Actuary

Actuary

Damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Actuaries need to estimate long-term levels of such damage in order to accurately price property insurance, set appropriate reserves, and design appropriate reinsurance and capital management strategies.
Occupation
Names	Actuary
Occupation type	Profession statistician mathematician
Activity sectors	Insurance reinsurance pension plans social welfare programs
Description
Competencies	Mathematics statistics finance analytical skills business knowledge
Education required	See Credentialing and exams
Fields of employment	Insurance companies superannuation funds consulting firms government
Related jobs	Underwriter

An actuary is a professional with advanced mathematical skills who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty.^[1] These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet and require asset management, liability management, and valuation skills.^[2] Actuaries provide assessments of financial security systems, with a focus on their complexity, their mathematics, and their mechanisms.^[3] The name of the corresponding academic discipline is actuarial science.

While the concept of insurance dates to antiquity,^[4][5][6] the concepts needed to scientifically measure and mitigate risks have their origins in the 17th century studies of probability and annuities.^[7] Actuaries of the 21st century require analytical skills, business knowledge, and an understanding of human behavior and information systems to design programs that manage risk,^[1] by determining if the implementation of strategies proposed for mitigating potential risks, does not exceed the expected cost of those risks actualized. The steps needed to become an actuary, including education and licensing, are specific to a given country, with various additional requirements applied by regional administrative units; however, almost all processes impart universal principles of risk assessment, statistical analysis, and risk mitigation, involving rigorously structured training and examination schedules, taking many years to complete.^[8]

The profession has consistently been ranked as one of the most desirable.^[9] In various studies in the United States, being an actuary was ranked first or second multiple times since 2010,^[10][11][12] and in the top 20 for most of the past decade.^{[13][14][15][16][17]}