Any actuaries?

I'm currently working as an engineer and project manager for a "major computer company," but I've been contemplating a career change. I had looked into the actuarial field when I was in college (major in pure math, with a decent amount of statistics, accounting, and economics as well), but never really got into it. Nowadays, though, it's starting to interest me again.

Some questions for anyone who might be a practicing actuary:

1) How is the job market? It seems like this kind of pure knowledge work would be easily outsourced offshore (one of the reasons I'm looking to get out of my current field). Is it relatively stable - can you reasonably expect to stay with a single company your whole career, or is it more like the technology field where people routinely jump around from firm to firm?

2) Are the jobs concentrated in certain areas, or can one find work just about anywhere? I'm really interested in moving to either Memphis, TN or New Orleans, LA - where my family and my in-laws are. The lack of tech jobs in my specialty in those markets is another reason I'm considering a career change.

3) How much stress? I find I actually work better in (moderately) stresful environments.

4) Should one expect long hours or weekends, especially when starting out? This wouldn't really scare me off, I'm just curious.

I used to know a friend studying to be one, I've since lost touch with him when I moved away many years ago. You should move to an area where there are insurance companies(headquarters). There are multiple exams (maybe 7?) to get there. If you fail exams, you stand the possibility of termination(last I heard years ago from my friend). The company gives you study time during work hours. If you finish all the exams, you can make "good" money. Thats what I remember... Good luck.

Yeah, you have to finish the first seven exams to become an "associate" actuary. It's like a guild. After you become an associate you can specialize and take about 100 more exams to become a Fellow.

I have recently been considering real estate appraisal. It's decently easy work and there's a lot of money in it if done correctly.

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turbodog said:
I have recently been considering real estate appraisal. It's decently easy work and there's a lot of money in it if done correctly.

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Appraisal work is tedious paper work and you really have to own your own company to make "a lot" of money. I know up in the North-east here, you really have to "know" somebody to get into it. If your thinking of getting into Appraisal, get in soon, they are tightening the requirements. Sorry about hijacking the thread.

tylerdurden -

I didn't even know what one was until I started my current job a few years back.

One of the programs I fixed is called "The Actuary Report". It compares expenditure records in different data bases so that a precise reconciliation can be done. Then, they send the report to a real Actuary. He uses formulas to predict the next year's expenditures and that's what the budget is based on. His work is amazingly accurate. I've never met him or any of the other Actuarys we use.

One of the high ups in the organization *is* an Actuary but that's not his job. He's a brain. From what I understand he's one of the very few Actuarys that exhibit humor. Next time I see him I'll pose your quesions and post the returns. They tend to be straight forward and matter-of-fact. I believe they generally work in thier own office or with a group of Actuarys. There business happens when other organizations require absolute accuracy.

I'll PM you where I work and that may help you to know one of the types customers that require Actuaries.

You obviously have the brainpower to do this but I would think you would need to continue building lights et cetera to sooth your creative mind.

I think Memphis would be fun but New Orleans would be fantastic. Tree lives there.


- Jeff

PM coming.

Email sent instead.

The last time I read a survey of careers (this was in the late 1980's), I noticed that the absolute top-ranked career was insurance actuary. I think this was based on how satisfied people were with their careers and took into account things like stress, hours, pay, enjoyment, etc.

I think actuarial work is concentrated at corporate headquarters locations, so that is going to limit the geographic choices considerably. In theory this type of work could be placed off-shore, but it is so central to the business of the insurance agencies and such high-level work with regard to it's position in the corporate heirarchy that I really doubt we will see much off-shore outsourcing of it in our lifetimes.