Tips for Career Changing Actuarial Aspirants

Actuarial degrees and post graduate qualifications have become very popular in the past decade or so. The standard approach to become an actuary now starts with an actuarial degree.

But an actuarial degree does not make one an Actuary. The official credentials are provided by internationally recognised bodies - the popular ones are the Society of Actuaries (SOA), the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), the Institute of Actuaries Australia (IAA) and there are others as well in South Africa (ASSA) etc.

These bodies have a series of examinations to be written, and some offer a few exemptions for students with actuarial degrees.

There are students who have a leaning towards the actuarial profession, but were not able to get an actuarial degree. They start working in other related paths such as computer science, finance, accountancy, engineering etc, and are looking for a path into the profession. They may find the post graduate options unaffordable too.

My tips for such aspirants are as follows.

Firstly, look through the various examination bodies available and find one that you connect with the best. It may also be region specific, for example Indian actuaries tend to follow the IFoA path, American actuaries follow the SOA or CAS paths, while South East Asian actuaries are open to all paths.

Ensure that you have adequate learning options, and ideally have a senior to mentor you, who has advanced on the path that you choose. Work on passing at least two exams while still working in your current job or while taking a sabbatical.

To get your first actuarial role, try to use your network as much as you can. You already have some working experience, so starting from an entry level position may force you to downgrade your salary and role - this may not be suitable. Rather, I'd suggest trying to get a role that combines some aspects of your past non-actuarial role with the actuarial aspects.

This works very well for those with accounting experience as there is a need for actuaries with accounting experience for IFRS 17 roles. Those with programming knowledge will be able to excel in building actuarial models and various bespoke tools needed for actuarial work.

Those with teaching experience will have a strong ability to communicate technical concepts in an easy to understand manner to stakeholders - an extremely important yet difficult skill for actuaries.

Consulting companies and startups may be more willing to provide such hybrid roles.

This may allow you to get into a more senior position.

If you are already in an insurance or consulting company try to see if a rotation to the actuarial team is possible.

Once you have done the above, congrats! You are now on the actuarial path.

From then on your career progression is in your hands. An actuary is really what you want it to be - you don't have to put yourself in boxes you don't belong in, at least not for too long.

As a career changer you will have a wider perspective and skill set than most other actuaries. This will prove very valuable to you and your company as you go on to more senior roles.

All the best!