Easy does it?

Claire Bilodeau

There is more to being a successful actuary than being able to make complicated calculations. Read on to find out more about some elective choices outside actuarial science that you can take to enhance your career path!

Complementary Courses

Let's begin with areas that are peripheral to actuarial science, which you need to know at the very least to be able to converse with other professionals with whom you will interact. These areas are: computer science, accounting, law, and economics.

Two areas left out of the list above are finance and statistics. This is because they both form such an intrinsic part of the professional exams that one could hardly ignore them. Finance is increasingly important in actuarial science, owing to the complex products that are available on the market and which come with many embedded options. Advanced finance courses can be a wise investment of your time. Statistics is another natural component of actuarial science. Modeling and estimating are very much at the core of assessing risk. In that sense, advanced courses in statistics may be another wise investment.

How about computer science? Most of your time—at least at the beginning—will be spent on the computer. You need to be very comfortable with the tools you will use. In addition to Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, there may be other software used by companies in your practice area. Even though that software may not be taught at your college or university, you may still want to take programming classes. This will teach you how to program should you ever need to, and otherwise allow you to understand the programmers' lingo and their code when you call on them for help. In my opinion, the language is not the key consideration; rather, understanding the structure and developing the logic should be the main goals.

Accounting is a nice elective to take if it is not already part of your curriculum. This elective will provide you with the knowledge to communicate with accountants and provide them with actuarial figures for inclusion in their reports. Taking this elective will also enable you to gain understanding of the balance sheets and financial statements of the companies in which you might invest or for which you might act as a consultant.

Understanding how the legal system works is nice, especially if having to serve as an expert witness. Law pervades actuarial practice, not only through the many acts and bills that regulate insurance and pensions, but also because of the many contracts that define the professional relationships involving actuaries.

Economics is a must, both at the micro and at the macro levels. It also shows up in the list of requirements to qualify as an actuary. At the micro level, it helps to understand the behavior and decisions of individuals and firms, to whom actuarial services are ultimately directed. The macro level provides an understanding of how the economy works, which helps in assessing the economic climate and the government decisions.

Get Creative

All the subjects dealt with so far are likely to be part of an actuarial curriculum. The following suggestions are more creative in that they are less likely to show up in the typical curriculum, though they increasingly do.

My first recommendation is to take a course on communications, both written and oral. If your college or university offers a course on business communication, that is even better. It is important to be able to communicate with non–actuaries and to explain what we do in layman's terms. It's a bonus if the course syllabus includes team presentations, as preparing for those is even more challenging that preparing for solo presentations.

Before you can become a master communicator, you need to have some command of the language. For anyone whose mother tongue is not English, an English course may be well advised before signing up for that communication course. If you already are fluent in English, you may consider learning another language. Are you contemplating doing business south of the border? Sign up for a Spanish class! Consider Mandarin if the fast developing markets of China attract you. Even if you do not end up using your second or third language on the job, you can use it on your travels and I am one to think that learning a new language is a great exercise for the brain.

Marketing and management courses can be helpful to actuaries. Even if you never work directly in marketing, some notions may help if you get involved in designing new products or start your own company. Taking a course in management can be a nice idea regardless of the extent to which you intend to climb the ladder and reach the top positions. Both courses that deal with the human side of management and the business aspects are worthy of consideration. What you choose, of course, depends on your interests as well as what you think you may be most lacking.

Extra Credit

Let me end with a few more thoughts on things you may wish to learn while in school. However, it is very unlikely that learning any of these things would count towards your diploma. In fact, your university or college likely does not even offer courses teaching these things!

One of them is golf. You may have heard that many decisions are made outside of the office, on the golf course. You need not become a pro, but some basic knowledge may be welcome. Besides, hitting a golf ball can be a way of releasing frustration... although getting stuck in a sand trap can greatly add to it!

Another one is manners or etiquette. Consider yourself lucky if your parents have made that part of your education. If not, try to learn by observing people or, better still, sign up for some lessons if available locally. A lot of it has to do with common sense and consideration for others, but a lot of it also has to do with social conventions which vary over time and depend on the culture.

Lastly, if judgment could be taught, that very well may be the best course you could ever sign up for. Unfortunately, however precious an asset that may be, it does not seem to lend itself to formal teaching. Indeed, not everything is learned in school!

Claire Bilodeau, ASA, PhD, is Associate Professor at Laval University in Quebec, Canada. She can be reached at claire.bilodeau@act.ulaval.ca.