Ivy Mar 19, 2014 No Comments
If you are interested in a career that offers a bright and stimulating future, with the opportunity to be part of a small but growing talent pool much in demand, then consider a career as an actuary. Not only does it have a prestige value attached, the scope is also wide and the earning potential high. Moreover, you can enjoy a wide range of highly rewarding careers – be it in insurance, finance, banking, stock exchange, consultancy, healthcare or specialised Government agencies.
To be an actuary, you need to qualify in Actuarial Science and take necessary exams. All you need is to be good at Mathematics, Statistics or Economics and have an aptitude for analysing figures and trends. You can study to be an Actuary if you have graduated in Business Economics, BBA, MBA, B.Sc, M.Sc with any of the above mentioned subjects. What’s more, you can actually study Actuarial Science while pursuing other interests / studies!
With the boom in the financial sector, the profile of an actuary has undergone a change. Now, graduation or Masters, combined with a professional certification from Actuarial Society of India, can get you seven-figure salaries as actuaries with investment fund, knowledge process outsourcing or business process outsourcing firms.
Actuaries apply techniques related to varied problems in the business world. They are in great demand across sectors like insurance, finance, investment and more; because of their ability to put a price tag on problems. This valuable expertise gained over time places high salary tags on actuary professionals.
What does an Actuary do?
An Actuary applies financial, mathematical and statistical techniques to a wide range of problems like:
valuing financial contracts, advising pension funds and employee benefit schemes, designing insurance plans, decide upon premiums, designing pension plans, evaluating insurance policies, evaluating and comparing investment options, scientific valuation of financial products, compiling data related to rates of mortality, sickness, injury, retirement and property loss from theft, accident, fire or any other hazard, and so on
Job opportunities
It is a course with 100% job guarantee. Which other profession can claim this other (other than analytics?) According to this report from a premier recruitment firm, 43 % of Actuary professionals are absorbed in Kolkata itself. Typical hirers are all insurance firms; Ernst & Young, Genpact, Deloitte, and so on. While a trainee can begin with a Rs. 4-6 lakhs salary; with experience and/or exam clearance he can earn anything between Rs 12-15 lakhs and more. Our upcoming blog will tell you more about career options for an actuary.
What are the plus points of being an Actuary?
# you earn while you learn
# you have a very lucrative career
# you have options to travel, if you choose
# you can be one of a small (less crowded) community of professionals – in high demand in India and abroad
# potential of high compensation for qualified actuary professionals, with experience
# once fully qualified, you get the professional tag of ‘Actuary”
# offers great flexibility in choice of specialisation – investments, life assurance, general insurance, pensions, etc; with scope of lateral change in mid-career
# offers scope of interest areas – genetics, energy, climate change, healthcare, etc.
# offers scope for setting up own consultancy
# offers scope to join Government jobs (statistical wings, agencies supervising insurance sector, etc)
# qualified actuaries can progress quickly to managerial positions
In India and abroad, the demand for Actuaries far exceeds that of the supply. So even before you can be a fully qualified actuary professional, as per the norms of the governing society Institute of Actuaries of India (IAI), you can begin earning good money as a trainee.
Why is demand for actuary soaring?
Increasing income per family, coupled with low penetration of insurance and investing, has opened up wide horizons for the actuary profession. With foreign players entering the Indian market in insurance and investment, the demand for actuaries is increasing phenomenally across various industries. The work that used to be handled by chartered accountants is now becoming the domain of professional actuaries.
Actuarial Science is going to be the next big thing in India. India is emerging as a huge market for absorbing Actuary professionals. So think beyond CA, Engineering or Medicine and go for one of the six 21st century high paying jobs, as per Forbes.
This is a great time to think of becoming an Actuary!
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