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Actuaries - Financial Sense of the Future

Actuaries are statistical experts who apply their specialist knowledge to the real world, especially finance. Actuaries make financial sense of the future. This does not mean they can predict the winning lottery numbers. Rather, they are highly skilled problem-solvers, business analysts and consultants who specialise particularly in long term financial risk.

Making a difference

Actuaries are often described as statistical experts. But whilst it is great to be considered an expert, such a definition fails to mention the contributions that actuaries make to society. Actuaries work in many areas that directly benefit the public, principally through their involvement with pensions, savings, insurance and healthcare, but increasingly in capital projects, risk assessment and investment. Buying a car, taking a holiday or saving for old age would be much harder if actuaries were not on hand to assess the risks and set the premiums.

Being an actuary is an ethical profession with the highest standards of behaviour, integrity, competence and professional judgement. Actuaries balance their role in business management with a responsibility for safeguarding the financial interests of the public.

Intellectual satisfaction
Actuarial work is all about using intellectual skills to solve practical problems in all aspects of business life. However although the work is highly technical, it is becoming increasingly managerial. Actuaries need people skills that enable them to offer consultancy, work with other professionals and manage projects and teams of colleagues.

Variety, choice and a job with a future
Actuaries work in a wide variety of organisations, the traditional areas being life assurance, general insurance and actuarial consultancy. However, the growing demand for actuarial skills in other emerging areas, like healthcare, capital projects and general consultancy, means that it is a career choice with a future. As the UK qualification is highly valued throughout the world, it is possible to spend part or all of a career abroad.

The best training
One of the attractions of an actuarial career is the training. Not only is it excellent, the outside world knows it�s excellent. The qualification is hard earned- to become a Fellow of the profession, you need to pass a number of professional exams- but employers will offer support, usually by paying for correspondence courses, giving generous study leave, providing mentors and internal tutorials. Training is not just about passing exams; employers recognise the importance of developing personal skills needed throughout careers � time management and prioritising, team work and effective communication.

A high flying profession
Actuaries have always been amongst the highest-paid professionals in the UK, a newly qualified actuary usually earns between �38, 000 and �53, 000 a year as well as an excellent package of benefits too. It�s a stable profession- very few actuaries are unemployed and very few people feel the need to leave actuarial work. The variety of opportunities are so great that it�s possible to change career within the profession. Actuaries enjoy high status and respect from other financial professions. And as the financial world becomes more complex, the salaries and status of actuaries are set to rise even higher.

There are just 5,000 actuaries in the UK. As one would expect they are intelligent; most possess either a first or upper second class degree. They are also highly numerate. Most have degrees with a high mathematical content, although any degree is acceptable. Send to a friend