• Are you someone who loves working with numbers?
• Do you get curious about the finance of a project?
• Do you have an analytical mindset?
• Does debating on topics that display your practical approach and lateral thinking for resolving issues give you a different kind of satisfaction?
If answer to above question is “Yes” then Actuarial Science is a career field that you must definitely explore.
What is Actuarial Science?
Actuarial Science is the study of application that applies mathematical and statistical methods to assess risk management in Insurance, Finance and other industries. Actuarial Science is all about evaluating risks and maintaining the economic stability of an organization. It is the job of the actuaries to evaluate the impact of finance and take surveys for financial risks in different fields like insurance, banking, enterprises, and others. Actuarial students study subjects like Mathematics, Statistics and Probability Principles to foresee future occasions, likelihood of their occurrence and take preventive measures. The role of an actuary can broadly vary from sector to sector and on the candidate’s interest and expertise. Actuarial science is used for insurance product pricing, estimating risk & return from an investment, financial modelling, create policies that bear the minimal risk for insurance companies, model portfolio risk, design highly benefiting social security schemes, etc.
Skills needed to be an Actuary
Actuaries are problem solvers and strategic thinkers with a deep understanding of financial systems. It is necessary for Actuaries to be analytical problem solvers as their tasks involve examining complex data and identifying patterns and trends to ascertain which factors are accountable for specific consequences. Knowledge of calculus, statistics, and probability is vital since actuaries quantify risk and decide the apparent possibility of specific occurrences. In today’s time computers and a variety of statistical modeling software knowledge is also necessary to be an Actuary. To make accurate forecasts, actuaries must be able to comprehend general human behavior. Psychology, therefore, plays a crucial role in actuarial analysis. Establishing a career as an actuary requires solid math skills for the complex calculations that are underlying to this career.
Scope of Actuarial Science
The field of Actuarial Science is slowly gaining popularity and recognition in India. Actuaries are looking at an above-average climb towards future demand. Currently, Actuaries are among the top 25 professionals with the highest salaries, in America. Actuarial Science Career Opportunities are rising day-by-day. You can work in multiple areas in both private and government sectors. Within the field of insurance, you can work in various areas. You can likewise hold administrative roles in the realm of actuarial science. You can at the same time work as a consultant and advice companies in multiple areas such as life insurance, taxation, employee benefits, risk management, investment, etc.
What should you do to become an Actuary?
There are two options for a student to become a qualified actuary.
- One appear for professional papers from the Institute of Actuaries of India (IAI) or Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), UK. You can appear for the entrance right after your class 12th. There are total of 15 papers divided into 4 stages, Core Principle, Core Practices (CP), Specialist Principles (SP), and Specialist Advanced (SA) and you get to choose your subjects from these 4 stages. Once you have successfully cleared the above Actuarial Science papers you become an Actuary. One of the biggest shortcoming of this approach is in order to get recognition student also needs to enroll for a degree program on the side and pursue the same simultaneously resulting into added pressure and lack of overall development.
- Second option, is you can start your actuarial career under formal education system. Join a University offered bachelor’s and/or master’s degree program in Actuarial science and learn the actuarial skillsets at college. There are few Actuarial science degree programs which offer accreditation from global actuarial bodies such as IFoA, UK. Student pursing those actuarial degree program simultaneously receive a formal University degree and also, accreditation to certain actuarial papers. Sc. in Actuarial Science & Quantitative Finance degree program offered by Patkar- Varde Collge, University of Mumbai is one such program in India which is currently accredited by IFoA, UK up to 6 papers.
As World Debt to GDP increases and makes a new high every day, business cycles become shorter, boom & bust scenarios occur more often than ever, increasing geopolitical risk with US & China fighting for top spot, technology innovation disrupting decade old businesses and business practices; RISK Management (Identification, Impact Analysis and Mitigation) holds a very promising career in times to come and Actuaries are finest and best trained professionals to model risk and design preventive measures.
