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Actuarial Student of The Past - Alistair Campbell |
Name: Alistair Campbell
Company: Scottish Life
Job Title: Senior Pensions Actuary
Year qualified: 1993
Summarise your role in fewer than 30 words.
Providing actuarial advice to trustees of defined benefit pension schemes. And to sponsoring employers. (But not at the same time.)
What attracted you to a career as an actuary?
I couldn’t get a proper job. I’d been on the dole for 18 months and had applied for scores of jobs but the only companies that showed any interest were life offices – I took the hint....
What do you think is the biggest challenge for a new trainee now compared to when you started?
Remembering which exam is which – there seem to be so many nowadays. And of course combining study with work – employers seem much less tolerant about exam failure and much more demanding –it all adds to the pressure.
In which area did you have your first actuarial role?
St Andrew Square. Is that what you meant? In what used to be called the Actuarial department but would now be termed Life Customer Service or something like that. Calculating policy surrender values – basically multiplying one factor by another –it wasn’t as demanding as it may sound.
What was the best piece of advice you were given as an actuarial student?
When it comes to study, it’s quality that matters, not quantity.
What was the worst piece of advice you were given as an actuarial student?
Being told there was no point studying SSAP 24 as it would never come up in the exam. It did.
What, in your opinion, is the key to being successful in exams?
Assuming you’ve done the (quality) study, then exam technique is tops- plan your answers, get easy points on the board early doors and write neatly. All obvious things that you tend to forget in the excitement of exam conditions– and most of all – don’t panic!
What is the best piece of advice you could give to actuarial students?
Ignore most advice – it’s rubbish. Do what actually works for you, not what allegedly works for other people. Oh, and don’t bother studying SSAP 24...
What would you say has been your biggest achievement since qualifying?
People being surprised when I tell them I’m an actuary - I try and take that as a compliment. And surviving the GASS dinner unharmed when I was FASS president – I think my jokes about GMP revaluation went down a storm...
If you were not an actuary (and already living the dream) what would be your dream career, and why?
Some sort of professional sportsperson – I guess now that might have to be a darts player – it would combine elements of numeracy, accuracy and showbiz (and I wouldn’t have to lose too much weight).
Do you know any good actuary-related jokes you would like to share?
According to GASS, apparently not...
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