If you are a junior or senior in college looking for a summer actuarial internship or full-time actuarial position, it may be in your best interest to spend some time over your winter break learning how to code!
Learning how to code will both prepare you for actuarial work and set you apart from other applicants competing for similar positions. You can even take learning one step further by creating models (i.e. modeling fantasy sports stats) or simulations (i.e. blackjack hands) to discuss in future interviews, too. Showing you can teach yourself a programming language and apply it to a real life scenario is huge, especially if you can effectively communicate that on your resume and in an interview!
Learning how to code will both prepare you for actuarial work and set you apart from other applicants competing for similar positions. You can even take learning one step further by creating models (i.e. modeling fantasy sports stats) or simulations (i.e. blackjack hands) to discuss in future interviews, too. Showing you can teach yourself a programming language and apply it to a real life scenario is huge, especially if you can effectively communicate that on your resume and in an interview!
Data vs Computer Memory (data wins)
Insurance companies have a lot of data. Depending on the company and position, you may be working with millions of rows of data. When you're working with a lot of data, knowing how to program is key to speeding up processes. It's just not practical manipulating a million rows in excel - you'll end up waiting all day for excel to perform functions on millions of rows, especially if your computer isn't equipped with adequate computing power. As an entry-level actuarial analyst, your focus may be on how to manipulate the data to quickly get only the information useful to you. Going one step further, you may need to analyze a dataset based on multiple characteristics and find anomolies. You may find that some data is inconsistent and may require data cleansing. In some cases, a lot of behind the scenes data preparation will be necessary prior to creating a model or forecast.
With that in mind, you can't go wrong in learning intermediate/advanced excel features, VBA, SQL or R during your winter break (or any break!). Below is a list of great resources to help you get started!
With that in mind, you can't go wrong in learning intermediate/advanced excel features, VBA, SQL or R during your winter break (or any break!). Below is a list of great resources to help you get started!
The Infinite Actuary Technical Skills Course
If you're a full-time student, you really can't go wrong spending $72.50 on this course. This course covers all of the technical skills actuaries should have including basic/intermediate excel, VBA, Access, SQL, and SAS. It also includes actuarial projects, too, so you are able to apply what you learn in each module. Access to this course is 12 months, so this is great if you're midway through senior year and want to get a jump start on your technical skills prior to starting full-time. After completing this course, you'll have all of the technical skills employers are looking for in their actuaries!
Excel
Chances are, you've had to use excel at one point or another for certain college courses. Even if you think you are already pretty good at excel, chances are there are some really great tips and features you're missing - especially tips and tricks that can save you a lot of time!
222 Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - This is definitely worthy of a hard copy - tons of time saving shortcuts, especially when it comes to selecting and making changes to data.
20 Useful Excel Tricks - There's some overlap from the link above, but these excel tricks can also save a lot of time!
Excel Trick - Really great site with lots of excel advice and step-by-step guides on how to use different features, such as named ranges and other popular features.
222 Excel Keyboard Shortcuts - This is definitely worthy of a hard copy - tons of time saving shortcuts, especially when it comes to selecting and making changes to data.
20 Useful Excel Tricks - There's some overlap from the link above, but these excel tricks can also save a lot of time!
Excel Trick - Really great site with lots of excel advice and step-by-step guides on how to use different features, such as named ranges and other popular features.
VBA
VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) is very useful, especially if the majority of your work is in excel. From the automation of pivot tables to using ActiveX scrolls, learning VBA can really help make your life easier and reduce the amount of manual work necessary to perform repetitive tasks. The following sites and courses are all free and allow you to learn at your own pace.
Youtube Videos - If you learn better through visuals, I recommend checking out the following two Youtube channels - YourProgrammingNetwork and ExcelVbaIsFun. Both channels have a lot of positive reviews and comments and serve as great resources for learning how to program in VBA.
Guide - If you prefer learning through written guides, this Excel VBA Programming site is a great resource with a lot of different sections to teach you VBA basics.
Course - This free blackboard course is the perfect resource for anyone looking for a more structured course to learn VBA.
Youtube Videos - If you learn better through visuals, I recommend checking out the following two Youtube channels - YourProgrammingNetwork and ExcelVbaIsFun. Both channels have a lot of positive reviews and comments and serve as great resources for learning how to program in VBA.
Guide - If you prefer learning through written guides, this Excel VBA Programming site is a great resource with a lot of different sections to teach you VBA basics.
Course - This free blackboard course is the perfect resource for anyone looking for a more structured course to learn VBA.
SQL
SQL (Structured Query Language) is also an important programming language and many actuaries use this in their day-to-day roles. Some insurers may keep all of their premium and losses in separate tables for separate lines of business and may require analyses on specific types of policies based on a handful of fields.
Knowing how to code in SQL can definitely help you pick up other programming languages, such as SAS. Unlike VBA, some SQL servers have slightly different syntax (i.e. MySQL vs PostgreSQL), so this is something to keep in mind when you're learning SQL. However, a strong foundation in any given syntax can be easily leveraged across the board.
Guide - W3schools is hands down the best resource for learning SQL. There are a lot of paid courses out there, but this free guide covers everything you need to know to use SQL.
Youtube Video - This hour long video is also a great resource for learning the basics and has a lot of positive feedback.
Knowing how to code in SQL can definitely help you pick up other programming languages, such as SAS. Unlike VBA, some SQL servers have slightly different syntax (i.e. MySQL vs PostgreSQL), so this is something to keep in mind when you're learning SQL. However, a strong foundation in any given syntax can be easily leveraged across the board.
Guide - W3schools is hands down the best resource for learning SQL. There are a lot of paid courses out there, but this free guide covers everything you need to know to use SQL.
Youtube Video - This hour long video is also a great resource for learning the basics and has a lot of positive feedback.
R
R is becoming increasingly more common to find in actuarial work, mainly for its versatility and its open source nature. If you have a statistical analysis you need to perform, chances are you will find the right add-on you need in R. There are also other tools, such as Power BI, where you can actually code in R to create visuals. The possibilities truly are endless, making R a great addition to your technical skills!
Guide - This guide can help answer any quick questions you have as you begin coding in R.
Course - This free four-hour course is meant to give you a solid foundation in understanding the basics of R.
Guide - This guide can help answer any quick questions you have as you begin coding in R.
Course - This free four-hour course is meant to give you a solid foundation in understanding the basics of R.
| Actuarial exams will always be key to landing an actuarial role, but knowing some related technical skills (Excel, VBA, SQL, SAS, R, etc.) can set you apart both as you apply to actuarial positions and once you start work. A lot of processes can be automated thanks to these programming languages, so it will definitely impress your future manager when you can create a new and improved version of an existing process! |  |
Know of any other great sites to learn VBA or SQL? Please post them below!
Note: This post was edited on June 23rd, 2017 to include a section on R!
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