Actuaries are the true seers of the insurance industry. Well-versed in mathematics, statistics, and theories of finance and risk, actuaries calculate, predict, and model the probability of future events. They carefully analyze the potential financial impacts of risk and develop creative solutions to mitigate negative outcomes. In a sense, they predict the future and protect people and companies from potential harm. Still, not many know about the field. Here are 10 things you may not know about actuarial science:
1. A study by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce discovered that actuarial science graduates had a near-zero unemployment rate in 2010. That is truly unbelievable considering that the average unemployment rate for college grads in 2010 was 8.2%.
2. Careers in actuarial science are expected to grow 26% in the next 8 years. That’s significantly faster than the average job growth for all occupations. With that in mind, it’s not surprising that a CareerCast study found Actuarial to be in the top 4 best jobs of 2014.
3. Actuaries are seriously smart. Actuaries go through rigorous undergraduate training and while they can be employed immediately, they must undergo an additional 5 to 10 years of training and complete 7-9 exams to achieve full actuarial status, called fellowship.
4. There’s only one degree of separation between the world’s most famous comet and actuarial science. Edmund Halley, the mathematician whose namesake was given to Halley’s Comet, invented the first mortality table in 1693. This table, along with Halley’s formula to calculate the probability of life expectancy, then formed the basis of the actuarial profession.
5. Actuaries are going green. Their skills play a key role in the sustainability movement. Economic activities and the environment often impact each other and actuaries are equipped to forecast long-term viability, assess risks, and estimate the environmental sustainability of economic decisions.
6. Actuaries have spent a fair share of time on the silver screen, from the classic Double Indemnity to the futuristic Tron, actuaries have steadily made intriguing characters in a host of Hollywood films.
7. Although many actuaries work in insurance, actuaries are also in demand in many other fields, including investment banking, environmental finance, and media effectiveness.
8. An actuary, Elizur Wright, is regarded as the “father of insurance.” Wright was a Yale graduate in 1826 who took a vested interest in life insurance reform and went on to develop actuarial tabulations.
9. Contrary to myth, actuaries aren’t solitary. Since risk effects entire organizations, actuaries need to be effective communicators with strong business and interpersonal skills so that they can work collaboratively with other departments. Many actuaries also work as consultants who travel to help different companies, making their collaborative spirit even more essential.
10. Actuaries work with huge, complex numbers but actuaries as a whole only total 24K in the U.S.
