Actuarial Science Careers

While actuaries work on all sorts of projects in diverse business environments, they have one thing in common:  They use quantitative skills to analyze and plan for future financial situations.
Using these skills, actuaries may be involved in projects as varied as:

• Placing a price on a company about to merge with another business.
• Estimating the impact of seat-belt laws in automobile losses and determining appropriate rate discounts.
• Projecting Social Security benefits so money can be collected to pay workers planning to retire in 20 years.
• Determining why malpractice insurance costs for doctors are skyrocketing.
• Projecting what the AIDS epidemic will cost life and health insurance companies in five, ten and twenty years.
• Determining the price for a liability policy. Collecting and investing enough money so that an insurance company can pay claims.
• Designing a new retirement program for a company.
• Calculating the price to charge for insuring a satellite launch.
• Estimating the benefit costs for a labor union contract.
• Answering questions like “What risks are insurable,” and “How much and where should companies invest money?”

Check out the interview with an actuary—a “hot job”.

Insurance companies: About two-thirds of all actuaries work for life, health, and property/casualty insurance companies, which heavily rely on the actuary’s judgment to ensure their financial security.  For example, before a company insures the health of one individual or a corporation’s 5,000 employees, or before it issues a policy on a family car or a fleet of trucks, the actuary helps determine the risks of sickness or accidents that will result in claims.  The actuary then makes sure the insurance company charges a fair price to assume the risk, has enough money available to pay claims and operates profitably as a business.

Consulting firms: An increasing number of actuaries work as independent consultants.  Some operate their own offices, while others work for large, nationwide actuarial consulting firms.  They consult not only on the purely technical aspects of an insurance risk, but also on many of the complex financial workings of virtually every industry in existence.  Consulting actuaries work with and advise chief financial officers, chief operating officers and often chief executive officers, especially in the financial services risk management and health care fields. Another important field is pension consulting.  It has grown substantially since 1974, when government regulators required actuarial review of all tax-deductible pension contributions.

Fueled by the liability crisis of the mid-1980s, an increasing trend toward self-insurance among corporations, governments, and hospitals has also created a need for property/casualty consultants to evaluate liabilities and assets for these organizations.

Other areas: Actuaries also find significant and rewarding opportunities in government and education, with many serving as university professors or as senior officials with the U.S. Social Security Administration, the Health Care Financing Administration, the Canadian Department of Insurance, and other government bodies, such as state and provincial insurance departments. Actuaries also are key financial people in many other organizations, including insurance rating bureaus, public accounting firms, large industrial corporations, labor unions, and fraternal organizations.

Most actuaries were first attracted to the profession as a way to use their mathematical ability.  While mathematics is the basic building block of an actuarial career, actuaries are, first of all, business men and women who needbroad-based business skills. To find out whether your aptitudes and interests make you a good candidate for an actuarial career, take this short quiz:

• Are you an above-average student, and do you excel in your mathematics courses?
• Are you curious and do you like solving complicated problems?
• Do you like writing?  Do you like talking with people?
• Are you interested in historical, social, legislative and political issues?
• Would you describe yourself as a self-motivated achiever who gets results?

If your answers are yes, consider becoming an actuary.

Curtis Ryals

Constellation Insurance, Cincinnati OH – Actuarial Assistant
Actuarial Science, 2019

How did your degree help prepare you for your career?

A lot of the course work has helped with the exam process. The Excel classes in particular have helped with day-to-day tasks. Many of the problem solving used in course work has helped me advance in my career. The study material and exam reimbursement as students at Butler was very helpful in gaining the required exams to stand out as an applicant. The Actuarial Club was also very helpful in bringing in companies for obtaining internships and potential full-time opportunities after graduating.

What advice would you give to current students to help them prepare for their careers?

For students looking to join in the actuarial field, getting some coding experience in both SQL and Python will be very helpful and make you a standout candidate, in addition to being good with Excel. For exam prep, it is okay to still have a social life, as long as you are still getting in your study hours to fully prep for the exam. There is definitely more studying to be done for these exams outside of the coursework at Butler.

What is a great memory you have from Butler?

My junior year, my Stats Professor Dr. J. opened up the invitation to some of her students that were actuaries to join some of the stats students to go to a nice Italian Restaurant in Broad Ripple paid for by the department. It was nice getting to network with both professors and classmates over a meal and be able to talk more about stats and what our futures had to offer for our remaining time at Butler and beyond.

    

Jeremy Cleary

Milliman’s Indianapolis Health Practice, Associate Actuary
Actuarial Science & Economics, 2021

How did your degree help prepare you for your career?

Butler’s Actuarial Science program gave me 1-2 semesters worth of preparation for all seven ASA exams, which gave me a massive head start in my studying process. Therefore, I was able to obtain my credentials quickly upon graduation. I also was able to jumpstart my career through my internship at Milliman prior to my senior year at Butler, which was made possible through the Butler Actuarial Department’s diligence in bringing opportunities from local employers to students. 

What advice would you give to current students to help them prepare for their careers?

Use your internships and other resources to gain experience in as many different actuarial fields as possible (health, life, P&C, retirement, reinsurance, etc.). You’ll never know what does (or doesn’t!) pique your interest until you get some hands-on experience. 

What is a great memory you have from Butler?

Do you mean, which is my favorite time that we beat Villanova in men’s basketball? Probably my junior year when Kamar Baldwin hit the game winner here at Hinkle. 

Gwen Spencer

Fortitude Re, Senior Actuarial Associate
Actuarial Science, 2020

How did your degree help prepare you for your career?

As I have worked in the actuarial field, I have realized a distinct advantage by getting my degree from Butler. The technical skills I acquired have been useful on a daily basis (I had to reference my notes from MA398 just today at work; thank you, Dr. Wilson!). I also deeply value the leadership opportunities I received at Butler – both the Actuarial Science club and Gamma Iota Sigma have provided me with connections and experiences that continue to set me apart in the industry. 

What advice would you give to current students to help them prepare for their careers?

Take advantage of all the unique opportunities Butler has. My FYS and GHS classes have been super helpful in my understanding of the world and the unique struggles every person has. This has been invaluable when helping to shape the culture of my company and create an equitable work environment for everyone. 

What is a great memory you have from Butler?

Hands down – debating with Dr. Kaschner over whether unicorns have wings. I still stand by my answer that unicorns do not have wings unless they are specified to be winged unicorns! 

Tim Vestuto

OneSource Real Estate, Real Estate Consultant
Actuarial Science, 2019

How did your degree help prepare you for your career?

Actuarial Science provided me the basis to look at investment properties analytically. In the investment real estate space, a key component of property value stems from the projection of future appreciation that is coupled with numerous variables affecting change. My degree has taught me a plethora of ways to analyze data in light of these components and think outside the box in ways most people in the industry cannot.

What advice would you give to current students to help them prepare for their careers?

Always say yes to new things as a student. You never know where life will take you and luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity. Make your own luck by being prepared.

What is a great memory you have from Butler?

Late night study sessions in C-club with peanut butter M&M’s and friends. Did a little more socializing than studying.

Wade Walker

Nyhart, Actuarial Analyst
Actuarial Science, 2020

How did your degree help prepare you for your career?

Butler University really helped me through all the preliminary exams. The material covered in classes provided a strong foundation to build on for each test. More importantly, the professors at Butler really helped me understand the work it takes to pass the exams. 

What advice would you give to current students to help them prepare for their careers?

Reach out to any actuary you know to hear about what they do. Whether it is family friend who has been working for 20+ years or a former classmate who graduated, reach out to them. Meet them for a cup of coffee or schedule a phone call to hear about what they do. 

What is a great memory you have from Butler?

Being in Hinkle when Butler beat Nova on a buzzer beater in 2020.