Maths related careers. A summary of my journey so far

How am I going to use my summer and what do I want to do after I graduate?

This summer I plan to get an internship hopefully in a financial or actuarial field to see whether my job plan is really for me. If I do not get an internship I plan to do some work experience in an accounting department. This summer I also plan on doing a little bit of travelling to the home countries of friends I have met on their ERASMUS years here, I think it will be a good opportunity to see more of the world and meet new people. It’s also a good excuse to start learning new languages. This summer I plan to do a little more study into my subject so hopefully I feel better prepared for my second year! After I graduate I hope to get a job as a student actuary where I can work my way to qualify fully I hope to travel with my job and visit countries around the world with an actuarial consultant job. I may also pursue further study as I am currently researching master’s degrees in both statistics and actuarial science which are both fields I enjoy. I also want a placement in the summer of my second year potentially in engineering to see if that could also be an area I am interested in working in.

 

How has my plan changed after attending sessions 1, 2 and 3 of the Maths Talent Academy?

My plans have not changed very much as I have been certain I wanted to become an actuary since being 16 though session 3 made me think about how I can branch out with my maths degree and how I am not stuck with just the mathematical side of the degree. If I wish to do so I could branch out into a more creative job such as marketing or I could branch out into engineering. There were companies I didn’t expect to take mathematics graduate such as network rail. It has also made me consider statistics more as a career option. Session one when I was sat at a table with 5 people I didn’t know made me realise I was much more social than I first thought I was and has given me more confidence to talk to more people and be more confident in myself. The MTBI report has made me see potential flaws in my personality and has helped me notice when I’m slipping into bad habits so I can improve my professional and personal relationships.

 

What do I need to do to achieve my current career goal?

I need work experience and to improve on my specific skills to make me stand out above other potential candidates for the job.  I must also perform well in my degree and put more importance into doing the best I possibly can do instead of doing enough to pass comfortably. I think presenting an accurate first impression of myself as an honest, hardworking and logical person will help me impress potential employers.

Reflecting on what I have learnt in session 2.

What did the MBTI say about me and what did I learn about myself?

My MBTI report came back as ISTJ which it introverted, sensing, thinking and judging which a first I didn’t totally agree with. The test indicated I was very clearly introverted which I don’t necessarily agree with but talking to one of the supervisors we later determined this maybe be accurate because when I have had a bad day I’d rather be by myself than surround myself with others. I agree with the sensing aspect as former teachers have said in class debate I assess an idea and an argument by myself and build it in my mind to a solid conclusion and argue my point when I know it is difficult to knock it down. The other characteristics describe me as organised, systematic and wish everyone to be treated equally. The later I can especially see as I believe in any company the cleaner can play just as much of a role as a manager, if the cleaner does not come the office standards decrease, the employees become unhappy and they become less productive. The same would also happen if the manager has a bad attitude was unfair or cruel with the workers. Though I mostly agree with the MBTI on how I view myself people I meet disagree with how others perceive me instead of calm, reserved and serious I can come across as energetic and very open. A point I found very useful about my MTBI report was is said “Find it difficult to delegate” which is true to a degree I often try to split workloads evenly but when through past experience I know this person does not do their work I will more often than not take on their share too just to make sure it is complete.

 

What is my Unique Selling Point?

I am a friendly, honest person who makes people feel comfortable and can get a group to work well together. I am well organised and can usually foresee problems and can deal with them before they occur. For example before university I used to look after my elderly grandmother and make sure she was getting to doctor appointments that her bills were paid and her house was safe to live in, before I came to university I had to make arrangements for her to be looked after between the local council and my family which were complete with time for me to see if the new plans were working before I left. I am good at finding solutions that appease most parties which is a talent acquired through babysitting and tutoring when tutoring I had to find a way to communicate the ideas in a way the person could understand. I learnt some students learned though examples they could follow through whilst others learnt by explanation of what they were doing and why they were doing it and others just needed the confidence that what they were doing was correct.  

 

What experiences/knowledge helped me develop and identify my strengths?

I have gained knowledge of my strengths by being a young carer of my grandmother, a babysitter and some voluntary work I have done. The increased work load at university and opportunities to meet new people have increased my confidence in my ability to handle stress and build relationships with new people. I have also found moving from a household with just 2 people in to one of 10 is certainly an effective way to get to know people quickly and learn how to diffuse arguments and keep the house peaceful. Our house is apparently one of the rarer houses where all 10 of us will occasionally cook a large meal and all sit together and even if we are not close friends with each other but we can all get on enough to enjoy a peaceful home at university.

 

My 'Elevator Pitch'

Hi, I’m Jenn. I am currently studying Mathematics and Actuarial Science at the University of Leicester and I am hoping to become an Actuary after I graduate. I believe I will be a useful addition to your company as I am a good problem solver and I am able to effectively communicate with other people which I demonstrated while tutoring younger students when studying for my a-level.

Reflections on the initial skills audit

How easy/difficult was it to complete Unit 1?

On the surface the skills audit looked easy to complete and I thought I would have completed it quite quickly but having to think of specific examples which demonstrated these skills. I also found it very difficult to rate myself  sometimes I thought I had a particular skill but when I thought about examples of when I demonstrated this there just weren’t any which was actually quite revealing to me. Looking back on unit 1 I can see I rushed it a little bit and it could have done with more work and more time putting in.

 

What skills do I need to develop?

I still need to improve my communication skills both written and face to face as sometimes I feel I am just not getting my point across or other people do not understand me. I also need to improve on my confidence sometimes I was going to rate myself low on the skills audit when I realise it’s a skill I use a lot in any of the jobs I have done such as the “Negotiating, reaching acceptable agreement” which I can often do whether it is with an angry supplier, children I am babysitting or with my own family members. I think I need to be more active on the job front as although I have applied to a few internships I have not done much else in the way of improving my employability. I also think I have to improve my time scheduling as sometimes I massively underestimate how long an assignment may take me which makes it difficult to keep up with everything else.  

 

How am I going to develop them?

I am studying a book on academic writing and a vocabulary book to help improve my written communication hopefully this will help improve my grade in my modules which require essays written in them too. I have to more confident in the skills I do possess and work to improve those which will help me in a work environment, I will also look at taking on more work experience during the holidays to expand and improve upon my skill set to become a more well rounded person and stand out better among the sea of graduates in the future. I will apply for part time jobs within the university to force myself to become better at time management (no more spending hours trying to level up on candy crush saga). I also have to become more realistic about how much work I can do in a day so I can organise my assignments better. Staying up all night to complete that assignment on time is usually as good as handing in a piece of paper with random numbers scribbled everywhere.  

 

Why is this important to me?

I hope to become an actuary in the future but to get into this position I need to get a graduate placement as a student actuary in a company that finds me employable. I know this is a competitive field, I am in the first year and out of 130 students I know of at least 20 who wish to become an actuary. If you extrapolate this data the number of students looking for placements as an actuary far exceed the actual placements meaning I will not only have to hold the degree (as many of these students will also do) but stand out with my specific skill set personality and previous experience.