Case studies: Actuarial student: Victoria Rolfe

Victoria graduated with a Masters in mathematics from Oriel College, Oxford in 2009 and now works as an actuarial student for Hymans Robertson.

I began thinking seriously about an actuarial career during my third year at university. I did some basic research, such as looking at the website of the Institute of Actuaries and looking up information about actuarial careers and employers. I then managed to secure an internship at the end of my third year to give me an idea of what the day to day life of an actuary involved. I loved the work, and at the start of my fourth year I began applying for jobs.

The application process for Hymans Robertson was fairly straightforward; it began with an application form and was then followed up by a telephone interview, assessment day and a final interview. Although the application process can be time consuming, everyone at Hymans Robertson really went out of their way to ensure that the experience was as positive as possible.

I did a maths degree, which I guess is one of the most typical degrees in the office. I certainly use the numerical and problem-solving skills that I gained and some of the topics I covered are helpful when I'm studying for the exams. However, it's not only numerical skills that I use in the job, I also draft letters and reports and spend time communicating with my clients, which were skills I didn't really use in my degree. Not having a maths degree wouldn't be a barrier either - Hymans Robertson looks for people with a wide range of skills so as long as you meet the requirements for the profession you would still have a good chance of securing a job.

As we're a consultancy, my work depends on what our clients need and I've been involved in lots of different pieces of work. One day a week is a study day, which I normally spend at home.

One of my responsibilities is in dealing with transfer value requests from individual members - this is the current value of the future pension that the member has been promised. This involves checking the data, carrying out the calculation and drafting a letter to be sent to the scheme administrators.

I'm also involved in producing the numbers for the pensions part of the accounts. This involves putting a value on the assets and liabilities of the pension scheme. In order to do this we use some assumptions that are in line with the standards for accounting.

I also deal with any requests from clients and check member statements to ensure they are accurate and can be understood by the member.

I've been working for Hymans Robertson for a year now and my role has changed a lot over that time. As my knowledge of pensions has grown, I've also taken on more responsibility in sending out work to clients, and in turn the clients have come to see me as part of the team. I've also started to delegate work to others so my role now involves checking as well as doing calculations myself.

My goal at the moment is to qualify; I'm hoping to achieve this within the next few years.

I love the variety of the work that I do. Hymans Robertson are very supportive in making sure that if I express an interest in a particular piece of work, they will try and get me involved. I also spend a day a week in our Scheme Design and Management Practice and it has been a real insight into how another department works.

For those who would like to get into this role, I would recommend doing as much research as possible into an actuarial career and specifically pensions. The best way to gain this kind of experience is by doing an internship, but if you don't have that opportunity, try speaking to those in the profession at careers events.