Actuarial Job Descriptions and Accountabilities
Actuaries are people who estimate the risks of certain events happening. They are accountable to the companies they work for because if they estimate the risk to be too low, the company will lose money by having to pay more claims. If they estimate too high, the company will lose customers.
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Education
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You need a good mathematics and business background to be an actuary. Some colleges offer actuarial science majors, but most future actuaries major in math or economics.
Certification
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More important than your major is your certification from either the Society of Actuaries and the Casualty Actuarial Society. The Casualty Actuarial Society requires the successful completion of seven exams and the Society of Actuaries certification requires the successful completion of four exams and additional classwork.
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Job Description
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Actuaries determine the chances of accidents, disabilities, deaths and other insurable events occurring. They use statistics and probabilities to determine how much companies should charge for insurance policies.
Careers
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 60 percent of actuaries work in insurance. The majority of the remaining actuaries work as consultants in technology or scientific companies.
Potential
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the actuarial field to grow at a rate of 24 percent between 2006 and 2016, much faster than the average job. While some growth is expected in insurance, more growth is expected in health care and as consultants.
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