When someone asks me what I do for a living, my first thought is to say "it's complicated." This would inevitably lead to a discussion of what I've done, what I'm doing, and what I hope to do in the future, which would not satisfy the 30-second requirement of elevator conversation.
Instead, I just say that I am an actuary. Which is untrue in a couple of ways.
First, I am not an accedited actuary, and claiming to be amongst that group of esteemed individuals makes me feel like a farce. Second, I am not currently working in an actuarial department, although I used to and continue to work closely with them.
I am currently a "Senior Actuarial Systems Analyst" which has the honor of both precisely and imprecisely describing what I do. My work consists of a myriad of tasks for a variety of business partners, mostly working on the creation and maintenance of tools in Excel and/or databases (usually both). Most of my business partners are actuaries, and my experience in that field gives me a distinct advantage in "speaking their language".
I switched to this role outside of actuarial with the long-term goal of becoming the ultimate hybrid between programmer and actuary. Right now "programming" for me means SQL and VBA, and "actuary" means having only the preliminary exams passed, but I hope to work on both of those simultaneously over the next several years in order to offer a semi-unique skill set to the world. It's been working pretty well so far!
Professional Summary
(a full version can be found on my Linked In page)
Experience
Senior Actuarial Systems Analyst
Axis Insurance - April 2016 to Present
Develop databases and tools for actuaries and their business partners as well as provide ongoing technical support in Excel, VBA, SQL, and pretty much any other program the actuaries use.
Application Development Specialist
CNA Insurance - January 2014 to April 2016
Assist in designing, solutioning, and developing internal applications to improve efficiencies within CNA. Primary business partners include actuarial and finance.
Actuarial Consultant
CNA - June 2009 to January 2014
Rotations in Specialty Pricing & Reserving and Commercial Lines Pricing, founding member and eventual chair of Communication Team
Actuarial Intern
CNA Insurance - June 2008 to August 2008
Specialty Lines Reserving
Actuarial Intern
State Farm Research Center - September 2006 to May 2008
Personal Lines Auto
Retirement Intern
Watson Wyatt Worldwide - June 2007 to August 2007
Assisted in pension evaluations.
Education and Exams
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Bachelors of Science, Actuarial Science: Graduated with high honors May 2009
Vice-President of Actuarial Science Club and Chancellor's Scholar
Actuarial Exams
- 1/P
- 2/FM
- 3F/MFE
- 3L
- 4/C
One of my passions in my professional life is sharing knowledge about both of my "industries". Half of this website's purpose is to serve as a resource for those interested in either actuarial science as a career path, including information about "real-world" actuaries and studying for exams, and for those looking to jump off from their current career into a more technical focus like me.
Please feel free to message me on Linked In or below: