Relevant computer science courses.

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I am interested in the thoughts of experienced actuaries regarding relevant computer science courses for an actuarial science student.

I am starting the core of my major courses this autumn and was planning on taking introductory C++ programming, learning COBOL (I know it's outdated but the computer science advisors claim that they have recruiters telling them they specifically want people with knowledge of COBOL), and eventually taking a course in SQL.
I have been told by the actuarial advisor that only a basic knowledge of C++ is necessary (which I have), in fact, all that is really required for the major is a course in Microsoft Excel and Access (which I've taken).
My goals are to not only be a profficient actuary but to also have the option of going to graduate school for financial mathematics at some point.
Should I replace the computer science with something else? I feel that I might be over extending myself with my current plan.
Thanks.

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After some research on the internet I've found a probable answer to the question of relevant computer science courses and lanquages to be familiar with:

It seems that knowledge of Excel, Access (or other spreadsheet and database programs), and Visual Basic are necessary for a career as an actuary. Also, SQL, from what I understand is a fairly easy language to pick up and can be an asset.
Apparently one of the most important things to understand is not languages themselves but the logic behind programming.
As far as COBOL goes: It seems that there are still a lot of businesses (particularly older, large companies) that use COBOL although many of them are trying to change format. Based on the articles I read, I believe there is still a need for COBOL programmers especially as it becomes obsolete in university courses.

Still, would be great to get some feedback from experienced actuaries...

[FSA]

One of the joys (?) I've had is of working with a large number of legacy systems. Some were written in assembly, others in COBOL, others in FORTRAN, APL, Microsoft Basic, C, C++, Delphi... the list goes on.

In the end I haven't done much programming on my own with respect to these legacy systems. Taking courses in FORTRAN and COBOL didn't help me be a better actuary; they taught me to understand how the people who have to support these ancient legacy systems think.

If you can program those languages, great, there will be a need to support legacy software for a long time. But it's certainly not necessary in the actuarial world to learn a specific language. It's important to understand the basic structure of programming and good programming skills (document your code and don't use cute names for variables!).

[daytontp]

As far as COBOL goes: It seems that there are still a lot of businesses (particularly older, large companies) that use COBOL although many of them are trying to change format. Based on the articles I read, I believe there is still a need for COBOL programmers especially as it becomes obsolete in university courses.


I am not an Actuary, even though I did take the first 2 exams right after getting my BS in Statistics. But, I can reaffirm that COBOL is still arround, and will likely not go anywhere anytime soon. I took COBOL back in High School in 1991 and I used in my first job right out of college where I worked for an insurance company in SC. After 2 years got a new job and have been using it where I work now for the past 7 years. It is a very old yet powerful mainframe programming language, especially when joined with a DB2 RDB environment. I am only 31 but I have over 8 years of experience coding with COBOL, along with many other languages, mainly .Net based. I can not state what may be the mainstream for Actuarial work, but if you could learn only one single language, I would say learn SQL. It is not hard to learn and it is a backbone standard when it comes to RDBs platforms.

But, this is just my opinion.

[x_chuck_x]

I took COBOL back in High School in 1991 and I used in my first job right out of college where I worked for an insurance company in SC. ... I am only 31 but I have over 8 years of experience coding with COBOL,

Am I missing something? You were 12 years old and in high school? Was it a montessori academy or something like that. Most 12 year olds are in 6th or 7th grade.