It took a lot of courage to shift from CA to Actuarial Science: Anshu Agarwal

Shri Shikshayatan College, Kolkata

After completing my schooling from Assembly of God Church, Purulia, I shifted to Kolkata for the course everybody was doing- CA. I was preparing for CPT with least interest but since I was enjoying the city and staying away from home for the first time, I chose to continue with the course. During my stay in Kolkata, I interacted with people from different backgrounds, seniors, coaching centers, etc. and came across ‘Actuarial Science’. It was a new course with high demand in varied fields of work. I chose to appear for the entrance test-ACET. I was always passionate about Mathematics since childhood, so I paid a lot of attention and started preparing for both CPT and ACET at the same time. I realized Actuaries is where my interest lied. I was actually enjoying that phase of life. With my roommates preparing only for CPT, I stayed up till late to prepare for ACET. This helped me choose the correct path. I took up BSc Economics Honors at Shri Shikshayatan College, Kolkata. Economics Honors helped me do better in Actuarial Science.

Actuarial Science is a profession based on Mathematics and Statistics. The main purpose of an actuary is to quantify the impact of uncertainties and set aside required reserves to face such contingencies. Some of the major areas of work are:

1. Pricing & Product Designing

2. Peer Review

3. Asset/Liability Management

4. Valuation

5. Business Planning

6. Liability Adequacy Test

7. EV Calculation.

My college life:

I have gained a lot from my college. One should be open to all, and grab whatever opportunity comes their way. Volunteering in various events helped me learn about the market scenario and fund raising. Quizzes pushed me to stay updated about what was happening in the world. One should not only indulge themselves in political knowledge but financial knowledge and knowledge of major developments in various fields are very important too.

Always stay in touch with your seniors as they help you in more than one way in your college stint. Teachers can help you in setting goals and paving the way to achieve the same.

As humans, we always love to listen to people’s story and try to relate to their lives but every individual lives differently. What has worked for you might not work for me. I can’t judge your life and try to implement the same in my own life. But what I can do is be ready to accept risks, take different challenges, explore a different path, and then make my own story. My life, by far, has been very interesting. With a family full of CAs, MBAs and BCom Honours graduates, my life was kind of planned out in the same way. It took a lot of courage to shift to an all-new career option with very few people having knowledge about Actuary. It was difficult making your parents believe in what you actually aspire to become and invest a good amount of money. In 2014, there were 10-20 people in Kolkata who could help you with this course, but now it has made its base here. I have already completed 6 papers in a single attempt and aim to become a qualified Actuary by 2022.

Thank you for reading. I hope this will help you choose the best for your life and have a blissful journey of life.

About the Author:

My name is Anshu Agarwal. I completed BSc Economics (H) from Shri Shikshayatan College, Kolkata. I am currently studying Actuarial Science and aim to become a qualified Actuary by 2022.