Become an actuary

The career of an actuary is richly rewarding, full of challenges and highly specialized. There is never an occasion, where a qualified actuary is not matched with a highly compensating job. Aptly defined as “part superman, part fortune-teller and part trusted advisor”, it sure has a lot of work associated with it, but at the same time a highly respected profession, among peers as well as among other professionals.

In 2015, an Actuarial job topped the list of the highest paying job in the United States of America – it is with certainty that the actuarial profession offers high satisfaction. It is a difficult road but one where the rewards are well matched by the effort.

How do you become an actuary?

Before you get started, as always, these are the questions you may ask yourself:

 Do you like taking tough examinations, to break into the professional field and advance your career?

 Do you like to “number crunch”, make calculations and use statisticts?

 Do you like to explain highly technical financial concepts to others?

As all actuaries will tell you, the profession has its baby steps in the mathematics discipline. Are you strong in this aspect? Were you always proud that you could achieve the 99th percentile in your high school and graduate mathematic grades?

In India, to get started as an actuary, you would have to become a student member of the Institute of Actuaries and clear the entry level examination ACET conducted by the Institute of Actuaries of India:

This examination will rigorously test your aptitude for mathematics, and skills in solving complex problems involving facts and figures.

Once you clear the ACET examination, you are officially a student member of IAI and are now eligible to attempt the 15 actuarial examinations – which you need to complete in order to become a certified actuarial professional. These tests are divided into four series namely Core Technical (CT), Core Application (CA), Specialist Technical (ST) and Specialist Application (SA) – these examinations do require burning the midnight oil, but the sunrise is well worth it.

We wish all actuarial aspirants the best in their endeavours and do not hesitate to contact us if we could be of help in the slightest possible manner.