Suggested Computer Skills

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From be an actuary

The following discussion on suggested computer languages for potential actuaries originally appeared on CASNET, an Internet e-mail list on casualty actuarial topics. All the responses were submitted by working actuaries.

Question
I am a student in college majoring in mathematics and am taking actuarial exams. My question is with regards to computer languages (programming). What languages would you advise potential actuaries to learn in order to be more marketable to the actuarial profession? Please let me know what are the most common languages that employers desire their actuaries to know.

Response 1
I’m at my 4th company in 7 years (3 of them primary carriers, the other a rating organization). One company required a proficiency in SAS programming. All required Excel (not a programming language, but Visual Basic is sometimes used for macros). Database programming is also useful. Two companies I worked for used FoxPro for organizing large databases of claim information. Another company used Access. I would recommend knowing basic programming skills (via Visual Basic), but focusing more on complete knowledge of Excel and one of the powerful database applications like FoxPro or DBase.

Response 2
Visual basic would be my first choice. I found that mainframe skills and "true" programming languages aren’t nearly as helpful as being more than conversant with Excel and Access. Everyone is "familiar" with spreadsheet applications but few people can work with all the functions, options, tools, and particularly macros that such applications can offer.

I believe this is particularly true for consulting, perhaps less so for insurance companies, who still maintain a lot of mainframe systems due to the volume. Many of those systems were developed in-house and only loosely resemble anything the student may have learned in school. I think that SQL could be a useful base for those. I’ve also seen and done much PLI programming, but frankly, the word "dinosaur" comes to mind....

As far as real programming is concerned, I think there is a danger that a highly technical actuarial student finds him/herself pigeonholed as the resident techie. The result is a lot of technical work (data manipulation and/or production, liaison with IS department, etc.) with less actuarial work, which is not exactly a career move...

Overall, I think the best thing a student can bring to his/her first position is a general knowledge of how such systems work rather than any specific "language." That and the ability to get along with your local system administrator!

Response 3
First of all, far more important than "languages" are applications. In particular, knowledge of Excel and/or Lotus is crucial, and the more thorough the better. Past that, most companies are still very dependent upon "Legacy" systems, due to the sheer volume of transactions processed every month. I don’t think today’s computer students could keep a straight face when you suggest that SAS for example is good to know, but in fact it is. SQL is at least a general language that appears both in Legacy and modern contexts; it is very versatile and also very much in demand.

That all being said, a candidate needs to first decide whether he/she wants to be an actuary who has strong programming skills or a programmer who understands actuarial science. I believe there is a demand for both, but being clear on what one wants will help in a lot of decisions that will come up.

Lastly, I would say that I think there is enough demand that if a candidate demonstrates that he/she is capable of learning computer languages, the particular ones already mastered are less important.

Response 4
I don’t know that specific languages are the key. Most programming skills are easily translatable between similar platforms. I would suggest good familiarity with:

A statistical package such as SPSS or SAS
An object oriented language such as VBA
Query language and tools (SQL, Access)
Familiarity with spreadsheet tools such as Excel and 1-2-3
Response 5
The answer obviously will vary by company and its needs, but I would think that a student who is well conversant with Microsoft Office and can use VBA at an elementary to intermediate level would be a definite plus. As for true "programming languages," Visual Basic wins hands down—it is by far the most heavily used programming language in the world and, today, is no longer a toy but an "industrial strength" language. To temper all this, however, I totally agree with the notion that we (employers) are looking for potential ACTUARIAL talent rather than programmers, so knowledge of a programming language is not an essential.

Summary
Actuaries should have knowledge of computer programs and applications such as:

word processing programs
spreadsheets
presentation software
statistical analysis programs
database manipulation
programming languages