Kari Boersma
Vanderbilt MS Finance Class of 2007
Actuarial Analyst – The Hartford Insurance Company
Hartford, Connecticut
My New Career
I will be working for The Hartford Insurance Company as an Actuarial Analyst. It is a very quantitative and challenging career, as I will have to pass about eight tests over a number of years in order to become a certified actuary. The student program involves a series of rotations, so I will gain experience in a variety of areas in the Property/Casualty field.
Actuarial Science: A Great Fit
I've been looking into an actuarial career since my freshman year of college, finding out what it entails, companies to work for, what the work life is like, what to expect with interviews and job offers, etc. I did an internship with Great-West Life Insurance before entering the MSF program and really enjoyed the experience. I researched some other careers during the fall, and found that actuarial science was still a great fit for me. So I went on some more interviews and focused on companies with great testing support and training. All of my offers met my expectations in terms of salary, type of work and bonuses, but The Hartford stood out in other areas, such as their student program and people I will be working with.
Working Toward My Goals
I am very excited to enter this next phase as it will present a whole set of new challenges for me. I am looking forward to exploring the east coast, as I have only briefly visited there. There are a lot of people my age in the company and program, so I hope I will enjoy the people I work with. My goals are to pass all of the tests as quickly as possible and gain experience in a variety of areas, and I think the program at The Hartford will help me reach these goals.
How the MSF Prepared Me
The quantitative focus in the MSF program greatly prepared me for the mathematical challenges in the actuarial career. I also enjoyed the flexibility to take elective courses that I felt would help me in my future job. The Career Services staff was great in helping prepare for interviews, design cover letters and resumes, and providing resources to search out jobs and companies I would be interested in.
The Owen Community
The Owen Community is like a family in that everyone wants to help and support each other. Whenever I would mention to a classmate or faculty member that I was looking at an actuarial career, they immediately suggested other actuaries they could put me in contact with or provided information about certain companies.
