CAS Profile: John X Potter

Where do you work and what is your position?
I work as a manager in the Insurance and Actuarial Advisory Services practice of EY.

Why did you decide to become an actuary?
When I was applying for college, I had no clue what I wanted to do but I knew that I wanted it to be math-related. I had originally planned to be a high school math teacher, but the field was saturated in my area at the time. One of my family friends recommended looking into actuarial science, as the field at the time was ranked consistently in the Top 10 jobs for low stress, high pay, and high job satisfaction. I looked into it and liked the balance of analytical, technical, and communication skills that are required on a daily basis.

What aspects of the field do you love?
My favorite aspect of the field is the variation in the type of work you can do. At first, it may seem like just pricing and reserving but as you progress you realize there’s also a need for actuaries in other areas like regulatory, ERM, or catastrophe modeling. And then there are nuances based on line of business, what company you work for, or who your underlying insureds are. And once you really think you understand everything, there’s something that comes along (Covid-19, inflation, unprecedented CAT event, legal/social changes) and you need to react, many times without a blueprint because it’s the first time the issue is arising. I really love that it doesn’t just come down to the data, but the story underlying the data and how you address that story. My other favorite aspect is the amount of different avenues to volunteer. Whether it’s mentorship, participation on a multitude of working groups or task forces, exam writing/grading, or speaking at an event, there’s so many ways to get involved. You’re bound to find something that you’re interested in and can network with others who share that interest. The CAS has a lot of members who really want to give back, and I’m proud to be a member of a group with those values.

What is the best career advice you have ever received?
I’m probably butchering the original quote, but it was something like “People will forget you saying you don’t have time for an extra task, but you’ll certainly remember failing your exam because you took it on.” Basically, learning to say no when you have too much on your plate is a great skill to learn early. I found that most of my exam fails while working came from accepting a lot of work leading up to the exam and not wanting to decline or offload anything. When I changed my mindset and got better at communicating, I was able to strike a nice balance between being available at work while also getting my study time in. It was difficult at first, but I found my co-workers very receptive and understanding to my study time needs; after all, most of them had to go through it too.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
I would strongly recommend forming a study group with your peers for each exam sitting. It of course helps if you’re taking the same exam, but even if you’re not, the group can help keep you honest about the hours you’re putting in to study each week. I feel like there’s also a stronger camaraderie built when you’re struggling together to memorize this formula or understand that solution. It’s also nice to have a team to cheer you on through the passes and cheer you up through the fails.

Why would you recommend a career in the insurance industry to current college students?
I’d recommend a career in insurance because it’s a constantly evolving industry, which keeps your work interesting. As time goes on, new risks emerge and insurance for those risks follow shortly after. When building these products to help protect against risk, you get to balance the analytical side of quantifying the cost of risk with the creative side of creating a product that people want to buy. Also, there’s plenty of opportunity for professional development, whether that’s learning about a new line of business/geography/market or gaining a deeper understanding of your own.

What can students do now to prepare for a career in the industry?
One thing I would suggest is to start reading about what’s happening in the industry. This doesn’t have to be completely comprehensive, but once a month I’d recommend spending an hour looking at new companies entering the market, legal changes and their effects, trends, emerging risks, etc. This can help students to build up their knowledge early on and start them off with more insight when they’re beginning their career. This also has the added benefit of being something you can speak to in an interview when applying for a job.