Freshmen Workshop UCLA Bruin Actuarial Society

The Career  Actuarial Mathematics is Risk Analysis  In Insurance  How much should an insurance company charge to insure a building against earthquake damage?  How much insurance should my start-up buy? For what risks should I insure?  In Retirement  Does my investment plan afford me enough to live off of?  Will I have money when I’m 65? 80? 100?  Are my employees being adequately prepared for retirement?  Life is uncertain. So actuaries help answer these questions.

The Major  BS Financial Actuarial Mathematics  Pre-Major: Math 31A through 33B, PIC 10A, Econ 1, 2 and 11, MGMT 1A and 1B  Major: 11 courses: Math, Math and more Math  Your First Year  Take math every quarter  Start the Econ and MGMT requirements  Get a good start on your GEs  But save some for the future; you don’t want all actuarial classes in junior year!  Speaking from experience: MGMT after ECON 1, ECON 11 after Math 32A & 32B

Minors  Specialization in Computing  Seven courses: C++, Java, HTML, Discrete Math  Minor in Accounting  Seven courses: Financial & Managerial Accounting, Tax Policy, Business Law  Actuaries come from all kinds of majors and minors!  Stats, Econ, Math/Econ, Applied Math  It’s not the major that makes the actuary…

The Exams  The goal of every actuarial student is certification  The bane of every actuarial student’s existence is the exam track  Six Preliminary Exams to Associateship  Let’s focus on the first two exams:  Probability (Exam P)  Corresponds to Math 170A and 170B  Many students self-study using practice problems and study guides  Financial Math (Exam FM)  Corresponds to Math 172A  Sign up online for Computer-Based Testing (nearest Prometric testing center in Culver City)  All multiple choice  Results (Pass/Fail) on the spot Our Overlord

The Exams contd.  There is a separate track for the Casualty Actuarial Society  The first few exams, however, are common to both  SOA Exams P and FM correspond to CAS 1 and 2  Exams are often more important than your grades  Study time estimate: 3-4 hours a day for a Quarter/Summer  When you start taking them is up to you  But it’s good to have one or two by the time you start applying for internships  I.e., by the start of Junior year For Property & Casualty Actuaries

The Firms  Property & Casualty (P&C): Auto and Home Insurance  Farmers, State Farm, Nationwide, AAA, etc.  Health Insurance  UnitedHealth Care, Anthem, Aetna  Reinsurance  Swiss Re, Gen Re, Munich Re  Consulting  Mercer, Towers Watson, Buck Consultants at Xerox etc. Thanks, Obama

The Skills  Math Skills  Most internship opportunities ask for 3.0+ and 1 or 2 exams  Computer Skills  It’s what sets UCLA students apart from those at other schools  Object-oriented Languages  C++ (PIC 10A), Java, Python, Visual Basic.NET, R  SQL (Database Manipulation Language)  Microsoft Excel  PivotTable  Formulas (IF, VLOOKUP, etc.)  Macros (VBA/Visual Basic for Applications)

The Skills contd.  Professional Skills  Solid Résumé  High school stuff is perfectly fine for your first year  Will feature your clubs and organizations, volunteer work, skills, and internships  Look out for BAS résumé workshops and critiques throughout the year!  Interviewing Skills  Why do you want to be an actuary?  If you were me, why wouldn’t you hire yourself?  How many footballs can fit in this room?

Your Best Friend (besides caffeine)  How to gain the skills necessary to excel?  BAS.  Guidance: Mentorship Mixer at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, October 13 th in MS 6627  Technology: Look out for Excel VBA and SQL workshops later in the year.  Résumé Critiques and Mock Interviews: More information in the coming weeks!  And the best part?  Community.  The actuarial path is long. But it’s easier with friends.  So talk to each other :)

The Timeline  Freshman Year  Attend Career Fair!  Start off with a good GPA (It’s all downhill from here…)  Learn some programming in your free time (SQL, VBA)  Create a résumé and post it to BruinView  Sign up for OCR (On-Campus Recruitment) Orientation at the Career Fair  Develop your communication skills (in COMM class or in a student organization)  Network! These are the people you’ll be with for a long time.  Make a solid LinkedIn profile to present yourself to the world!

Continued  Sophomore Year  Attend Career Fair!!  Finish up pre-major requirements  Work on interviewing skills  Take Exam P (and possibly FM)  Junior Year  Attend Career Fair!!!!  Apply, Apply, Apply  Interview, Interview, Interview  (Hopefully) Accept an internship offer!  Senior Year  Graduate!

A freshman getting an internship offer? Probably not. So why should a freshman attend Career Fair?  It’s our main event of the year  You’ll get to meet representatives of over 20 firms  Get your questions answered  What sets a good candidate apart?  What computer skills are most important in your line of work?  What skills can a freshman be looking to develop?  Pick up brochures and other publications

Contd.  Network.  Meet the representatives! They’re actuaries, but also recruiters.  Take one: Ask for business cards  Leave one: Ask to present a résumé  Prepares you for the next few years’ Career Fairs  See what the upperclassmen are doing right  And what they are doing wrong  Watch the recruitment process without the pressure that upperclassmen face.

Career Center  On Campus Recruitment at UCLA takes place through the Career Center  Located on the 2 nd and 3 rd floors of the Strathmore Building at Strathmore and Westwood Plaza  On-campus interviews will take place here BruinView  Companies post their job openings to BruinView  Fill out your academic & personal info  Post your résumé

LinkedIn  “If you’re not on LinkedIn, you don’t exist” — A Wise Man  THE social media site for professionals  Build your profile  Current and former jobs  Skills & endorsements  Test scores and courses you’ve taken  Volunteer work  Projects, e.g, Case Competitions  Connect with friends and colleagues  Classmates  Fellow BAS members  Recruiters you meet at Career Fair

Fin  Questions?  Like Bruin Actuarial Society on Facebook  Connect with us on LinkedIn