An Opportunity for CAS
Dear Editor:
Mary Frances Miller raised an issue in her column ("From the President," November 2004 AR) that implies an opportunity for the CAS. She asked whether practicing actuaries who otherwise meet Qualification Standards for Statements of Actuarial Opinion might benefit from a requirement to "stay up-to-date" on syllabus topics that have been added since they passed the CAS Exams. Perhaps the Syllabus Committee could design a "Get Up-to-Date" agenda for each exam, for actuaries who passed it more than five (and 10, and so on) years ago, and the CAS or its contractor could offer, for a fee, an intensive seminar based on the agenda. Each day of the seminar would cover progressively longer time frames—the most recent five years on the first day, the previous five years on the next day, and so on. I would welcome a couple of days away to "cram," with a guide, such material and be assured that I have kept up with the dynamics of the syllabus.
John W. Rollins, FCAS

Support for a Joint Designation
Dear Editor:
In the column "In My Opinion" (AR, November 2004) Arthur Schwartz calls for the creation of a CAS and SOA joint designation. As an actuarial candidate with four joint exams under my belt, I would like to voice my eager support for Mr. Schwartz' suggestion for all of the same reasons that he has cited. I am currently working in P/C pricing for a U.S. mutual. I am not a foreign student, however I wish to practice internationally and currently there are many fewer doors open to me if I choose to pursue a CAS designation than if I pursue an SOA designation. I also want to acquire the skills to work with financial products. These issues have been a serious consideration for me at my current point in the exam process.

It is my hope that the CAS would seriously investigate this option and find that there is enough interest to warrant pursuit of this end in the coming years.
Richard Knudson

Dear Editor:
In response to Arthur Schwartz' idea about a CAS/SOA joint designation ("In My Opinion," AR, November 2004), I find this an interesting idea and one that would be profitable to explore further.
Thanks.
Becky Orsi, FCAS

If it Ain't Broke….
Dear Editor:
Changing the classes of membership and exam structure creates more problems than it resolves ("Important Changes to Exams 1-4 Due in `05" and "Board Discussion on Classes of Membership Continues," AR, November 2004). If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Some people are bound to get screwed over if this change takes place. Consider a student who has struggled to get five or six exams (and will probably need several more years to get ACAS due to circumstances beyond his control, e.g., caring for a family member) then the CAS eliminates the ACAS designation when this person is just about to reach it. I'd say that is a pretty nasty thing to do, wouldn't you?

Would you want to be treated that way? Remember the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Thank you.
Paul Zotti

Selling Yourself—By Yourself
Dear Editor:
A recent two-part article discussing employment opportunities for actuaries (AR, February and May 2004), featured a question and answer discussion with professional recruiters and contained many good points, but failed to ask whether candidates should use the services of professional recruiters. There are several reasons why candidates should consider representing themselves:

• Employers pay professional recruiters fees typically between 30 percent and 40 percent of annual salary; for Fellows, the fees can easily exceed $50,000. An employer choosing between otherwise equal candidates has a financial incentive to select candidates representing themselves.
• Employers who don't have to pay recruiters' fees are more likely to pay higher salaries and/or signing bonuses directly to the candidates.
  
• Consulting firms and brokers often look for actuaries who can "sell" their services. Insurance companies need actuaries who can "sell" their ideas and analyses.

There's no better way to impress a potential employer than by "selling" yourself. I have hired candidates represented by professional recruiters on many occasions and have generally been very happy with their service. They provide great value when they present candidates that I would otherwise not have met. However, I am always more impressed when candidates present themselves, especially if it is someone whom I have met before.
Guy A. Avagliano, FCAS, MAAA

My Final Answer
Dear Editor:
In Curtis Gary Dean's article entitled "Twenty Heads are Better Than One," (AR, November 2004), he cites the fact that when the audience is used as a lifeline in the TV show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, the audience answers the question correctly 91 percent of the time (as opposed to another lifeline such as calling a friend when the question is answered correctly 65 percent of the time). This, according to Dean, illustrates the author's thesis that "the aggregated opinion of a group of people regularly beats the experts in solving problems."

What Dean fails to take into account is the severity of the question. Anyone who watches the show will see that the audience is used for fairly easy questions, and the other lifelines are used for harder questions. The 91 percent success rate of the audience should be tempered by this fact. As an actuary, Dean should realize that both frequency of correct answers and severity of the question should be taken into account when analyzing the book's premises.
Herbert S. Bibbero, ACAS

Editor's Response: The book argues that large groups exhibit better judgment, not a higher level of technical expertise. As you point out, the audience on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is asked for factual information. That's why the book review calls the audience lifeline an "illustration" instead of an "example." Mr. Dean simply wanted to get the general idea across, and most readers are likely to be familiar with the TV show. Your observation that the audience does much worse on questions that require specific technical knowledge is consistent with the book's major premise. Rest assured, Mr. Dean is fully aware of this.