Whilst the distinguished title of ‘actuary’ may not mean much to many people, for business leaders and various captains of industry, actuaries play an absolutely vital role in shaping the strategies that their companies adopt.
This is because actuaries, having passed a series of highly testing examinations to gain their formal qualifications, have an incredibly advanced grasp of mathematics, probability and financial systems. They use this to try and determine, with as great a degree of accuracy as possible, the outcome of future events.
Given that any organization worth its salt will formulate its plan of action by looking as far ahead as possible, the number of different institutions that enlist the service of actuaries is huge, spanning a diverse number of sectors including; healthcare, banking, insurance, pensions, insurance, investments and consultancy (to name but a few.)
No matter the field that an actuary may be employed in, they’ll need to posses, as well as a highly analytical mind and aptitude for problem solving, the ability to communicate ideas clearly to those uninitiated in the more abstract aspects of probability, statistics and economics that they regularly deal with. After all, the senior executives who call on actuaries for help can hardly act on their advice if they are unable to fully understand it.
Whilst an actuary’s primary role of working out the financial risk attached to an action demands an in depth model of theoretical models, they also need to have a solid grounding in the practical considerations a business faces, from how their standard operating procedures work, to the intricacies of the legislation that governs them.
This makes being an actuary a somewhat unique calling, in that it demands its practitioners to be comfortable thinking in both conceptual and theoretical terms, as well as pragmatically.
Given the huge number of prerequisites attached to becoming an actuary, it is little surprise that it is a profession that garners much respect and ample remuneration. Whilst the level of responsibility that accompanies such a role is necessarily high, this is very much reflected in the level of pay you may expect to receive. Even a student actuary will normally earn in excess of £30,000 a year, whilst a chief actuary will be looking at closer to £230,000 per annum.
As well as the excellent pay, the professional life of an actuary comes with a wide range of other benefits, not least the huge scope for variety and intellectual stimulation that the work entails.
The path into actuarial work normally starts with including maths as an A level choice. The next step is to graduate with a good degree (a 2.1 or 1st) in a subject with a numerical basis, such as maths, physics, economics, engineering etc.
Once you’ve found a trainee employer, you’ll need to pass the necessary examinations to become a fully qualified actuary, thus opening up the gateway to the rest of your career.
© 2012 Acturies