Actuarial Internship With New York Life
Actuaries offer a special set of skills to the work place. They are talented professionals that have highly specialized math and computer skills that are often honed through extensive years of service to a business or company. Experience is the key to being successful in a career as an actuary and as a result, many college graduates turn to summer or full-time internships.
New York Life offers both summer and full-time internships for undergraduate seniors and grad students. The actuarial internship at New York Life is a complex program that combines a series of classes, seminars and presentations with relevant hands-on experience.
General Information About the Summer Internship
Most summer interns who are involved in the actuarial program are assigned to work from late May until midway through August. New York Life generally hires approximately fifteen actuarial interns every summer and the salaries are based upon the number of actuarial examinations passed. The more actuarial exams an intern has passed, the more money they will make starting out.
Some summer interns are offered full time Actuarial Trainee positions toward the end of their summer intern. When a position is offered, the intern is eligible to receive a starting bonus upon acceptance to the program. The bonuses vary in dollar amount but can be quite an incentive to accept the offer.
During the summer program internship, the company cultivates a strong social aspect for interns and senior level students, as well as actuaries at New York Life. Monthly social events are planned where interns are taken out as a group for a leisurely night on the town. Weekly softball games, post-exam gatherings in Central Park and summer luncheons with the CFO are strongly encouraged to attend. Social events bring the interns together for networking and gaining relationship within the corporate environment.
Work Experience as a New York Life Intern
The work experience gained as a New York Life actuarial intern is invaluable to the career. Interns are exposed to real-life working experience that cannot be gained while solely inside the classroom. Most interns are placed in a pricing or financial reporting department, working alongside a professional actuary who has been with the company for a number of years.
Student interns are presented with real-life dilemmas and challenges that need to be addressed, allowing them to utilize their schooling and problem solving skills while at work. Interns hone their decision-making skills throughout the process and are provided with useful experience that they can gain nowhere else. During the conclusion of the program, the intern is required to present on a project that they were involved in during their time as an intern at New York Life. The presentation is mandatory and part of the selection process for new recruits.
Classes and Presentations
A summer intern, as well as full-time interns, at New York Life is required to take a series of training courses that range in topics. Some of the most common topics covered include APL programming language, PTS computer modeling or advanced topics in Excel.
The entire summer is comprised of hands-on experience working at New York Life among senior level actuarial students and actuaries, as well as classes in computer programming and mathematics. Most of the math classes are actuary based and weekly presentations are made by New York Life actuaries to bring the topics to life in a practical way.
The application process is extensive and the competition can be fierce, but at no charge to the student, a New York Life Agent can assist in making the decision of applying or not. No-obligation reviews are offered free of charge and can help a student make the decision on applying.
