Qualifications To Become An Actuary
To become an actuary, you require certain education requirements to meet in addition to the in addition to enhancing your skills and getting certified. In this article, we will take you closer to becoming a qualified actuary.
A common man fails to understand the roles and responsibilities of an actuary due to lack of clarity. Usually a role of an actuary may sound perplexing as it sounds complicated except for the ones who love solving problems and playing with numbers.
An actuary is a business professional who plays a vital role in analysing the data of the business and financial figures to manage risks and uncertainties. They also work with the traditional methods of handing finance, reporting and advising the clients and business about implementation of alternative financial systems.
Becoming an actuary holds value, offers excellent pay, job opportunities and job satisfaction if youre are really interested in entering this field. With an average job growth of 20 percent and above this career could bring fortune in the future. Hence decide on what you want to become today.
Now , you're probably wondering How to become an Actuary? The answer for this lies within the education requirement and the qualification to meet which we will be discussing in this article.
Bachelor’s Degree in Actuarial Science
Technically a bachelor’s degree is not necessary to become an actuary. However, from the job perspective a degree represents that you possess the necessary qualification to become an actuary. It is also necessary to get an entry-level job in this field.
You can start off your career path by pursuing a bachelor’s degree in actuarial science, economics or computer science. This provides a foundation for the core courses you study in the future. The coursework includes managerial finance, statistics, probability, mathematics and economics. The 4 year program also offers internship opportunities to gain experience in the relevant field.
10 Actuarial Exams
Generally, Actuarial exams are conducted to evaluate the student’s capabilities and knowledge regarding the essential skills to become an actuary. It includes math, economics, statistics, and finance knowledge. Clearing these 10 exams could possibly take you a decade due to its difficulty level.
However one advantage is, you could take up the job after earning a degree and opt to clear these exams at your own pace while managing other commitments.
To speed up this process, you could benign our exams while still at the undergraduate level and this could save you time.
Online Courses
Career-oriented students who want to learn new and the latest technologies can choose the online courses offered by the top online colleges. They are more affordable, provider diverse courses and help you study at a flexible schedule. The courses are similar to the ones you choose traditionally where you are given an assignment, deadlines for submission and exams at the end of the course.
Online purses are more likely chosen by students who want get the designation of
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FSA (Fellow of the Society of Actuaries)
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FCAS (Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society).
Also come courses to learn new in the industry could be choosing the programming course such as SQL, C, C++ and VBA.
Continuing Education
Continuing your education will also give you an authority to advance your career and frame your skills according to your needs. To keep up with the evolving industry, you could continue higher education and become fully qualified.
To help you with this, you could take up online classes, live coaching, attend conferences or other training programs. Also you are required to spend 30 hours on continuing education while enrolling for the actuarial exams.
Required Skills
Over the time, you need to work on yourself to enhance your skills and employable qualities to stand out of among the applicants. Some skills include,
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Problem solving skills
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Critical thinking
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Good analytical thinking
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Business knowledge and technicality
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Good knowledge on computer and programming
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Interpretation of data
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Communication skills and clarity in thoughts
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Confident and polite
Conclusion
For a layman, the profession of an actuary might seem complex, for the interested ones this profession brings joy. Solving problems may not be easy for all but an actuary play an important role in running a business ad assisting clients. Misunderstood by many, actuary maintain high standards through their activities, knowledge and the roles they play. If you are one who loves working this way, becoming an actuary is surely your fit!
