Name: Lauren O’Meara

Company: Standard Life

Age: 22

Year of joining Actuarial Profession: 2007

Year of joining current company: 2007

Exams passed to date: CT1-8, CA1

Why did you choose to become an actuary?

I enjoyed maths at school and was also interested in the money and career prospects that being an actuary may offer.

Did you find it hard to adjust to working life when you first started?

Not really.

How do you find balancing work and study?

It can be tough coming up to exams especially if work is demanding too but so far haven’t found it too bad.

Do you find you have much free time?

Yes, most of the time, but not when the exams are approaching.

How relevant are the exams you’ve studied to the job you do? (i.e. Do you apply what you've learned?)

Sometimes relevant but a lot of the material I studied for exams I haven’t used yet.

I’ve probably found CT1 and CT4 most useful to my work so far.

How do you find working in the <life and pensions/finance> industry?

I think it’s quite a good place work as a student as the work is more project-based which makes it easier to plan study leave.

How easy is it to move between departments in your company?

Relatively easy. Student moves take place every 2 years approx.

Which is better, in your opinion? To change roles frequently or to remain in one area where you can build up a strong level of expertise?

To change roles every couple of years. In my opinion this is more important as it gives you the opportunity to see what area you work best in and what you like doing the most.

This should also benefit employers in the long run.

What is expected today from new actuaries?

To pass exams in a reasonable amount of time.

To actively seek opportunities to develop and improve actuarial skills.

What skills, if any, would you recommend trying to develop before starting work with a company?

I would probably recommend developing communication and organisation/time management skills as these are important no matter what role you are carrying out.

Technical skills are also important but these depend on your company and line of work.

Give an example of a kind of project you have or are currently working on?

I’m currently working on a project which involves re-designing all quotes and documents that get issued to our customers to make them comply with the new conduct of business rules (New COB) and with TCF (treating customers fairly) requirements.

How do you think the ‘credit crunch’ is affecting the profession?

It makes the job of actuaries as risk managers and future financial planners/assessors more important and possibly will put more emphasis on areas such as risk management, capital assessment, solvency, etc, in the future.

What prospects do you see for actuaries in the future?

See last question. Also hopefully more international prospects.