Actuary: Job Duties, Skills and Salary 2025

What Does an Actuary do?

Actuaries analyze financial risks using math and statistics, often in insurance or pensions. They assess data to help businesses manage uncertainties and predict future risks, ensuring financial stability.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

Actuarys in the Insurance field handle essential tasks and contribute significantly to achieving team and organizational goals. Here are some of their primary responsibilities:

Data Analysis & Risk Assessment

• Analyzes statistical data to assess financial risk
• Uses predictive models to forecast potential outcomes

Policy Development

• Designs insurance policies and pension plans
• Evaluates policy performance and suggests adjustments

Consultation & Reporting

• Provides insights to stakeholders on financial risk
• Prepares reports on findings and recommendations

How to Become an Actuary

Launching a career as an Actuary requires a specific education. We outline the essential qualifications, skills, and steps to enter this field.

Qualification

• Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, Actuarial Science, or related field
• Completion of actuarial exams (at least 2-3)
• Strong analytical and statistical skills

Requirements & Skills

• Analyzing statistical data, such as medical information related to a specific age group
• Utilizing computer modeling of statistics to assess potential risks and explore methods for risk reduction
• Providing advice based on calculations in a manner understandable to non-experts
• Preparing presentations and reports
• Monitoring and enhancing processes and IT systems to ensure efficiency and compliance with financial regulations
• Establishing and nurturing professional relationships with clients
• Effectively communicating findings to clients, colleagues, managers, and stakeholders

Actuary Salary Guide

Wondering what Actuarys earn? Explore salary ranges by experience, and career tips to maximize your earning potential.

The average salary for an Actuary in the U.S. is approximately $110,700 per year and can vary from entry-level to senior positions. Actuarys may receive a wide range of benefits.

Actuary Salary Career Steps

Level	Experience	Avg. Salary per Year
Veteran	20+ years	$138,375
Senior	11+ years	$121,770
Experienced	6-10 years	$110,700
Mid Level	3-5 years	$99,630
Entry Level	0-2 years	$83,025

How to Advance Your Career

Actuaries typically begin their careers as trainees or junior actuaries in insurance companies, consulting firms, government, or other industries that require risk assessment. They must pass a series of professional exams to become certified professionals, which is a significant part of their career development and can take several years to complete.

As they gain experience and pass more exams, they can move up to senior actuarial positions, managing larger projects or teams. Career advancement often involves becoming an Associate or Fellow in professional actuarial societies, such as the Society of Actuaries (SOA) or the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) in the United States. Experienced actuaries may take on more strategic roles such as Chief Risk Officer, Actuarial Director, or even Chief Financial Officer, depending on their experience and interest in business management.

Actuaries with a strong background in data analytics and software development may also move into emerging fields like predictive analytics or big data, which are increasingly important in industries such as healthcare, finance, and technology.

Typical Work Environment

Actuaries typically work in office settings, often employed by insurance companies, consulting firms, government agencies, hospitals, banks, and investment firms. Their work involves compiling and analyzing statistical data and using mathematical models to calculate probabilities and assess financial risks.

The nature of the work is intellectually demanding and requires a high degree of precision and expertise in mathematics, statistics, and financial theory. Actuaries often work full-time with additional hours required at certain times, such as when preparing reports for year-end analysis or when meeting regulatory deadlines.

While the job is mostly desk-bound and involves a lot of computer-based analysis, it may also offer opportunities for travel, especially for those who work for consulting firms. The field also increasingly supports remote work arrangements, offering flexibility in work location and hours.