Hey, glad to see you're making videos again. I think I found your videos 3 or 4 years ago when I was considering joining the actuarial profession. Now I'm 6 exams in
Omg Michelle it's great to see you again 😀 I actually became a PMO (hybrid project management and analyst role) at a small company thinking that I was deviating from the actuarial path but it's funny and reassuring that project management is the endgame in terms of career prospects at large firms too. After working a couple years, I realized that we are both very similar. I also prefer working on technical stuff and being an Individual contributor despite being told that I'm management material. Managing people is a real pain because they can be unpredictable and emotional compared to data and numbers. Even so, the leadership & soft skills that I gained from the PM part of my job are indispensable. I would say to make the switch to management if you are willing to risk leaving your comfort zone of feeling in control, smart and competent at your job at least in the short run. Also, never forget this axiom: "Management is not a promotion! It''s a career change." The reason why you don't have other strategies (besides faking confidence) in persuading others it's because people management is a different skill set that you weren't taught in university (exams and assignments are all solo). Also, it doesn't help that actuarial exams selectively reward people who excel at solo work. You kinda have to unlearn things that helped you in your individual contributor role and it's not always easy. You have to shift your mentality from prioritising your personal tasks to making sure that the people who report to you are well equipped to do their work and that they are well aware of your (or team) vision and priorities. My best advice to be persuasive is to genuinely care about the people who you work with, try to really listen and be present with people and learn to find satisfaction in seeing others grow and succeed. In concrete terms, it means to add the words "we" and "why ... because" to your vocab when communicating with others. If your team fails to deliver on a project in a timely manner, it's all on you for not properly communicating your expectations. To answer your question, that's generally how a manager is evaluated. Being persuasive and being a good manager is ultimately about putting the team first and being selfless. Simon Sinek goes over this in more detail in his Ted Talk. Much like how the SOA & CAS decide who gets to be actuaries, there is an organization that governs project management best practices and certificates called the PMI to become PMPs. I recommend you look up the most basic version of the PMBOK to learn about this subject. PM is all about persuading people and managing stakeholder expectations. Humorously, I like to call PM the skill of telling people "NO". It's tough, but empowering.
It makes sense. You start as an actuary doing actuary work, but then as you get promoted you take on business administration tasks, but you might not like business!
I'm actually going back to school in the fall to finish out my applied mathematics degree from UNC-Charlotte! And also am looking at staying for the grad program so I'll have a good base for 6 of the exams. Please continue making this content as it really helps me. I'll be 30 when I finish grad school but it's never too late to maximize your potential! Thank you so much!
When it comes to making your IC role fit in the big picture in terms of driving business strategies, you could propose certain mergers & acquisitions. I read somewhere that the P&C market is fragmented in Canada so you are unlikely to invoke antitrust laws. For example, there is Intact who acquired the Frank Cowan Guarantee in 2019 and RSA in 2021 or LA Capitale and SSQ merging to become Beneva in 2020. Since analysts are likely to project future claim liabilities that they will inherit for acquiring another Insurance company or division, I'm pretty sure actuaries played a part in crunching the numbers to see if the purchase was worth it financially
Love this kind of video!! You and I are in similar stages in our actuarial careers & it's nice to know I'm not alone in feeling like I'm not totally sure about where it's headed. I just started an audiobook about persuasion! Persuasion has always felt kind of like a nice word for manipulation to me, but I'm trying to reframe that because it's probably not ALL bad. The book is Catalyst by Jonah Berger. It's interesting so far, about 1.25 hours in!
Welcome back! I am a student living in Canada and studying in the US. And I am trying to pass the preliminary exams right now! Thanks to your video, I learned a lot about this career and expectations. And I think I will go back to Toronto after my graduation(And yup, I heard the familiar sirens in your video that wake me up every day, haha). I am just wondering if you have any suggestions about what should I do during an actuarial internship to maximize my learnings? I accepted an offer for the upcoming summer and am pretty excited about it but kinda nervous about how to prepare for that. Oh, and I just want you to know that your videos have been very beneficial to me as an aspiring actuary, and I am definitely subscribing to your insta! Happy new year!
Congratulations on your internship! I'd just say to be curious, try to work on a variety of projects, talk to as many people as possible, and try to enjoy yourself 😊
