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What would you say is an unconventional/untraditional but important skill that is helpful to have for someone interested in becoming an actuary or in a business-related field? It could be for during interviews or in the job setting. #Spring26
I am currently a high school senior, about to major in actuarial science in the fall. I think this question is a fun question to ask to understand a work environment a little bit more.
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Liam’s Answer
Learn about different cultures. Learn about how business takes place in different countries. Do some international travel so you can see for yourself what its like to interact with different people.
Other than that, network. Make friends and keep in touch with them so you can always have connections for your job and for other jobs! Some activities business people do to network are games like golf, poker, hunting/ fishing, trap shooting, and sometimes other outdoor sports. It never looks bad to hang out with your company, meet another company, do one of these activities and stand out because if it. I know other countries karaoke is a popular thing to do as well. If you are traveling to a country where karaoke is popular it might be worth learning a tune or two to show off.
Other than that, network. Make friends and keep in touch with them so you can always have connections for your job and for other jobs! Some activities business people do to network are games like golf, poker, hunting/ fishing, trap shooting, and sometimes other outdoor sports. It never looks bad to hang out with your company, meet another company, do one of these activities and stand out because if it. I know other countries karaoke is a popular thing to do as well. If you are traveling to a country where karaoke is popular it might be worth learning a tune or two to show off.
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Devin’s Answer
Volunteering is a great opportunity to help, learn, and stand out, especially if you find a cause that is significant to you.
Anything that the hiring manager is interested in helps a lot! That is definitely hard to plan out, but it is good to try to build rapport, especially at the beginning of an interview.
Anything that the hiring manager is interested in helps a lot! That is definitely hard to plan out, but it is good to try to build rapport, especially at the beginning of an interview.
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Donna’s Answer
You always need to be true to yourself and explore, explore, explore whatever excites you.
Being passionate about an interest needs to be authentic.
And as you explore your interest, you will figure out what skills to develop and figure out how best to develop them .
The amazing access we have today to information with the internet and AI is so enabling for self discovery and learning.
That all being said, for my actuarial career, I wish I had had more general business and practical background in certain areas such as accounting, economics and stochastic methodology. I loved theoretical mathematics more than applied/practical mathematics and in college I focused on the theoretical rather than the applied. That wasn't directly useful in my actuarial career but I did love those courses.
During my 40-year career as a pension actuary, I enjoyed my interactions on the human resources, plan administration and plan design side much more than on the financial strategy and projection side. That could be because I had less formal training on the business side of things. That's one of the great thing about an actuarial career, it can go many different directions.
Being passionate about an interest needs to be authentic.
And as you explore your interest, you will figure out what skills to develop and figure out how best to develop them .
The amazing access we have today to information with the internet and AI is so enabling for self discovery and learning.
That all being said, for my actuarial career, I wish I had had more general business and practical background in certain areas such as accounting, economics and stochastic methodology. I loved theoretical mathematics more than applied/practical mathematics and in college I focused on the theoretical rather than the applied. That wasn't directly useful in my actuarial career but I did love those courses.
During my 40-year career as a pension actuary, I enjoyed my interactions on the human resources, plan administration and plan design side much more than on the financial strategy and projection side. That could be because I had less formal training on the business side of things. That's one of the great thing about an actuarial career, it can go many different directions.