Within the world of insurance, the figure of the actuary is one of the least known by a large part of society. This is a professional who will be in charge of risk management in companies or individuals. You will have a series of knowledge and skills that allow you to develop a series of solutions to the different problems raised.
In the following article we will talk to you in a more detailed way of the figure of the actuary and what you have to study to practice as such.
The figure of the actuary
It can be said that the actuary is a risk manager. It is a very well-paid profession with a fairly low unemployment rate. The actuary acts mainly in the world of insurance and banking and his job is to assess the probability that a certain event may occur in the future. This will entail having to calculate a certain insurance premium to minimize possible risks.
What is the job of an actuary?
When managing risk, the actuary will use materials such as mathematics or statistics. Specifically, it can be said that the work of the actuary includes the following functions:
- Evaluate the probability of certain events occurring in the future. To do this, he uses mathematical knowledge.
- Design systems that help reduce the probability to suffer certain undesirable events.
- In the event of certain events occurring, minimize its impact.
- Analyze all products of a company to get the most out of them.
- Prepare reports about the impact of risks.
- Generate financial products that are profitable for companies or individuals.
How to get to work as an actuary
The profile of the actuary profession is quite technical and It requires quite a lot of knowledge. The student interested in such a profession must enroll in a degree of economic and statistical profile. In this way, there are a series of university degrees that give access to this profession:
- Actuarial science.
- Degree in economics.
- Degree in Statistical Sciences and Techniques.
- Degree in Mathematics.
- Degree in Social and Legal Sciences.
As of today, companies are going to value an actuary with good training in general and who has some knowledge of programming, as is the case of SQL or Visual Basic.
Where can an actuary work?
A professional such as an actuary will offer his knowledge in the following areas:
- Bank. It offers its services to banks, specifically it is in charge of managing the capital and studying possible financial risks.
- Investment and fund management. You can work together with investors and offer good advice to get the best possible result.
- Business risk management. It is capable of identifying certain events that could negatively affect a company.
- Sales and Marketing. He is in charge of studying in depth what kind of problems can arise when carrying out a certain campaign.
- Insurance Study the appropriate cost for the different types of policies, with the objective that the insurance company has the financial assets to protect its clients.
- Consultancy. An actuary has full capacity to work as a consultant for a certain company or for individuals.
How much does an actuary earn?
The salary of a professional such as an actuary will depend on many factors such as hours of work or years of experience. In any case, the average salary of an actuary es of 24.000 euros al año.
Skills Valued in an Actuary
Apart from the knowledge that an actuary might have, there are a number of skills that should be present in said professional:
- It is good that the actuary be a good communicator and be able to convey your message clearly. It is important that everything you have to say is understood.
- It is important that the actuary has basic knowledge of programming and know how to use tools such as Excel or Office.
- Said professional must have a good capacity when it comes to analyzing the different data, in order to obtain much more solid and reliable estimates.
- It must be good when solving different problems, that might occur at your job.
- Have some critical thinking that allows you to anticipate certain results without problems.
In short, if you like everything related to subjects such as mathematics or economics, the profession of actuary can be very good for you. In relation to the labor market, it should be noted that it is a profession that is in high demand and the opportunities are continuous and common. As if this were not enough, the salary of a professional such as an actuary is quite good and appropriate to their knowledge and decision making.