"I really enjoy maths and statistics and wanted a job that would allow me to apply them to real life situations. My dad had studied actuarial science at university so I already knew a bit about it. I wanted challenge and variety in my career and thought that being an actuary would tick all the boxes. I chose a degree that would help me become an actuary, but I also went to university with an open mind about other possibilities.

I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of support within the teams. At Punter Southall, there are lots of different people to learn from, you can ask people at all different levels for advice.

Within pensions there is a lot of job variety. On any one day I could be doing individual member calculations, such as transfer values and costing options, to project work such as an actuarial valuation where we investigate the ability of a pension scheme's assets to meet its liabilities.

There is a lot to learn quickly, but there's also a lot of training and support. I'm working with new interns and it's made me realise that I've actually learnt a lot - I know more than I thought!

It's challenging to balance study and work but it is really rewarding. There's a great variety of work and brilliant development opportunities."