Â鶹´«Ã½

After I completed my studies at Â鶹´«Ã½, I started at Hiscox Insurance on the graduate scheme, where I completed various rotations around the business. After a year I discovered catastrophe modelling, which spoke to my interests in mathematics and physical hazards so I moved to this role full time.  

As a catastrophe modeller, my job is to assess the frequency and severity risks of natural hazards across the world and work out the financial implications. I use mathematics from my degree every day in my role, although the softer skills; presenting, communicating, project management and teamwork are incredibly important too.  

I love that my job combines two of my interests, mathematics and natural disasters. It is great to be able to take the skills and knowledge I learnt at university and apply it to real-world applications. I enjoy the collaboration aspects of my job, from working with scientists and statisticians to understand the fundamentals of natural disaster risk, to helping a company to be financially protected again catastrophe risk which would threaten the future of their company. 

Problem solving and perseverance 

I gained many transferable skills throughout my time at university. You can’t get through a mathematics degree without spending hours stuck on one question, thinking of alternative ways to tackle it, trying, failing and trying again until success. I learnt to tackle problems logically and persevere with them. This skill is crucial in both the professional setting at work and even day-to-day.  

I also learnt the importance of working as a team and sharing our knowledge and individual strengths with one another. Most importantly, I learnt that it’s okay to admit when you don’t understand something fully and ask for help. This has been crucial in my current job where mistakes can be costly. 

I often need to communicate complex ideas in my role to others who are not as mathematically minded and these presentations really helped prepare me for this. 

Why Â鶹´«Ã½?  

As lame as it sounds, the second I arrived I knew that Â鶹´«Ã½ was the place for me. After meeting the current students and lecturers, it was clear that this was a university department with a community spirit. I wanted somewhere I felt at home and part of a team and I felt it there. Throughout my degree this stayed true, the lecturers were always keen to help and there was a real community within the students too.   

I can’t really give enough thanks to the tutors for their help and support. Firstly, the quality of the lecture notes that were provided were great; I still use them now if I need to brush up on a topic! Secondly, whenever I went to knock on their office door (which was a lot!!!) to get some help on an assignment question or for exam prep, they were always very happy to help and were keen to ensure we understood the content.