What do you do now?
I am Chief Actuary for a London Market insurance company called The Shipowners’ Club, a marine insurance company.
After completing my A levels at South Craven, I studied Mathematics at the University of York, graduating with a First Class Honours degree in 2009. My heart was set on going to university from a young age. I enjoyed learning and felt like a degree would be essential to my career, albeit not knowing what that was going to be. That was one of the reasons why I studied Maths - I knew it could lead to lots of different opportunities.
I then started my career as an Actuary, working first in Pensions Consulting in Leeds, before moving to the insurance industry. I qualified as a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 2016.
An Actuary is a professional expert in managing financial risk using Maths and Statistics. We predict the long-term financial cost of uncertain future events, which is essential for businesses like insurance companies to ensure they remain financially secure.
My days are varied. They usually involve some kind of data analysis or financial modelling, and then presenting or writing up the results for our stakeholders, such as the Board or our regulators.
The best thing about my job is the challenge of working out answers to difficult questions. It's not just about crunching numbers; it's about taking complex, uncertain situations and using maths to make sense of them. Every day feels like solving a new puzzle, and there's a huge sense of accomplishment when you find a solution that helps a business make crucial decisions.
What advice would you give your 17-year-old self?
Try to relax. The choices you make now feel like they'll define your whole life, but they’re really just a starting point.
Your career won't be a straight line - it will have unexpected turns, and that’s the interesting part. The person you are now is not the person you will be in five or ten years; your interests will evolve, new industries will emerge, and opportunities you can't even imagine today will appear. Focus on gathering skills and experiences rather than just following a rigid plan. Be curious, try new things, and don’t be afraid to change your mind.
Of course, if I could really go back to 2005, my main advice would be to stop worrying about my UCAS application and put all my money into a new website called 'The Facebook'...
What are you most proud of?
Qualifying as a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 2016, after around seven years of studying alongside full-time work.
It was a long hard slog, involving lots of evenings and weekends studying, so I was incredibly proud to get over the line.
