Four key skills for junior actuaries
by Onar Cranny
To build a successful career as an actuarial professional, you don’t just need to understand the numbers and how they translate to tangible risks. You need a wide range of skills covering the technical and people side of the role, while constantly keeping yourself educated on your profession.
To find out what skills they’ve needed to navigate the start of their actuarial career, I caught up with Bronwyn Lyons (planning actuary) and Zeeshan Mohid (actuarial analyst) from Allianz UK, Katerina Ioannidou (senior actuarial analyst) and Rachel Daly (actuarial analyst) from Argenta Syndicate Management Ltd, and Devan Vadher (senior insurance risk analyst) of Aspen Insurance Group.
Our panel identified the following skills:
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Software – Programming languages like R (statistical analysis and data visualisation), Python (extensive libraries for data analysis and machine learning) and VBA (automating tasks within Microsoft Office applications) are all really useful in data analysis, but PowerPoint and Excel remain as important as ever.
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Communication – as well as having a firm handle on the data, you need to be able to explain the work you’re doing to a non-technical audience or senior stakeholders who aren’t as close to the numbers.
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Networking – building your contacts is so important to raising your profile, opening up new perspectives and increasing your understanding, both of your role and the industry as a whole. It could also open the door to new opportunities later in your career.
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Keeping up to date – make sure you’re always up to date with the latest trends in the actuarial profession, such as artificial intelligence, automation and sustainability, which will have a material impact on the business environment, your clients and your role.
If you’re just starting out on your actuarial journey, listen to The Actuary of the Future podcast for more useful tips to help you out in your career.
If you’re looking for your next role, get in touch with me to find out how we can help.
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