Catherine Erdelyi is a senior at Northeastern University and a winner of the 2015 – 2016 CAS Trust Scholarship. 

In 2006, I partook in the creation of an online company, The Infinite Actuary, to provide online actuarial exam prep seminars.  Responding to the idea that came from my business partner, James Washer, FSA, a small group of actuaries with teaching experience collaborated to form The Infinite Actuary.  However, my story starts long before this.

My junior year of college, Jobs Rated Almanac named Actuary the number one job in America.  Great salary, normal work hours, and math – I was sold!  My first job was with a large insurer.  The work really interested me, but my favorite part was the opportunity to advance quickly – all I had to do was pass a few exams.  I love the ability to control my own destiny.  I am very competitive, and in a large company there was definitely pressure to pass exams.  This competition propelled me to finish the exams quickly.  After achieving my FCAS, I decided to become a consulting actuary.  The work was new and challenging, but only a year removed from the exam process, I missed it.  I fortunately came across an opportunity to teach a live exam prep seminar for the Casualty Actuaries of the Mid-Atlantic Region, a regional affiliate of the CAS.  I discovered my passion for teaching and soon started instructing seminars with other regional affiliates.

As I continued to teach seminars, I started a new job with a small insurer.  The work differed from that of either a large insurer or a consulting firm.  I became more of a decision maker for the company as a whole instead of just one line of business or project.  Six years after teaching my first seminar, I was given the opportunity to teach full-time with The Infinite Actuary.  I do love teaching, but I didn’t realize the work involved with running your own company.  Fortunately, the skills developed at both large and small insurers, as well as my experience as a consulting actuary, helped me develop and manage the business.

At first, I was teaching all, or part of, three exam seminars.  This included developing written content, recording online videos, and teaching live seminars.  On top of this, we were continuing to build and improve our website, hire and manage instructors, deal with the many financial tasks, and most importantly, market our product.  As our business grew, customer service became more time consuming.  Adding support staff became critical if we wanted to be successful.

Today, we have a full staff to help the business run smoothly.  I currently manage the financial and marketing areas of the company, as well as the casualty seminars.  In a typical week, I have several staff meetings, work on advertising to companies and universities, discuss strategies for business development, complete various tasks related to financials, add new educational content, and review new or updated exam prep material.  My background as an actuary prepared me for the challenge of becoming a successful small business owner.

Ken Fikes, FCAS, is the executive director at The Infinite Actuary.

Early in my career, people would often ask me how I ended up on my specific career path as an actuary. As a freshman studying Actuarial Science at Ball State University, I took a very active role early on in Gamma Iota Sigma, the International Risk Management Fraternity. I went to every employer campus presentation and signed up for every interview. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t end up with an internship that year; but, I was able to get a feel for what companies had the most interesting internship programs, were in attractive locations, and had the most engaging actuarial staff and recruiters. I based my list of preferred companies on these types of factors because I didn’t yet know what the work would entail.

Fast forward one year and I finally started getting internship offers, several of which were from property and casualty companies. I became especially interested in the property and casualty internships because of the heavy statistical focus and the incredible variety of insurance products. I ultimately went to work for CNA in Chicago in the reserving department. As a freshman, CNA had stood out as my top choice for many reasons, not the least of which were the excellent presenters/actuaries that came to our campus. I was extremely impressed by the people I worked with and for, and I knew at that point that as long as there were additional property and casualty opportunities for me I would love to continue on that path.

I interned the next summer in Towers Watson’s property and casualty practice (San Francisco). One great aspect of the property and casualty work that summer was the variety of customers I was able to serve, including cities, hospitals, corporations big and small, and even a manufacturer of parts used in plastic surgery. At Towers Watson, I was once again amazed at how sharp everyone was. Working with such intelligent and creative people left a lasting impression and was another confirmation that I was on the right path.

As you are considering different companies and career paths, it’s very important (in my opinion) to find the people and a company culture that motivate you to do your best work. The actual details and responsibilities of your job will change over time but the people that you meet and the things that you learn from each other are far more lasting.

Josh Spencer, ACAS, CERA, MAAA is the chief actuary at Brotherhood Mutual in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

As insurance and regulation needs of companies continue to evolve, the role of a consulting actuary is becoming increasingly important to business.  In addition to corporations, consultants work with insurance companies, government entities, healthcare entities and regulators. Consultants will often work directly with CEOs, CFOs and risk managers, who are concerned with minimizing the risk of their company and doing so at the optimal price.  Some consultants may frequently travel to meet with clients locally, nationally, or even internationally.  Typical assignments involve loss reserving and forecasting of insurance losses, especially those losses which are retained by a company.   Projects may also include allocations to business units, reviewing excess or reinsurance quotes, determining confidence levels, and helping with the formation of a captive.  Consulting actuaries are increasingly being engaged to complete more Enterprise Risk Management, strategic planning and predictive modeling assignments.

The key to a successful consulting career is the ability to manage client expectations and needs at the same time.  Many times a consultant may come to office expecting to work on a particular project that day, but get a call from a client who has an urgent need that must be addressed.  While this can add to the pressure of the job, more often this situation creates a challenge that is met with great enthusiasm by consultants.  Clients may think of the consultant as not only an actuary, but as a true advisor.  Consultants typically have to be able to problem solve quickly and involve creative thinking.  They also spend a lot of their time interacting with other people and are required to have excellent communication skills.  Whether through in-person presentations or conference calls, consultants must be able to share the results of their work, so that the client is able to fully understand and use the results to meet their needs.

The final aspect of being a consultant, which is different than other actuarial roles, is business development.  Consultants have to continue to ensure that their business succeeds, which is achieved by client retention, gaining new clients and increasing revenue.  Consultants keep ahead of the curve of their competitors and should constantly be selling products and services.  Successful annual sales can be a challenge and requires a significant amount of time.  Some consultant may develop a special expertise or new product to attract new clients, while others may focus on research, speaking at industry conferences, or publishing papers. While the idea of sales may be intimidating to some, many consultants view it as an appropriate challenge after finishing actuarial exams and enjoy the thrill of matching their expertise with the needs of a client or potential client.

Richard Frese, FCAS, MAAA, is a consulting actuary at Milliman in Chicago.

3 Tips for Landing an Actuarial Internship

1. Stay Ahead of the Game: The timing of when you get your resume out to

a company is critical. It’s important to know that most companies tend to finish hiring in December for the actuarial summer intern positions. This means you should plan to update and polish your resume soon after you return to school in the fall. Many companies will be posting positions in August and September, so be on the lookout for the positions you want at your top prospects.

2. Know the Company: It’s extremely important to always know information about the company with which you’re interviewing. It’s quite apparent in interviews when a candidate hasn’t done any research on the company and skirts any questions about why they’re interested in working at the company. In contrast, when candidates do look into information about the company and share what they find interesting, it shows a deep interest in the company. This can go a long way.

3. Remain Professional: Remember to always keep a professional demeanor. Some interviewing processes entail interviews with younger or newer actuaries at the company to help facilitate easier conversations. This is a great time to ask questions you might have forgotten to ask in the more ‘formal’ interview, but remember this time is still being used as an interview and being professional is still crucial.

3 Tips for Excelling at an Actuarial Internship

1. Stay Up to Date on Current Events:  Before and during your internship, it’s important to stay on top of the news and what’s happening in the world. I don’t mean just staying current in the worlds of sports or celebrities, but rather the worlds of politics, finance, healthcare, technology, and so many more. All of these can impact insurance companies since insurance touches almost every industry. In addition, issues around the world can affect the company at which you’re interning as a result of increased reinsurance and increasingly global companies. I’m not saying you need to be an expert on all things, but having a general understanding of the major news of the day will serve you well.

2. Network: Developing professional relationships with coworkers can benefit you both during and after the internship. It’s important to develop a few strong relationships. Most companies will pair you with a mentor to help you answer your day-to-day questions, while your manager might meet with you weekly. Use these meetings as an opportunity to showcase your work efforts, your ability to be a team player, and your interpersonal skills. It’s also important to build a network with other actuarial interns and new hires at the company. This group will be seeing a wide range of actuarial roles across the company as they’re learning and being trained in different capacities. By asking questions about the work they’re doing, you can expand your knowledge of what other actuaries do and start formulating ideas on which actuarial function most interests you for a future internship or a full-time starting position.

3. Utilize Feedback to Grow Professionally: Take advantage of a mid-summer review. Your summer internship will fly by quickly. Internships usually range between 10-12 weeks, and by the time you get settled in, it’ll seem like your end date is right around the corner. Your mid-summer review can help you to hone in on the skills that you still need to develop during your time with the company. Your manager might schedule one with you but if not, I suggest asking your manager if he/she would conduct one with you to give you feedback on how the summer is progressing. Most managers will discuss how your first few weeks have been going, and point out a few places you could grow and develop. I cannot stress enough the importance of taking those development suggestions to heart and trying to improve. An important attribute of a great employee is being someone who can accept constructive criticism and respond by making positive changes.

Anthony Pragovich, ACAS, is a senior actuarial analyst at Zurich North America. In addition to his role in pricing, he is a member of Zurich’s core actuarial recruiting team.

Over the next few months, Future Focus will publish a series of blog posts written by actuaries working in various fields of the actuarial profession. These blog posts will help inform you about different paths to consider as you prepare for your future career. Our first post is authored by Krista Robinson, FCAS, who provides her perspective on working as an actuary at an insurance company.  

Hello actuaries-to-be!  I’m Krista Robinson and will be giving my viewpoint of the actuarial profession from the perspective of a company actuary.  I have been at CNA Insurance for 9 years, coming here after graduating from Indiana University.  I’ve moved around to all different areas within CNA over those 9 years, and currently am working in General Liability pricing.  As you’re learning, when you decide to be an actuary you have a lot of different options for your career.  I personally think that being at an insurance company gives young actuaries an experience that is vital to your development.  When working directly for a company, you are fully engaged in their strategies at a high and low level, which gives you a great perspective on the big picture of the insurance industry.

An example of this is when working in a large account pricing area.  Large account pricing means that instead of using a rating plan for a certain state or group of people (like your personal auto insurance!), the individual account has enough claims in their past to come up with a premium using their experience specifically.  I worked in a large account pricing area for 3 years, and during that time I did a wide variety of work.  It wasn’t just focused on pricing accounts and getting the pricing to the customer.  It was also focused on how to improve our large account pricing methodologies, how to strategize what types of accounts we want to target, how to improve the tools we were using, and much more.  It gave me the ability to see how the pricing of the large accounts within a company fit into the big picture of the company strategy.  You don’t have to be a company actuary to work on large account pricing, but in order to really understand the needs and goals of the account, it’s a great benefit to understand the needs and goals of the company as well.  Being a company actuary gives that opportunity.

There are many other examples of this type of benefit across the actuarial industry.  Whether it is pricing, reserving, predictive analytics, etc., being a company actuary allows for new and experienced actuaries to learn the industry in a way that gives a great big-picture perspective.  It should definitely be on your list to consider as you finish your education!