Careers in Mathematics Actuaries’ Careers 1- Introduction. 2- Benefits of having an actuarial job. 2- Different types of actuaries. 3- What it takes to become one.

Introduction The word actuary comes from the Latin word “actuarius” which referred to short-hand writers in old times. Today, actuaries work for insurance companies, consulting firms, government departments, financial institutions, and other agencies. Actuaries are often chosen to be general managers in insurance companies.

Benefits of Having an Actuarial Job Salary for entry level jobs is between $30k to $60k. Salary for intermediate level jobs is between $40k to $125k. Salary for high level jobs (for associates) …

Different Types of Actuaries. Valuation Actuaries: Insurance companies put aside what they need to pay future claims and expenses. Pricing Actuaries: Pricing actuaries are responsible for determining how much money a company is likely to make on a product. A product can be life insurance, an annuity, and so forth.

Cont’d Financial Actuaries: They are responsible for developing, analyzing, and testing models of Internet credit, in order to minimize risk and improve return on investment. Of course there are other types of actuaries such as Pension Actuaries, Consulting Actuaries, and so on.

What it Takes to Become an Actuary? Skills needed include mathematical ability, knowledge of and comfort with computers, and ability to communicate complex topics in terms that customers can understand and general understanding of finance and economy.

Cont’d Mathematical skills Calculus Basic Statistics Basic Probability

Cont’d Computational Skills Excel, SAS, other related computer software Programming languages( Visual Basic,..)

A general understanding of Economy and Finance is also required Cont’d Communication Skills Verbal written Presentation A general understanding of Economy and Finance is also required

How to Become One That is easy (relatively)! I) Major in actuarial science or financial mathematics or other related fields. II)Take actuary’s exams (like doctors and lawyers who take board exams) which includes: 1- course 1 to 4 containing some aspect of math and statistic in a business context. 2- course 5 to 8 which includes finance and investment, applied modeling. These set of courses require work experience as well as theoretical knowledge.

Some of the Companies Employ Actuaries Consulting Firms such as Ernest & Young, Mercer, AON Corporation,… Insurance Companies such as AETNA, AIG, All state, CIGNA, Pacific Life, Prudential Financial,…

Actuarial and Recruiting Websites American Academy of Actuaries http://www.actuary.org/ Casualty Actuarial society http://www.casact.org/ Society of Actuaries http://www.soa.org/ ACTEX Actuarial Recruiting (Connecticut) http://www.actexmadriver.com/ Actuarial Careers Inc http://www.actuarialcareers.com/

REFRENCES [1] F.E. Szabo. Actuaries’ Survival Guide. Elsevier Academic press,2004.