Tia

Celebrating Black History Month with Tia

Actuarial Science

1. You’re out for happy hour and someone approaches you at the bar and asks “What is actuarial science?” Your response (and drink order) is… 

Tia: Actuaries calculate financial risk -- usually for insurance companies. Companies need to know how much money to charge insureds so that they are able to pay claims in the future. This requires calculating the probability of claims and forecasting the amount of those claims as well. It becomes even more complicated when you factor in the fact that companies also have overhead expenses like paying their employees and that they are out to make a profit. Besides charging customers, they also make money by investing the premiums they collect. Actuaries calculate how much money companies need to have in liquid assets so that they can pay claims that may occur at any given moment. Since it’s impossible to know exactly who will get into a car accident or who will fall and file a workers’ compensation claim, these unknowns are predicted by actuaries. Long and short: we calculate financial risk. ...and I’ll take a gin and tonic. :)

2. From your earliest memory/experience, how did you know you wanted to be involved in this field?

Tia: I first found out about actuarial science my senior year of high school. My mom had read that it was on a list of the most satisfactory careers -- we get paid well and have good work-life balance while we’re at it. I then took part in a “bootcamp” where they taught us some of the math we would need, spoke to us about the career in general and gave us experience networking. At the end of that week, the summer after my senior year of high school, I changed my major from architecture to math and haven’t looked back.

3. Explain the process of becoming an actuary. 

Tia: To become an actuary you need a Bachelor’s degree, typically in math, finance, econ or actuarial science. Additionally, there are a series of tests you must take. The preliminary tests are usually taken while you’re in college, and then once you graduate, companies will pay you  a salary and pay for study materials so you can continue taking and passing exams. While in college people typically also have at least one internship, so it’s definitely important to couple experience in the field with taking and passing tests.

3a. In your opinion, what is the most challenging aspect of your field? 

Tia: The most challenging aspect is definitely the tests. The preliminary tests are three hours each and they recommend studying about 300 hours for each one. I’ve passed three so far, but the first one I took I failed miserably. It takes a bit of willpower and self-confidence to stay motivated through each study cycle.

3b. The least challenging?

Tia: I don’t know how this will sound but… A lot of times people who are really good at math aren’t as good at interacting with people (#nerds). I consider myself rather introverted -- I enjoy people but I definitely have to be “on” to network and things of that nature. After my first interview for an internship, the recruiter called me to say I would be offered the position and commented that my interpersonal skills were “off the charts.” I had to hold back laughter because I had cried in the car before going in because I was so nervous about interacting with these people. I say all this to say, the easiest part of excelling in this career (for me) is the networking and interpersonal aspect of it.

4. What are you most excited about once the entire process is complete?

Tia: I really love the career. Something about calculating risk is really interesting to me. I’m hoping to eventually be the CRO (Chief Risk Officer) of a company. There currently aren’t very many people who look like me in the career (Black people or women but especially Black women), so it would be very cool to be a Black woman in the C-Suite. 

5. How do you think being a Black person in this field has affected you?

Tia: I’ve definitely seen and heard some rather problematic things while working as an intern. I think being Black in a White space makes me hypersensitive to the comments and situations that may arise. I remember specifically sitting in a casual lunch with colleagues/managers (mostly White men) and the conversation somehow turned to sugar daddies and sugar daddy websites. I intentionally did not contribute to the conversation, but noticing that I was quiet they turned to me and asked what I knew about these websites. I recognized later that I was subconsciously aware that perhaps some bias might be applied to me, especially if I seemed to know more than the average person and that’s why I had chosen not to participate in the conversation. To them it probably seemed like just a fun conversation to have during lunch (White/male privilege) but for me, an intern and a Black woman it was not.

6. Say actuarial science was off the table and you had to make an altering career choice in the next five minutes, what do you choose and why?

Tia: I would continue teaching. I’ve been teaching high school math for the last three years and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE my job and I love my kids. It’s definitely not easy work and I don’t get paid nearly enough but it is so rewarding that I think I’d stay in it forever. I am really passionate about making sure Black and Brown kids, specifically, have really strong teachers who value them as people so I’d hopefully move up through the education system to eventually provide professional development to educators about diversity, equity and inclusion full time.

7. COVID-19 and actuarial science. How has the pandemic changed (or not) the way the field operates now?

Tia: Insurance companies experienced some really interesting things in 2020 as a whole. (I find it difficult to separate the pandemic from everything else that happened in 2020 like the racial unrest, etc.) Because insurance operates in the background, we don’t often realize all of the things that affect insurance. Between the wildfires threatening homes and lives, the protests affecting small and large businesses, the pandemic taking lives but also shutting down businesses, there are plenty of insurance claims to be made. For that reason, actuaries are more in demand now than ever. It’s a field that is already expanding and I think will continue to grow as the years go by.

8. Tell us your favorite Black history figure.

Tia: My favorite Black history figure… Ethel Hedgeman Lyle OF COURSE. To be one generation removed from slavery, before women had officially won their fight for the right to vote, to be in college and have the vision and dedication to found an organization for Black women, when no such organization had been founded prior and WITHOUT the help of a man... and for that organization to still be vibrant as ever today, 113 years later?????……. I mean, who else is there to choose, really. Skee Wee.

Tia grew up in Connecticut and moved across the country to attend Louisiana State University (LSU) for undergrad. She graduated from LSU in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics.

Upon graduating, she joined the Teach for America Corps and moved to Charlotte, NC. She currently works as a high school math teacher, but recently accepted a position as an actuarial analyst and will be transitioning to that role in Summer 2021.

Outside of her full time job, she teaches young children ballet and enjoys traveling with friends.

Instagram: @_callmet