Providing a business professional advice & analyses in financial risk management.
Why Become an Actuary?
No one can know what the future holds. But actuaries do a remarkable job of predicting future risks for businesses. No, they don't use tarot cards or crystal balls. A qualified actuary is a statistician that relies on mathematics, financial theory and human nature to assess risk for his employer.
Who do they work for? About two-thirds of all actuaries in the UK are employed by insurance companies. The rest are either hired as consultants or to manage risk at large corporations like banks, investment firms or hospitals.
The most common misconception when it comes to actuaries is that they are little more than glorified accountants. This is incorrect. The fact is that actuaries do much more than simply crunching numbers. They must take account (no pun intended) of a myriad of factors when they assess financial risk. These factors may include everything from history to psychology to the economy. You don't receive an award for excellence in coprorate accommodation simply for using a calculator.
Why become an actuary? The most common adjectives that actuaries use to describe their work are interesting, challenging, and stimulating. It also doesn't hurt that actuaries have some of the highest starting salaries in the business community. On average, a new actuary can expect to earn around 35,000 pounds right out of school.
And since nearly every major company or corporation on earth employs them, a talented actuary will never want for work. In a difficult economic environment, the virtual assurance of future employment goes a long way. Perhaps that is why actuarial courses in colleges and universities across the UK are bursting at the seams.