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Actuaries


Overview

Introduction

Actuaries use statistical formulas and techniques to calculate the probability of events such as death, disability, sickness, unemployment, retirement, and property loss. Actuaries develop formulas to predict how much money an insurance company will pay in claims, which determines the overall cost of insuring a group, business, or individual. Increase in risk raises potential cost to the company, which, in turn, raises its rates. Actuaries analyze risk to estimate the number and amount of claims an insurance company will have to pay...

Quick Facts


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Median Salary

$102,880

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Employment Prospects

Excellent

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Minimum Education Level

Bachelor's Degree


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Experience

Internship
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Skills

Computer
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Personality Traits

Conventional
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Earnings

The U.S. Department of Labor reports that actuaries earned a median annual salary of $102,880 in May 2018. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $61,140, while the top 10 percent earned more than $186,110. Actuaries working for insurance companies receive paid vacations, health and life insurance, pension plans, and other fringe benefits.

Work Environment

Actuaries spend much of their 40-hour workweek behind a desk poring over facts and figures, although some travel to various units of the organization or to other businesses. This is especially true of the consulting actuary, who will most likely work longer hours and travel more. Consulting actuaries tend to have more diverse work and more personal interaction in working with a variety of clien...

Outlook

The U.S. Department of Labor predicts that employment for actuaries will grow much faster than the average for all occupations through 2028. The insurance industry—the leading employer of actuaries—is expected to experience growth, with many new fields such as annuities, climate change risk analysis, and terrorism-related property-risk analysis, compensating for the shrinking life insurance ind...