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Sissi Zhou is in her third year in the actuarial science and statistics major program, and is planning to switch into the actuarial specialist program in the next program enrolment period.
For Sissi, ACT 390 stood out because it focuses on professional development: the parts of an actuarial career that are harder to practice in a technical lecture, like networking, interviewing, and learning how actuarial work connects to real decisions inside organizations.
“Actuaries have somewhat of a reputation for being overly technical and lacking in accessible communication, so I thought this course would be useful to help develop my professional skills by practicing formal conversations, coffee-chats, and eventually interviews.
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UofT Statistical Sciences: To start, can you tell us a bit about your program of study and where you are in your actuarial science degree?
Sissi Zhou: I’m in my third year in the actuarial science and statistics major program, but I’m planning to switch into the actuarial specialist program in the next program enrolment period.
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UofT Statistical Sciences: ACT 390 focuses on professional development rather than technical math. Going into the course, what were your expectations?
Sissi Zhou: I knew going into the course that it was going to be very different from the technical classes actuarial students are used to… I thought this course would be useful to help develop my professional skills by practicing formal conversations, coffee-chats, and eventually interviews.
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UofT Statistical Sciences: What aspects of the course have stood out to you most so far, such as workshops, industry speakers, case studies, or networking opportunities?
Sissi Zhou: ACT 390 offers so many great opportunities for professional development… The resume workshop, mock interview, case competition, weekly panels hosting industry professionals as well as opportunities to connect with them one-on-one afterwards; I’m super grateful to ACT 390 for introducing me to the professional world and giving me the opportunity to build connections in the industry.
In particular, Sissi appreciated the chance to hear from professionals working across different parts of the actuarial field, and to get direct guidance in a setting that still felt student-friendly.
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UofT Statistical Sciences: How has ACT 390 helped you better understand how in-class learning materials connect to real-world careers?
Sissi Zhou: Through ACT 390’s case competition, I was able to use concepts I’ve learned in class in a real-world setting, helping an insurance company expand their coverage and improve their lines of business. In particular, I got to learn about how combined ratios are used as a key profitability metric in a real company, and how they’re used to support real pricing decisions.
“It’s one thing to learn about concepts in class, but a totally different experience to get to use it yourself to impact your company’s bottom line.
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UofT Statistical Sciences: Were there any parts of the course that felt unfamiliar or intimidating at first, and how did your experience change as the term progressed?
Sissi Zhou: One thing I’ve always struggled with is talking to new people. It’s intimidating because you feel the need to leave a strong first impression… As a result of that, I was really nervous to talk with professionals one-on-one during the mini-networking session after the weekly panels.
After the first session though, I was pleasantly surprised with how professionals genuinely are interested in you as a person and not just as a potential employee.
Throughout the term it became easier and easier to talk to people in the industry because it became a way to better understand the actuarial community instead of just looking for a job… I started looking for even more opportunities to get exposure to the industry by attending info sessions, asking for coffee-chats, and eventually attending ASNA.
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UofT Statistical Sciences: In what ways has ACT 390 helped you feel more prepared for internships or future professional experiences in actuarial science?
Sissi Zhou: The resume workshop and mock interview were also very helpful in helping me secure my first internship, where I ended up interning at the company of my mock interviewer :)
I would definitely say the mock interview, mini networking sessions, and case competition were very helpful in helping me improve my professional skills and narrow down the opportunities that I’m interested in.
Through the mock interview, I came to understand how little I really knew about the industry… It forced me to think about the bigger impact questions and prepare better interview questions and conversation topics.
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UofT Statistical Sciences: What would you say to students who might be unsure about what to expect from a professionally focused course like ACT 390?
Sissi Zhou: Just take it! As the course instructors say, it’s really things you should be doing anyway if you’re serious about a career in actuarial science. Taking this course just formalizes it… I know a lot of students are worried that this course is going to be too much on top of an already full course-load, but I would say that it’s important to learn to balance school and professional development… Plus, the course is CR/NCR so it won’t affect your GPA if your other classes need to take precedence.
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