1. Home
  2. Careers
  3. Actuaries
  4. Required Skills Responsibilities Activities

Actuaries Occupation Detailed Description

Actuaries career

General Job Description and Education/Training Levels for Actuaries

The main tasks and work activities of Actuaries are to manage financial activities of the organization, analyze health-related data, collaborate with others to develop or implement marketing strategies, develop organizational goals or objectives. In general, for the Actuaries, critical Thinking, judgment and Decision Making, mathematics, reading Comprehension and other 16 skills are required.
Actuaries Job Description
EducationMost of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Related ExperienceA considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Job TrainingEmployees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
ExampleMany of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include real estate brokers, sales managers, database administrators, graphic designers, chemists, art directors, and cost estimators.
The following chart shows the education/training levels for Actuaries jobs.
Less than a High School Diploma
0.00%
High School Diploma (or the equivalent)
0.00%
Post-Secondary Certificate
0.00%
Some College Courses
0.00%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)
0.00%
Bachelor's Degree and Above
100.00%

Tasks and Work Activities of Actuaries

  • Ascertain premium rates required and cash reserves and liabilities necessary to ensure payment of future benefits.
  • Analyze statistical information to estimate mortality, accident, sickness, disability, and retirement rates.
  • Design, review, and help administer insurance, annuity and pension plans, determining financial soundness and calculating premiums.
  • Collaborate with programmers, underwriters, accounts, claims experts, and senior management to help companies develop plans for new lines of business or improvements to existing business.
  • Determine, or help determine, company policy, and explain complex technical matters to company executives, government officials, shareholders, policyholders, or the public.
  • Testify before public agencies on proposed legislation affecting businesses.
  • Provide advice to clients on a contract basis, working as a consultant.
  • Testify in court as expert witness or to provide legal evidence on matters such as the value of potential lifetime earnings of a person disabled or killed in an accident.
  • Construct probability tables for events such as fires, natural disasters, and unemployment, based on analysis of statistical data and other pertinent information.
  • Determine policy contract provisions for each type of insurance.
  • Manage credit and help price corporate security offerings.
  • Provide expertise to help financial institutions manage risks and maximize returns associated with investment products or credit offerings.
  • Determine equitable basis for distributing surplus earnings under participating insurance and annuity contracts in mutual companies.
  • Explain changes in contract provisions to customers.
  • Negotiate terms and conditions of reinsurance with other companies.
  • Analyzing Data or InformationIdentifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
  • Processing InformationCompiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
  • Making Decisions and Solving ProblemsAnalyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Interacting With ComputersUsing computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
  • Getting InformationObserving, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Updating and Using Relevant KnowledgeKeeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with StandardsUsing relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesProviding information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Interpreting the Meaning of Information for OthersTranslating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
  • Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or InformationEstimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
  • Manage financial activities of the organization.
  • Analyze health-related data.
  • Collaborate with others to develop or implement marketing strategies.
  • Develop organizational goals or objectives.
  • Analyze data to identify trends or relationships among variables.
  • Provide customer service to clients or users.
  • Negotiate contracts with clients or service providers.

Skills and Abilities for Actuaries

  • Critical ThinkingUsing logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Judgment and Decision MakingConsidering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • MathematicsUsing mathematics to solve problems.
  • Reading ComprehensionUnderstanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Complex Problem SolvingIdentifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Systems EvaluationIdentifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
  • SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Systems AnalysisDetermining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
  • WritingCommunicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Active LearningUnderstanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Operations AnalysisAnalyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
  • MonitoringMonitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Time ManagementManaging one's own time and the time of others.
  • InstructingTeaching others how to do something.
  • NegotiationBringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  • PersuasionPersuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  • CoordinationAdjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Learning StrategiesSelecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  • Mathematical ReasoningThe ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Number FacilityThe ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
  • Deductive ReasoningThe ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Written ComprehensionThe ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Oral ComprehensionThe ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Inductive ReasoningThe ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Near VisionThe ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Oral ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Category FlexibilityThe ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Information OrderingThe ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Problem SensitivityThe ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
  • Written ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Speech ClarityThe ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Selective AttentionThe ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Flexibility of ClosureThe ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Speech RecognitionThe ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • OriginalityThe ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Fluency of IdeasThe ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Desktop calculatore.g. 10-key calculators
  • Desktop computerse.g. Desktop computers
  • Notebook computerse.g. Notebook computers
  • Personal computerse.g. Personal computers
  • MathematicsKnowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • Economics and AccountingKnowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
  • English LanguageKnowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Computers and ElectronicsKnowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • Law and GovernmentKnowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  • Administration and ManagementKnowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.