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Partner
NAME: Sarah BrownJOB TITLE: Partner
UNIVERSITY: Edinburgh
DEGREE: BSc Mathematics & Statistics
How it all started
Whilst I was at university I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do, although I knew that I wanted my career to involve maths to a large extent. I strongly believe that experience is the best way of learning whether a job is right for you, and my father, being a trustee of his company pension scheme, managed to arrange an 8-week work placement for me. I enjoyed the work so much that I decided in my first few weeks that being an actuary was the career for me. I had a Summer job with an accountancy firm organised for the following year but ended up doing another 8-week actuarial placement instead! Following my second placement I was offered a full-time position and started my actuarial career in September 1999.
The Exams
People approach the exams in very different ways. I was still living at home when I first started working and so studied very hard (taking advantage of not having to cook for myself etc!) to try and get through the exams as quickly as I could. It took me 4 years to qualify. During that time, in addition to the study time provided at work, I did have to study maybe an evening a week and sometimes at weekends, particularly in the lead-up to the exams.
Although I’m sure there are people who would disagree, I don’t think that the exams themselves are that difficult. However, combining sitting the exams with a full-time job is difficult, and becomes more difficult as your work responsibilities increase. It is well worth the effort though – qualifying as an actuary is definitely something that not everyone can do!
Working day to day
One of the most common questions I get asked by potential actuarial trainees is “what do you do on a normal day?”. However, my job is so varied that I can never give a simple answer! Being a pensions actuary is often about trying to communicate solutions to mathematical problems to trustees who may have little financial knowledge. We therefore combine the problem-solving with being able to explain (either in writing or verbally, and quite often both) what we have done and the next steps needed in an understandable way.
I spend more of my time now writing reports and letters, explaining the calculations that have been carried out. I have recently become a Partner of the firm and now spend an increasing amount of my time attending meetings to discuss the issues. I often get to travel around the UK, meeting with clients and colleagues, which I enjoy.
Barnett Waddingham LLP
I joined Barnett Waddingham in 2003, shortly after our Liverpool office opened. I qualified as an actuary around the same time and working for Barnett Waddingham has helped my career enormously. I have been given the opportunity to get involved in a wide range of work areas, advising both trustees and employers, and have also been involved with presenting our services to potential new clients. There are also numerous opportunities to become involved with internal committees depending on your particular areas of interest.
In 2009 I became a Partner of the firm after 5 years with Barnett Waddingham. This has given me the opportunity to become more involved in the areas which most interest me, taking projects and ideas forward for the benefit of the firm.
One of the key things I like about working for Barnett Waddingham is that, even though we have more than 400 employees, I can visit another office and know most of the people there. As a new employee I was always made to feel welcome and like `a valued employee; as a Partner part of my job is to ensure that all staff feel the same.