Rutgers University
Do You Want to be an Actuary?
February 13, 2008
Jim Blair – Prudential
John Glauber – PricewaterhouseCoopers
Steve Rosen – Stephen H Rosen & Associates
Amy Stern – PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
Andrew Weeks – Hewitt Associates
Joe McDonald – Hewitt Associates
Agenda/Contents
Today’s panelists
What actuaries do
A typical day at work
Salary and benefits
Standards for working as an actuarial professional
How you can prepare while in school
Finding your first job
Section one
Today’s panelists
What actuaries do
A typical day at work
Salary and benefits
Standards for working as an actuarial professional
How you can prepare while in school
Finding your first job
Today’s panelists
Jim Blair – Prudential
John Glauber – PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
John has about 2 years of actuarial experience, all at PwC. He works in P&C,
doing consulting and audit work.
Steve Rosen – Stephen H Rosen & Associates
Amy Stern – PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
Amy has about 3 years of actuarial experience, all at PwC. She does Life
Insurance consulting and audit work.
Joe McDonald – Hewitt Associates
Joe is a business leader in the Retirement & Financial Management Practice.
He consults on design and financing of corporate retirement programs.
Andrew Weeks – Hewitt Associates
Andrew is a recent graduate of Rutgers University and has been working at
Hewitt for about a year.
Do You Want to be an Actuary?
February 13, 2008
Slide 4
Section two
Today’s panelists
What actuaries do
A typical day at work
Salary and benefits
Standards for working as an actuarial professional
How you can prepare while in school
Finding your first job
What actuaries do
Risk Assessment
Actuaries are business professionals
who assess risk associated with:
• Life Insurance and Annuities;
• Property & Casualty (P&C)
Insurance;
• Health Insurance;
• Investments;
• Retirement Benefits; and
• Other Employee Benefit Plans.
February 13, 2008
What actuaries do
Business Problem-Solver
Actuaries apply specialized
knowledge to real-life business
problems using:
• Mathematics;
• Probability and Statistics;
• Finance and Financial Modeling;
• Economics; and
• Accounting.
February 13, 2008
What actuaries do
Jim Blair – Prudential
Do You Want to be an Actuary?
February 13, 2008
Slide 8
What actuaries do
John Glauber (PwC) – Property & Casualty Insurance Auditing and Consulting
Day to day Audit work / Consulting work:
• Insurance company policy/loss reserve reviews;
• Self-insured company loss reserve reviews;
• Statements of Actuarial Opinion;
• Sarbanes-Oxley actuarial support;
• Merger and acquisition due diligence;
• International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) consultation.
• Reviews of catastrophe, asbestos, medical malpractice, and terrorism claims;
Other tasks performed in the group:
• Insurance operational and management reviews;
• Expert testimony/litigation support;
• Regulatory compliance services;
• Alternative risk transfer mechanisms;
• Federal insurance programs; and
• Dynamic financial analysis.
Practice Development:
• Reviews of catastrophe, asbestos, loss governance, marketing, benchmarks
Do You Want to be an Actuary?
February 13, 2008
Slide 9
What actuaries do
Steve Rosen – Stephen H Rosen & Associates
www.shrosen.com
Past President of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries
(ASPPA)
Founder of the ASPPA Benefits Council of the Delaware Valley
Instructor & Author for Continuing Education for CPA’s, Lawyers, Investment
Advisors & Financial Planners
President, Stephen H. Rosen & Associates, a subsidiary of National
Investment Managers
Manage an office of 30 Employees
Consult to Businesses on the design & implementation of all forms of
Retirement Plans
Administer & monitor IRS/DOL compliance for 1000 Retirement Plans
Expert Witness Testimony on Pension Related Matters
Do You Want to be an Actuary?
February 13, 2008
Slide 10
What actuaries do
Amy Stern (PwC) - Life Insurance Auditing and Consulting
•
Audit work: Protect investors and customers by assuring that company is
presenting an accurate report of their finances and solvency
- Understand high-level picture of many clients’ businesses
- Perform detailed analysis for high-risk or volatile areas
• Consulting work: Client hires us to help with a need, e.g.
- valuing business during a merger or acquisition;
- enterprise risk management; or
- hedging insurance risk.
• Work includes understanding diverse products and methodologies for
analyzing them, including modeling and high-level analysis, as well as
interacting with clients and balancing work on multiple projects.
http://www.pwc.com/extweb/service.nsf/docid/d16b5a95e086dc7685256b5800
6d99af
for information on our projects
www.pwc.com/lookhere
for career information
Do You Want to be an Actuary?
February 13, 2008
Slide 11
What actuaries do
Joe McDonald & Andrew Weeks – Hewitt Associates
•Analyze the benefit costs and obligations associated with
corporate retirement programs.
•Monitor trends in mortality, termination, and retirement to
analyze their impact on retirement plans’ liabilities.
•Help employers manage financial risk in their retirement benefits
programs.
•Develop investment strategies for managing retirement program
assets.
•Help employers comply with the latest federal regulations
regarding retirement and post-retirement benefit programs.
Do You Want to be an Actuary?
February 13, 2008
Slide 12
Section three
Today’s panelists
What actuaries do
A typical day at work
Salary and benefits
Standards for working as an actuarial professional
How you can prepare while in school
Finding your first job
A typical day at work
A typical actuarial job will involve most or all of the following:
• Continue to develop and apply
- Actuarial concepts,
- Industry knowledge,
- Business expertise,
- Computer proficiency, and
- Communication skills;
• Work with talented people in
underwriting, finance, reinsurance,
marketing, etc.;
• Be an integral member of project
teams;
• Develop strong long-term
relationships within a company;
• Gain exposure to clients; and
• Have opportunity to travel.
February 13, 2008
A typical day at work – for each of us:
Jim Blair – Prudential
John Glauber – PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
John has about 2 years of actuarial experience, all at PwC. He works in P&C,
doing consulting and audit work.
Steve Rosen – Stephen H Rosen & Associates
Amy Stern – PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
Amy has about 3 years of actuarial experience, all at PwC. She does Life
Insurance consulting and audit work.
Joe McDonald – Hewitt Associates
Joe is a business leader in the Retirement & Financial Management Practice.
He consults on design and financing of corporate retirement programs.
Andrew Weeks – Hewitt Associates
Andrew is a recent graduate of Rutgers University and has been working at
Hewitt for about a year.
Do You Want to be an Actuary?
February 13, 2008
Slide 15
Section four
Today’s panelists
What actuaries do
A typical day at work
Salary and benefits
Standards for working as an actuarial professional
How you can prepare while in school
Finding your first job
Salary and benefits
•For an entry level actuarial student with no prior experience and
1-2 exams, typical beginning salary ranges from $44K to $63K.*
•How fast the salary moves up depends on job performance and
the rate at which you pass exams. There is usually an additional
raise/bonus when becoming an associate or a fellow.
For salary information compiled by D.W. Simpson, see
http://www.actuaryjobs.com/salary.htm
* Salary estimate taken from D. W. Simpson link above
Do You Want to be an Actuary?
February 13, 2008
Slide 17
Section five
Today’s panelists
What actuaries do
A typical day at work
Salary and benefits
Standards for working as an actuarial professional
How you can prepare while in school
Finding your first job
Standards for working as an actuarial professional
Professional Actuarial Organizations in the United States
American Academy of Actuaries (AAA)
http://www.actuary.org/
Public policy for all Actuaries; enforcing standards
Society of Actuaries (SOA)
http://www.soa.org/
Credentialing process and education for Life, Health, Pension, Employee Benefits
Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS)
http://www.casact.org/
Credentialing process and education for Property Casualty (P&C), Medical Malpractice
American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)
http://www.asppa.org/
Advocacy, credentialing process and education for Pension Actuaries
Do You Want to be an Actuary?
February 13, 2008
Slide 19
Standards for working as an actuarial professional
Actuarial Exams
•Membership in the Society of Actuaries (SOA) or Casualty Actuarial Society
(CAS) is an important step towards career success.
•There are two levels of membership, Associateship and Fellowship.
•Both are achieved by passing rigorous exams, which test concepts including
statistics, economics, insurance concepts and regulations, and financial
modeling.
•For details:
http://www.soa.org/education/course-catalog/edu-catalog-detail.aspx
http://www.casact.org/admissions/
http://www.asppa.org/education/ed_online.htm
Do You Want to be an Actuary?
February 13, 2008
Slide 20
Standards for working as an actuarial professional
Actuarial Exams, continued
• Most employers pay all costs associated with exams, such as
exam fees, books and study manuals, and review seminars.
• Study time is also generally provided – but expect to spend a
lot of additional personal time as well.
• Programs vary between employers – make sure you know
what is available when considering a job.
• Link to a very good study program
http://www.newyorklife.com/cda/0,3254,8828,00.html#one
Do You Want to be an Actuary?
February 13, 2008
Slide 21
Standards for working as an actuarial professional
Code of Conduct
The American Academy of Actuaries provides binding guidance as to the professional
standards an Actuary must follow. The full code is available at
http://www.actuary.org/code.asp. An excerpt:
Professional Integrity
PRECEPT 1. An Actuary shall act honestly, with integrity and competence, and in a
manner to fulfill the profession’s responsibility to the public and to uphold the reputation
of the actuarial profession.
…
Control of Work Product
PRECEPT 8. An Actuary who performs Actuarial Services shall take reasonable steps
to ensure that such services are not used to mislead other parties.
…
Practicing Actuaries are responsible for upholding the Code of Conduct and can lose
their credentials for violations.
Do You Want to be an Actuary?
February 13, 2008
Slide 22
Section six
Today’s panelists
What actuaries do
A typical day at work
Salary and benefits
Standards for working as an actuarial professional
How you can prepare while in school
Finding your first job
How you can prepare while in school
Degree Expectations
• Bachelors degree
• Strong academic background in:
- Actuarial science;
- Applied statistics;
- Mathematics;
- Finance; or
- Related quantitative
disciplines.
(There are exceptions but it
puts you at a disadvantage.)
February 13, 2008
How you can prepare while in school
Actuarial Exams – Progress you should make while in college
•
•
•
Pass at least 1, preferably 2 or 3, actuarial exams.
Take courses which satisfy the Validation by Educational Experience (VEE)
requirements:
- Economics
• Microeconomics
• Macroeconomics
- Corporate Finance
- Statistics
• Regression Analysis
• Time Series
See http://www.soa.org/education/education-redesign/edu-validation-byeducational-experience.aspx for a list of approved courses
Do You Want to be an Actuary?
February 13, 2008
Slide 25
How you can prepare while in school
Other Skills and Attributes to Develop
• Internship experience
• Strong verbal and written
communication skills;
• Proficiency in standard business
computer applications; and
• A commitment to achieving
Fellowship with the CAS or SOA.
• Related work or volunteer
experience is an asset.
February 13, 2008
Section seven
Today’s panelists
What actuaries do
A typical day at work
Salary and benefits
Standards for working as an actuarial professional
How you can prepare while in school
Finding your first job
Finding your first job
Some tips for finding companies to apply to
• Attend actuarial career fairs
- Rutgers: typically in October
- ASNY: January, in NYC (see
http://www.goasny.org/members/homePage.aspx)
• List of some actuarial employers
http://atp.soa.org/actuarial_training_program.php
• Look in the SOA membership directory for names of actuaries
in your area (find it on the SOA homepage www.soa.org)
Do You Want to be an Actuary?
February 13, 2008
Slide 28
Finding your first job
Sources of information
• A discussion forum sponsored by D.W.Simpson, with a very
wide range of contributors
http://www.actuarialoutpost.com/actuarial_discussion_forum/
- Careers and Employment subsection
• General information http://www.beanactuary.org
Do You Want to be an Actuary?
February 13, 2008
Slide 29
Any Questions?
Summary of Useful Links
General information
http://www.beanactuary.org
http://www.actuarialoutpost.com/actuarial_discussion_forum/
Actuarial Professional Organizations:
American Academy of Actuaries (AAA) http://www.actuary.org/
Society of Actuaries (SOA) http://www.soa.org/
Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) http://www.casact.org/
Pensions http://www.asppa.org/
List of some actuarial employers:
http:/tp.soa.org/actuarial_training_program.php
Actuarial Exams:
http://www.soa.org/education/course-catalog/edu-catalog-detail.aspx
http://www.casact.org/admissions/
http://www.asppa.org/
For salary information compiled by D.W. Simpson,
http:// www.actuaryjobs.com/salary.htm
Do You Want to be an Actuary?
February 13, 2008
Slide 31