Actuary jobs include everything from traditional insurance jobs to opportunities with financial firms. Students pursuing a career as an actuary may want to consider internships to learn more about the various job opportunities available in this field if they are unsure of which positions they would be most interested in. All actuarial positions entail data analysis, evaluation, and the formulation of thoughtful opinions based on mathematical evaluation to aid people in making decisions.
Actuaries evaluate risks for home, car, life, health, and other types of insurance in the insurance industry. They can assist their employers in determining policy cutoffs, when to offer coverage, and other decisions that will benefit the insurance company. The insurance company wants as many customers as possible to spread out risk, but it also doesn’t want to take on major insurance risks without significant premiums and deductibles to back them up.
Actuaries are also useful in the financial sector. In their analytical departments, banks, brokerages, investment firms, and other similar institutions may have actuary positions available. Risks can be assessed, market projections made, and procedural recommendations made by actuaries. They may also be used in a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether a proposed activity or purchase is a good investment for the company.
In the auditing field, there are other actuary positions available. Actuaries can help auditing firms assess risks associated with auditing, such as the likelihood of a company falsifying data. The analytical skills required for an actuarial career can also be applied to data mining to identify outliers and other unusual data points that may indicate a problem. This information can be used by auditors to identify accounting issues and highlight them for the benefit of the party who requested the audit.
Actuarial positions are also available in government agencies. Risk assessment is used by these agencies to make public policy decisions, and actuaries are used for financial purposes. Actuaries may work for tax agencies, assisting them in developing effective auditing and monitoring policies, or for public health agencies, assisting them in making decisions about what kind of care to provide to the public. A second or advanced degree may be required for some government jobs.
Professional organizations and trade publications can help people looking for actuary jobs find job openings. These listings can give you an idea of the types of jobs that are available, as well as the pay and benefits that come with them. Actuaries with more experience have a better chance of landing a job.