While insurance actuaries are the most common type of actuaries, their salaries tend to be lower than those of asset and accident actuaries. From entry-level to higher-level, actuaries have significant earning potential throughout their careers. In general, the highest paid job with a degree in actuarial science is that of an actuarial intern in the area of property and accident insurance, followed by actuarial science roles in other areas of the field, such as life, health and pensions. Are you ready to learn more about the highest-paying jobs with an actuarial science degree? Let's go deeper and calculate how much money different types of actuaries earn.
Another thing aspiring actuaries should expect is having to work hard to keep their earning potential rising throughout their careers. While work experience alone can contribute to greater earning potential as actuaries progress in their careers, you'll see a much greater increase in earnings if you work consistently to pass the series of exams that lead to actuarial certification. Getting passing scores on these exams isn't easy, but the reward is worth it. In addition to their base salary, actuaries may have the opportunity to earn bonuses that further contribute to their total income potential.
If you want to maximize your income from your first actuary job, make studying a priority. Potential employers analyze the grades they earned at university and give preference to candidates who have started taking (and passing) their certification exams before finishing college. It's also important to gain practical work experience as an intern. Many interns receive permanent, full-time job offers from the company where they interned, and even if there are no permanent positions available, internships can offer excellent networking opportunities.
Actuarial science graduates rarely have to worry about looking for their first job. Those who maintain a high grade point average throughout their studies, complete an internship, and pass one or two certification exams during college often receive multiple job offers. If there's one factor that affects actuaries' earning potential more than any other, it's progress toward full professional certification. Certification for actuaries is not a quick process by any means.
It requires passing a sequence of challenging exams, each requiring hundreds of hours of study spread over months. In fact, obtaining full certification at the scholarship level can take up to a decade or more, BLS reported. Because certification is such a long and difficult process, actuaries receive higher salaries as they go through that process. Usually, each new score passed on an exam qualifies the actuary to receive a raise, often adding a few thousand dollars to the employee's total income.
The more experience actuaries have, the greater the wage gap between those who obtain the certification level of the grant and those who do not, the Society of Accident Actuaries reported. This means that experience alone cannot compensate for the lost revenue potential of actuaries who are never certified as interns. The metropolitan areas where actuaries earn the most include the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia area of North Carolina and South Carolina, followed by the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, which consists of regions of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the BLS reported. You can also find lucrative opportunities in Texas, particularly in the San Antonio-New Braunfels area and in the areas surrounding Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Tampa, Florida and Seattle, Washington.
The industries that pay the most are not always those that employ many actuaries. Among the industries that employ the most actuaries, finance and insurance and professional, scientific and technical services offer the best average salaries, the BLS reported. You may also need to move to an area with a higher average actuary salary if you really want to earn as much money as possible. However, keep in mind that it's a good idea to also consider the cost of living in different areas in your salary expectations.
What is the salary potential of someone with a degree in actuarial science? How important are certification exams for actuarial science students? What are the 5 best careers in environmental science?. The best status for an actuary depends on the person's professional goals and standard of living. That said, actuaries earn the highest salaries in Georgia, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and Connecticut. The best areas for actuaries tend to have more vacancies, which can lead to better job opportunities.
They have fewer than 200 people employed as actuaries, while in other states there are thousands of actuaries working, and the BLS does not even report data on the employment of actuaries in 13 states. These are one of the most common types of actuaries and their average salaries tend to be average. So is it good money for you? Remember that actuaries are likely to spend much more time than the average American educating themselves in order to do their jobs. That's almost double what the BLS projects employment growth for U.S.
actuaries will be in the same period. Many of the highest-paid industries listed above employ few actuaries, so their exceptionally high average salaries do not reflect the earning potential of most actuary positions. It can be safely said that the salary of the actuarial profession soars compared to that of these other similar careers. For actuaries, as for other occupations, two factors that influence earning potential are the employment industry and geographical location.
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