Actuarial Jobs Are In Big DemandThere are different types of actuarial jobs. Some actuarial jobs involve working in the areas of property and casualty, and other actuarial jobs involve working in the areas of life, health, and pension, as well as the banking industry. There are two separate organizations for people working in actuarial jobs based on the type of jobs people hold, and of course there is always an accounting flavor to these types of jobs. However there is a broad range of disciplines, and some graduates work in the field of engineering, for instance. The Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) and the Society of Actuaries (SOA), and these are the organizations which administer the actuary exams and actuaries should become members of one of these organizations. However, membership takes a long time to be earned, and involves passing many exams and taking many educational modules, as well as satisfying the Validation by Education Experience requirements. Once all the qualifications are done, headhunters will sometimes find the brightest graduates and get them employment as an actuary. According to the SOA website, most actuaries work in the insurance industry. The Bureau of Labor Statistics concurs with this, saying that 6 out of 10 actuarial jobs are in an insurance agency. SOA members mainly hold jobs in financial and investment management, life insurance, retirement systems and health benefits systems for the most part, though there are other industries and areas which also employ actuaries. Essentially, the role of a loss adjuster is an important one, and most industries and professions use them at some point when an insurance claim is made. The CAS deals mainly with insurance in the areas of property and casualty insurance, including homeowners insurance, automobile, and fire insurance, among others. Actuaries who work in insurance use their skills to try to determine the risk of different events that might happen, and then the amount insurance premiums should be in order to cover the costs of insuring people against those risks. Job prospects for those looking for actuarial workare pretty good. There tends to be a bit of a shortage in this profession due to all the educational and examination requirements, so it usually is possible to find actuarial jobs relatively easily if you have the proper qualifications. Some universities can even claim that 100% of their graduates found jobs in the field after graduation, which isn't possible in many fields. Actuarial jobs pay fairly well, with salaries increasing after each exam passed and as more experience is gained. Someone just starting out after passing one exam might make between $44,000 and $61,000 including their base salary and bonuses. It usually takes people at least 4 1/2 or 5 years to pass all the exams, but once they have their salary plus bonuses for actuarial jobs will most likely be around $100,000 or above. The working environment for actuarial jobs is usually pretty good, even if the work is done on a temp basis, since this is primarily a desk job and they usually work forty hours a week. Those who work as consultants might be expected to travel more and to work more hours than those in other types of positions. |