The ABCs of the Full-Time Employee

Erik Summers

Donning new slacks, a pressed shirt, polished wingtips and a thermos of coffee that I won’t learn to appreciate for another two months, I waltz through the front doors on my first day of full-time employment, ready to be somebody. I am greeted by a human resources representative who, following some small talk, escorts me to the entrance of a conference room. Like a six-year-old on his first day of school, I can’t wait to meet the class. Eagerly opening the doors to the rest of my life, I find a boardroom filled with those who will soon be my colleagues. Have they gathered to congratulate their special new hire on his recently acquired position of power and respect?

As I’m about to thank the Academy, my Mom and my third-grade teacher, I notice a speaker in the center of the table at which everyone is staring intently, scribbling copious notes. I had entered the world of the Monday morning conference call, and despite my musings, I was not the center of attention. Now glad that all were too focused to notice my bewildered expression, I scurry to a seat along the back wall. At an appropriate time later that day, I am welcomed properly and introduced around the office.

Beginning work as actuarial analyst eight months ago, I have made many of the classic blunders: inadvertently replying to all, cutting when I should have copied, and even implying that an exam score of six is somehow inferior to larger numbers. While faux pas like the one described above are inherent to the transition from student to employee, developing realistic expectations like those described below will enhance the process.

You who?

Up to this point, your education has been all about you, your learning and your maturation. That’s why you and your parents are footing a hefty bill to fund your education. As an employee, however, you’re the one receiving the check with the expectation that you put your employer’s interests first. In return, a wise employer will create an environment where your contribution may be significant and your personal growth substantial, but grooming you to be CEO by age 40 is not on anyone’s to-do list.

In the company of greatness

Though your classmates and professors have probably helped you to develop a healthy sense of intellectual humility, full-time employment will continue this process. Excluding accountants, your co-workers will be just as talented and much more knowledgeable. Rather than a handicap, knowing little and learning from your superiors is an invaluable experience; it’s what entry-level positions are all about.

Working it

Full-time work soon becomes a natural part of life, not simply an eight-hour-a-day activity. While I’ll never prefer my cubicle to a tropical beach, I genuinely enjoy the part of my life devoted to work. As opposed to an internship where three months are spent learning the tools, full-time work affords time to leave the shed and build something. Wielding your hammer to create a real-world solution provides a sense of satisfaction that acing an exam can never match.

Must not be the money

While the market value of actuarial expertise was probably a factor in your decision to enter the profession, don’t get carried away and sell your destiny for $10,000. It may seem like a fortune, but it's only a few weeks pay for an FSA. Best-case scenario: your most lucrative offer is for the job you really want. Next-best case: you carefully consider the attributes of each position, viewing today’s salary as a sliver of a pie whose size depends upon your passion for the chosen path.

Becoming bilingual

If you didn’t learn a second language in college, you will on the job—or at least a new dialect. No longer will your text messages be the only time where abbreviations outnumber actual words. Most work-related acronyms you internalize will hold greater significance than TPS reports in Office Space, but the first time you catch yourself saying the CFO needs the IRR and APV based on VBT for the NBO by EOD, take a deep breath and an extended vacation.

Pursuing the designation

Student or analyst, shaken or stirred, the actuarial exam process is a tempest regardless of where you seek cover. The modules that follow the preliminary education may offer calm in the eye of the storm, but with a five-hour Exam M and two six-hour FSA exams, the forecast isn’t looking any milder. While the allure of exam raises, the assistance of paid study time and the encouragement of co-workers create an environment more conducive to exam success, you’ll still need to hunker down and get your nose in a study manual for a few hundred hours.

Living the life

With less flexibility in an eight-to-five schedule and actuarial exams on the side, making time for friends and hobbies becomes more difficult, yet far from impossible. An increased appreciation for time off and a novel phenomenon known as spending money can result in many a good time. Full-time employment also provides a welcome reintroduction to a world of families, good food and furniture that wasn’t rescued from a dumpster.

To every season

Most importantly, the transition from student to employee has deepened my appreciation for the unique opportunities that each stage in life affords. Being single and employed, I can live independently, explore new hobbies and develop a valuable expertise in a field that I enjoy. College afforded different benefits just as life after age 23 will in the years ahead. Who knows what lies behind the door to the next boardroom of life? Today’s conference call always provides plenty to do.

Erik Summers is an actuarial analyst at Swiss Re Life & Health, and can be reached at Erik_Summers@swissre.com.