Got inspired to share a quick message with you Journeyers today! While the Actuarial Journey podcast remains on hiatus, you can continue on your journey with Nemo through some of the other projects that have come to life since! Pioneers, Outliers, and Mavericks podcast: It's about the INNER JOURNEY that innovative and influential leaders continue going through alone to later produce the OUTER RESULTS that the rest of the world sees. Conversations with the world's most innovative...

Time for some real talk... Some times it's really REALLY hard to find the motivation, the passion, the burning desire to keep moving forward on our journeys to success.  Whether you're in a dip right now, just got out of a dip, or have yet to experience your first dip along this journey, this episode will be a guide to 3 principles that you can use to get you back on the path. It's not easy and it's not glamorous, but it sure is worth it. If you don't mind, Nemo will also share some of...

About Today's Guest Nitya Shekar works in Learning & Development at AppNexus, designing and facilitating programs focused on “smart skills,” including emotional intelligence, team effectiveness, good management, and personal and professional growth. She is also a Co-Active coach currently getting her certification through the Coaches Training Institute. Originally from Houston, TX and now based in New York, NY, her background is in Psychology (Rice ’07) and Law (Harvard ’10). Nitya is...

About Today's Guest Stephen Camilli, FSA, has been with ACTEX since September 2013 and is currently Vice President of Actuarial Publications and Content.  He has taught mathematics at both the high school and university level. He has served as Director of International Risk for UNUM, working in Buenos Aires, Hong Kong and Tokyo and has experience in pension consulting with Hewitt Associates. He co-founded a network of food banks in Argentina, is fluent in Spanish, and has worked as a...

THE WAIT IS OVER: INTRODUCING ACTUARIAL JOURNEY 2.0! Actuarial Journey is back and better than ever with Actuarial Journey 2.0 (AJ 2.0). Listen to this episode to get some insight into what you can expect from Actuarial Journey moving forward (all good things)! AJ 2.0 is dedicated to helping you TAKE ACTION, today and every day, along your actuarial journey. We’ve launched new courses and programs, revamped our online learning community for aspiring actuaries, and have a ton more lined up...

Actuarial Journey Podcast will return in January 2016! However, there's still a lot of great podcasts (and now BLOGS) over on the Actuarial Journey website (www.actuarialjourney.com) IN THE MEANTIME, WE'LL BE ACTIVE IN THE FREE JOURNEYER COMMUNITY FOR ASPIRING ACTUARIES. Get your invitation before spots fill up: www.actuarialjourney.com/community Nemo and other aspiring actuaries just like you are in there daily to answer questions and support one another as we take ACTION along our...

  ACCOUNTABILITY CHECK-IN! This episode focuses on the ACCOUNTABILITY portion of Actuarial Journey's mission of providing Guidance, Support, and Accountability to aspiring actuaries. My question for you: Are you putting what you're learning here into action? Find out how you act on more of what you learn during today's episode Visit https://www.actuarialjourney.com/58 for the  session highlights and accompanying resources. Also You don't want to miss the Online Actuarial Exam Workshop...

Today's guest is Wendy Liu, FSA, the Head of Global Employee Benefits Solutions for Zurich Insurance. Wendy shares how she entered the actuarial field, provides insight on some of key areas she feels has led to her success, and also gives her take on the industry as it currently stands.  By the end of the episode, you'll understand why you should just "go for it" and how that can improve your career and your life.  Visit https://www.actuarialjourney.com/wendyliu for the  session highlights...

  Journeyers! It's been quite some time since we had some 1-on-1 time and, after having a great Journeyer Community Hangout this weekend,  I wanted to take today to sit back and just chat with you all. Today, I want to share with you some of the top books that I recommend for your actuarial journey. These books all speak to some of our biggest focuses at Actuarial Journey: productivity, success, and living a lifestyle of your choosing while succeeding in your career,  Here are the...

Part 2 of the conversation with Viktor Antonius, ASA on How Well-Defined Goals Drive Success! About Today's Guest Viktor Antonius is a health actuary at a consulting firm in Philadelphia.  He has three years of consulting experience and has worked on a variety of assignments including: health care reform projections, retiree health care strategy, health care pricing and budgeting, actuarial valuations and union negotiations.  Viktor is currently an Associate of the Society of Actuaries and...

Part 1 of the conversation with Viktor Antonius, ASA on How Well-Defined Goals Drive Success! About Today's Guest Viktor Antonius is a health actuary at a consulting firm in Philadelphia.  He has three years of consulting experience and has worked on a variety of assignments including: health care reform projections, retiree health care strategy, health care pricing and budgeting, actuarial valuations and union negotiations.  Viktor is currently an Associate of the Society of Actuaries and...

Part 2 of the conversation with Alex Barker on Making Success Habits stick ! About Today's Guest Alex Barker is the chief life alchemist at 66DayExperiment.com. He experiments on his life and business, like reading a book a day, or making healthy habits stick. By day a pharmacist, by night a hero to his 2 daughters and wife. His mission is to help men and women find a disciplined approach to success in life and business...

Part 1 of the conversation with Alex Barker on Making Success Habits stick ! About Today's Guest Alex Barker is the chief life alchemist at 66DayExperiment.com. He experiments on his life and business, like reading a book a day, or making healthy habits stick. By day a pharmacist, by night a hero to his 2 daughters and wife. His mission is to help men and women find a disciplined approach to success in life and business...

Part 2 of the conversation with Sandy Donovan on Effective Communication! Effective communication continually in noted as a key business skill for success as an actuary. Today, we'll learn from someone who helps others become more effective with thier communication and ultiimately get more of what they want! About Today's Guest Sandy Donovan is a Keynote Consultant and owner of Clearly Influential where she helps small business owners and entrepreneurs deliver powerful and conversational...

Effective communication continually in noted as a key business skill for success as an actuary. Today, we'll learn from someone who helps others become more effective with thier communication and ultiimately get more of what they want! About Today's Guest Sandy Donovan is a Keynote Consultant and owner of Clearly Influential where she helps small business owners and entrepreneurs deliver powerful and conversational keynotes.    Sandy uses a combo of quick blog posts, in-depth expert...

Ever wonder how an exam question came to be? Why are they so hard? Who dreams up what they should be? Today, we're continuing our conversation with John Popiolek who shares his experiences as an actuarial exam grader and writer. While he's not speaking on behalf of his employer or the SOA/CAS, his insight is something many Journeyers will find useful! About Today's Guest John Popiolek has been a pension actuarial consultant since 1987. He is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and after...

About Today's Guest John Popiolek has been a pension actuarial consultant since 1987. He is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and after completing his FSA has served as an exam writer and grader. He lives in Cherry Hill, NJ with his wife and daughter.  Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/johnpopiolek or www.actuarialjourney.com/48 for the  session highlights and accompanying resources. Want more help with your actuarial journey?  FREE ASPRING ACTUARIES COMMUNITY: Join the Journeyer...

Let's continue our conversation with Aman Jetha as he shows us how building relationships looks like in action. In the prior episode, we heard all about Aman's Actuarial Journey. This episode, he'll share his tips and experiences building relationships and being a part of actuarial communities and how he went about doing that.  Visit https:/www.actuarialjourney.com/amanjetha or https://www.actuarialjourney.com/47 for the  session highlights and accompanying resources. About Today's...

Looking to understand how building relationships looks like in action? Aman Jetha shares how building relationships has helped lead in to success in today's interviews. Visit www.actuarialjourney.com/amanjetha or www.actuarialjourney.com/46 for the  session highlights and accompanying resources. About Today's Guest Aman is an actuarial "boomerang". His path includes roles in benefits consulting, music performance, teaching, and finance. Having gotten all of that out of his...

The other day, I was talking to two friends who recently changed careers to become actuaries. We were discussing how they actually got their jobs (one full time and the other internship) though they did not start down the actuarial path right after undergrad.   The answer was the same for both of them – building relationships from informational conversations.   That’s really great news if you’re a person who is comfortable engaging strangers. But what if you’re not one of those people....

Effective Communication is the ultimate purpose for gaining and strengthening your communication skills.    At it's core, effective communication is any way that you communicate where the intended audience understands the indended message. This episode focuses on 3 Key Principles for Effective Communication that will help you along your Actuarial Journey. Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/44 for the session highlights and accompanying resources.   **Destination of Today’s Journey** ...

Communication skills represent a skillset that actuarial companies are looking for the employees at all levels to develop further.   At Actuarial Journey, our focus is on Communicating Effectively, and developing and applying the communication and other business skills that allow for that. To accomplish that though, we need to make sure we're starting from the same foundation and debunk some common myths people have about verbal, written, and visual communication.   Download the 'Avoiding...

Today, we'll discuss how actuaries and aspiring actuaries can go about developing business skills at work, school, and in their extracurriculars.   Download the Business Skills Development Cheat Sheet that capture some ways you can build and demostrate your business skills. We're even added a few more examples as a bonus. Just click this link, http://www.actuarialjourney.com/42download, to add this cheat sheet to your actuarial toolkit.   Visit http://www.actuarialjourney.com/42 for the...

“Business skills” are often brought up as something that actuaries need to have in order to be successful. The question is: What business skills matter for actuaries?  This was laid out in the Actuarial Talent: Supply and Demand Study that was performed by the Economist Intelligence Unit and commissioned by the Society of Actuaries (SOA), Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), and Canadian Institute of Actuaries. During this episode, I share some of the takeaways I gathered from reading the...