Sharon Taylor is a Quality Analyst at Hymans Robertson. Sharon has been with the firm for nearly 10 years, but has not always been in IT. Here, we interview Sharon to hear how she has moved from a career as an Actuary to the world of technology. 

What made you join Hymans?

I had previously worked as an Actuarial Analyst with one of our competitors. After my office closed, I took on a role as a Pension Administrator due to no similar roles available. Around a year later I spotted a role as an Actuarial Analyst with Hymans and jumped at the chance as I heard Hymans was a great company to work for and I really missed the work I was doing at my previous role.

You’ve recently changed roles in Hymans, what previous roles have you had with us?

I worked for ten years as an Actuarial Analyst in several teams within the Actuarial Private Sector team. During this time, I also worked with other areas such as Third Party Administration (TPA), Project Management, Public Sector as well as taking on special projects.

What attracted you to your new role, Quality Analyst, in one of our digital teams?

I loved my previous role and had progressed to a senior position within the team where I managed a very busy workstream, however I was looking for a new challenge. Technology is becoming increasingly important for how we work internally as well as with our clients and I wanted to be part of this. When the Quality Analyst role was advertised, I could see how it aligned with my current skillset as well as giving me the opportunity to develop new skills. It also helped that I had worked with some of the people before so it was an easy transition. Having knowledge of the systems meant I could use this to help develop the user experience which we know is really important both internally and externally. 

What does a typical day look like?

We have daily stand ups with the team to talk over work in progress, priorities for the day and any issues that may have arisen. The rest of the day can be very varied. This could include monitoring help desk queries, creating test plans, testing and documentation. A lot of the work is done through team collaboration.

What training did you get involved in?

I’ve had on-the-job training and I've also been shadowing more senior team members. Recently I’ve successfully completed the ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation level 2018 qualification. This involved a three day intensive training course then a separate exam. I am also currently working towards completing a Certified Actuarial Analyst qualification which I started in my previous role and the Company continues to support (both financially and with paid study time). Learning is so important at Hymans and we are encouraged us to develop our careers with a range of different training courses and on-the-job opportunities.

What has been your biggest challenge at Hymans?

Taking on a new role outside my comfort zone. Although I have done testing in my previous role, I hadn’t anticipated the thought that goes into developing a change to a system. The support I’ve had from the team has been great and I’ve been able to bring new skills and experiences to the team.

What has impressed you most about being at Hymans?

It has to be the people, everyone lives up to the firms values and, in particular, everyone is so friendly and goes the extra mile to help clients and work colleagues. 

On-demand event

Together, using technology to build better financial futures

Sharon's blog is part of our Better Futures 100 series: tech campaign. To find out more, watch our on-demand event here. 

WATCH ON-DEMAND NOW