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Actuarial Student of The Past - Dave Campbell |
Name: Dave Campbell
Company: Standard Life
Job Title: Director, Product Architecture
Summarise your role in fewer than 30 words.
To create a market leading product infrastructure that allows customers to achieve their goals either directly or through an adviser.
What attracted you to a career as an actuary?
On leaving school I wanted to go to university. A lack of a language qualification restricted my choice of university. A restricted range of courses and a desire to utilise my mathematical skills led to an actuarial course. Having achieved maximum exemptions one thing led to another.
What do you think is the biggest challenge for a new trainee now compared to when you started?
Balancing studies with the demands of the business. Whilst most people worked long hours the hours were not as long as now or the work intensity. It was over 20 years ago!
In which area did you have your first actuarial role?
Actuarial reassessments – an area that looked after the valuations of our final salary schemes. The most amazing thing is that the trainer of the team and the other members of the team are still with Standard.
What was the best piece of advice you were given as an actuarial student?
Pass your exams. Seriously, the best advice was to get through the exams as quickly as possible by doing as much as possible to make sure you pass.
What was the worst piece of advice you were given as an actuarial student?
Sit too many exams. Much better to get the balance correct and ensure you pass.
What, in your opinion, is the key to being successful in exams?
Don’t panic and know your stuff. Good exam technique is about getting all the key points down in a way that makes sense. If a difficult question comes up, remember, it is probably difficult for everyone
What is the best piece of advice you could give to actuarial students?
It is better to resolve all your issues before the exam rather than finding out in it that you have a problem. Use all the help you can get to ensure you really understand the principles before the exam.
What would you say has been your biggest achievement since qualifying?
The thing I would be most proud of is leading the programme to develop our in house SIPP and then seeing the business maximising the opportunity it presented.
If you were not an actuary (and already living the dream) what would be your dream career, and why?
It would need to be sporting. Living the dream of playing golf for a living but clearly that could only have started after scoring the winner for Hearts in the cup final!
Do you know any good actuary-related jokes you would like to share?
None that you will not have heard before.
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