10 Tips for Your First (or Second) CAS Meeting — “What I should do the same and different while attending my second meeting.”
My first CAS meeting was the 100-year anniversary annual meeting in New York City. I was planning on attending my second meeting in Orlando last fall, but as fate and my later-identified inadequate knowledge of the exam 9 material would have it, I am currently dreaming about Austin, Texas for November 2017.
Here lies the best advice I collected before my first meeting, and what I will do differently while attending my second.
1) Still on an early exam? Look out on the CAS calendar and see future meeting destinations and start getting excited now. (“If I pass this spring, fall, and then next spring, I will get to go to a meeting in Cleveland! I’ve always wanted to go to Cleveland.”) They pick some cool spots. The CAS took me to NYC for the first time in my life; I’m a small-town kid who had relocated to a city with a population around 100,000. NYC was a whole different experience.
2) Make a trip out of it. As my first calculus professor used to say, “Let’s start a little early, so we can end a little late.” A lot of employers will allow you to go early/stay after as long as the extra days are on your own dime — so make use of the drive/airfare and add some sites and days to the trip.
3) Too many conflicts? Consider holding off for a later meeting. We all know the effects that getting our letters have on our lives — buying your first house, getting married, getting divorced, adopting kids, getting a dog, changing jobs, and/or a big promotion. If you cannot attend the immediately following meeting, still make an effort to get to one of the next ones.
4) Attend a roundtable. Have a discussion, listen to others in different roles/different companies, and learn about how you can start volunteering for the CAS.
5) Seek out some old friends and make some new ones. We actuaries, per the stereotype, can be a bit socially awkward; but, more importantly, we are friendly and open to being approached and meeting people while networking. Everyone is wearing name tags to facilitate this. Take the initiative: Reconnect with the person you sat behind at your Exam 3 seminar years ago or go for a pre-meeting run with the retired chief actuary from your first employer, or even better, seek out your favorite contributor from Future Fellows; they know where the fun is.
6) Skip a session. Know the required sessions, and what your employer expects you to return with, knowledge and note-wise, but you are there to celebrate as well. This is a particularly good idea if you have brought a companion.
7) Print the slides for the sessions you expect to attend in advance. Having these and taking notes on them is substantially easier than writing down everything from scratch.
8) Hit up the vendor booths, but don’t get more swag than will fit in your suitcase. You do not actually want the mini business supplies kit; those staplers only ever work twice. You will also want to bring your business cards — a few on hand and reserves in your room. No actuarial pun intended. (The Annual Meeting features an exhibit hall; the Spring Meeting does not.)
9) When it is photo time (Sunday night ACAS, Monday night FCAS) get in line with some coworkers or friends and try to get in the same photo. Smile. Then print the photo for the chief actuary’s desk.
10) Divvy up the presentations. If there are a few of you attending from the same employer, coordinate so that you do not all attend the same sessions. Plan this in advance of the meeting. Bonus tip — be aware of the dress code requirements for the ACAS/FCAS meetings. Youtube has you covered on how to pack a suit and avoid wrinkles (for those of us who do not travel often requiring dress up). That being said, your room will likely have an iron; but it will probably leak a little, so iron early in your stay and get that outfit on a hanger.
