<p>Has anyone pursued an Actuarial science major?
Which colleges are good for this major?
How is the career in this area? is it stressful? Are jobs stable?</p>
<p>My husband started working as an actuary in 1989. He likes this work because he is good at math and computer science, and the work is reasonably well paid. However, in the last 15 years, the insurance industry has been very volatile - lots of mergers, takeovers etc. Since 1989 my husband has had seven jobs in seven states, and he chose to make only one of those moves - all the rest were forced on him. He has had two periods of unemployment: the first lasted 6 months, the second lasted 4 months. So I would say that it is not very stable. Also, with increased computerization, the demand for actuaries is dropping off.</p>
<p>Most of the training for actuaries is on-the-job training, through a series of professional exams. College students can take the first two Society of Actuaries exams (calculus and statistics) before they start job hunting. A few colleges focus on preparing actuaries through course work, but it is not necessary to be a part of this program to join the profession. Students who become actuaries are usually math majors. Business, economics, and computer science classes would also be useful.</p>
<p>To find out more, you could look at the Society of Actuaries webpage, or you could look at the website of any large insurance company and see what job opportunities they advertise.</p>
<p>Hypermom, Here's a useful link to a website on acturial science careers, which is run by the Society of Actuaries. It includes lots of career information and a directory of schools that have a degree program in actuary science. <a href="http://www.beanactuary.org/links.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://www.beanactuary.org/links.cfm</a></p>
<p>As someone who has recruited actuaries I can tell you that the mergers and acquisitions within the insurance business have taken their toll. However, at this time, it is still one of the most difficult of positions to recruit for. The actuary who completes exams and is an effective communicator can often choose from many opportunities. </p>
<p>A key is to have an internship. If you are going to look at B.S. programs in actuarial science, please make sure you can find out what help is provided to students in obtaining internships and full-time employment after graduation.</p>
<p>The actuaries I know are certainly busy, but find quite a bit of gratification in their work.</p>
<p>The American Statistical Association has listing of colleges/universities for undergrad/grad programs leading to actuarial and other statistics related careers.
<a href="http://www.amstat.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=main%5B/url%5D">http://www.amstat.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=main</a></p>