Rita May Dumaguing

Actuarial Science, February 2010

Please describe your academic background including the reason(s) for enrolling in the M.S. program at the School of Continuing Education.

I graduated from the University of the Philippines with a bachelor of secondary education in mathematics and a master of arts in mathematics. I initially worked as a mathematics and computer science teacher in the Philippines for a few years. In addition to my teaching duties, I was involved in education research and the publication of educational materials. I enjoyed teaching and it is definitely something I would consider doing again; however, after a few years on the job, I felt that I was ready to take on a career path that was better suited to my interests and strengths. I was always interested in challenging job positions that involve analytical problem solving and communication. In addition, I also wanted to put my math background into good use. After looking into different options, I decided that an actuarial profession would be the right fit for me. Joining the Actuarial Science program at Columbia was the first step towards this new career path.  

Please describe your professional background leading up to your current position.

Starting out, my actuarial science background was limited. I initially joined the program to gain the technical knowledge needed to succeed in the field and to receive a crash course about the profession. After completing my program at Columbia, I started working as an actuarial associate at Hewitt Associates which is now part of Aon Hewitt.

What is a typical day like in your current position?

Since I work for a consulting firm, my work is strongly focused on helping my clients. I am an actuarial associate at the retirement and financial management division of Aon Hewitt where my role is to help my clients manage their pension plans. Some of my common tasks include the preparation of government filings, valuation of pension and post-retirement plans, development of plan designs, and generation of expense and liability projections for clients. A lot of my work involves the use of spreadsheets and a third-party software that we use for the valuation of pension plans.  As consultants, we get requests for ad hoc jobs that typically require a quick turnaround. Therefore, I focus my energies around planning and prioritizing my responsibilities in order to meet clients’ deadlines while making sure that the quality of my work does not suffer. Since I am still in the process of getting my credentials as an actuary, I am also constantly studying in preparation for the actuarial exams.  

How did the Actuarial Science program help you prepare for/with your career?

The Actuarial Science program gave me a strong academic background in the field of actuarial science and helped me prepare for the preliminary actuarial exams. These exams are necessary in order to advance in the profession. I passed the first 3 preliminary actuarial exams and all of the Validation by Education Experience (VEE) credits during my time at Columbia. As a career changer who wanted to quickly learn as much as I can about the field, the program was a good fit. The best thing about the Actuarial Science program is that it exposed me to numerous networking opportunities and information seminars. Furthermore, the program helped me get a feel of what people actually do on the job. Talking with professionals who were already in the field helped me realize the advantages and disadvantages, in my opinion, of an actuarial science career and what kind of person becomes successful in the profession. Listening to other professionals’ experiences helped me focus on my strengths and identify areas that I should improve to become most successful. These opportunities helped me find a way to present myself as a very strong candidate to potential employers. By the time I graduated from Columbia, I had already received several job offers.  

What advice would you give to students who wish to pursue careers in Actuarial Science?

Talk to people who are already in the field and read about the profession from the Society of Actuaries (SOA), Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) or other websites about actuaries. Knowing as much as you can about the profession will help you decide whether being an actuary is right for you.  Learn from other people's experiences, study habits in preparing for exams, job hunting strategies, and how they manage their work responsibilities.  Find out how they made it and see how their successes and failures can potentially help guide your actions and decisions.