Actuary 101

What is an actuary?

An actuary is a business professional who deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty. Actuaries provide expert assessments of financial security systems, with a focus on their complexity, their mathematics, and their mechanism.

Actuaries mathematically evaluate the likelihood of events and quantify the contingent outcomes in order to minimize losses, both emotional and financial, associated with uncertain undesirable events. Since many events, such as death, cannot be avoided, it is helpful to take measures to minimize their financial impact when they occur. These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet, and require asset management, liability management, and valuation skills. Analytical skills, business knowledge and understanding of human behavior and the vagaries of information systems are required to design and manage programs that control risk.

The profession has consistently ranked as one of the most desirable in various studies over the years. In 2006, a study by U.S. News & World Report included actuaries among the 25 Best Professions that it expects will be in great demand in the future (Nemko 2006). In 2010, a study published by job search website CareerCast ranked actuary as the #1 job in the United States (Needleman 2010). The study used five key criteria to rank jobs: environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands and stress. In 2012, the same study ranked the profession as the second best job.

Where do actuaries work?

● Insurance firms calculating costs and premiums

● Consulting firms designing pension and benefit plans, evaluate assets and liabilities, and assess risks

● Risk analysts for private corporations involving strategic management decisions

● Government jobs to ensure compliance with regulatory laws

Actuarial Science at the University of Notre Dame

Officially recognized by the Student Activities Office (SAO) in 2006, the Actuarial Science Club has been providing resources to students interested in pursuing a career in the actuarial profession as a supplement to the curriculum of Notre Dame's education.

Beginning for the Class of 2014, the College of Science offers an actuarial minor. The new minor involves taking relevant courses from math courses from the College of Science to business courses from the Mendoza School of Business and to economics courses from the College of Arts and Letters. The minor is designed to prepare students for the first two preliminary exams and to complete VEE requirements.

Not all students who start off pursuing actuarial science end up in actuarial science. Taking the preliminary examinations show that you understand various mathematical models related to insurance. Preparing for an actuarial career allows students to gain mathematical and analytical skills that can be applied anywhere. Many students interested in pursuing actuarial science supplement the actuarial minor with Math or ACMS and/or Finance majors.

For more information regarding the actuarial profession please check out the following video and visit www.beanactuary.org or www.soa.org.

Additionally, there are some scholarship opportunities for actuarial science majors. Click here for more details. Scholarships are not sponsored by the University of Notre Dame or the Actuarial Science club.