Being an actuary is the best job you probably haven’t heard of. It is an intellectually challenging, highly respected career path that allows you to apply maths, economics, and risk management to real life business situations. Philip Arthur talks about the different career options and gives his advice on actuarial graduate programmes.
Career options
Actuaries work in a variety of industries; they are basically found wherever there is financial risk involved. There are numerous graduate opportunities available in pensions, insurance, investment management, banking, and working for the government. The number of different opportunities for actuaries is increasing with more non-traditional roles opening up in areas such as asset risk management, predictive modelling within businesses and environmental finance. It is a highly regarded profession worldwide, and many actuaries take the opportunity to work abroad. The roles all have the same exam structure, but will differ in the day-to-day work. Make sure you research the company and sector to see if it is the right fit for you. Ask yourself whether you want to be a client facing consultant, or whether you would rather work in-house.