IN RESPONSE TO OUR RECENT FEATURE “ANXIETY IS AN ACTUARY,” published in the November/December 2024 issue of Contingencies, reader Matthew Harnden, Marsh McLennan Agency, offered the following feedback:
“This is a message of thanks to the authors and editors of the article, ‘Anxiety Is an Actuary’ from the November/December issue of Contingencies. Some of my personal/ experiential details follow, but if you are in a hurry, the bottom line is a thank you to everyone involved in bringing this article to life.
I received my formal actuarial accreditation, including membership in the American Academy of Actuaries, in early 2024, and the November/December issue of Contingencies is the first physical print copy of the magazine that I received. Thank you for sending it.
I want to express my gratitude to authors Jen Elwood, Valerie Hamilton, and Jill Wilson for writing the article along with my gratitude to the Contingencies editor for publishing it.
In the approximately half a decade I worked as an actuarial analyst (the leadup to earning my ASA and MAAA accreditations), I worked as hard as I could to (1) advance through the SOA’s credentialling progression path, but also (2) prove my value and commitment to the team I work with.
Some practical limitations I faced with my colleagues’ specific requests included: (1) a shorter turnaround window for the task, or (2) the expectation to pull a rabbit out of a hat when the quality of available data was limited.
Without going into detail, I want to let the authors and editors of this article know that it resonated with me. I haven’t seen Inside Out 2, the movie referred to in the article, but I got a lot out of reading the piece. I’ve been contemplating what it takes to strike a balance between my eagerness to do good work and upholding the high standards of professionalism that I am committed to as a member of the actuarial profession. I’ve especially wondered what other actuaries have felt when in similar situations.
I’m aware of how generic this message may come across. To reiterate, I’m sparing everyone the pages of exposition it would take to lay out my personal experience of working toward accreditation and working to uphold the standards our profession lives by. I want the authors and editors to know that the article was well-received, and, in my case, it was particularly timely.”
