Summary Report for:
15-2011.00 - Actuaries
Analyze statistical data, such as mortality, accident, sickness, disability, and retirement rates and construct probability tables to forecast risk and liability for payment of future benefits. May ascertain premium rates required and cash reserves necessary to ensure payment of future benefits.
Sample of reported job titles:
Actuary, Actuarial Analyst, Pricing Actuary, Product Development Actuary, Actuarial Assistant, Actuarial Associate, Health Actuary, Pricing Analyst
Tasks | Tools & Technology | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related Occupations | Wages & Employment
Tasks
- 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 improving existing business.
- Determine or help determine company policy, and explain complex technical matters to company executives, government officials, shareholders, policyholders, or the public.
- Provide advice to clients on a contract basis, working as a consultant.
- 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.
- 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.
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Tools & Technology
Tools used in this occupation:
| Calculators or accessories — 10-key calculators |
| Desktop computers |
| Notebook computers |
| Personal computers |
Technology used in this occupation:
| Analytical or scientific software — Insightful S-PLUS; SAS software; SPSS software; Statistical software |
| Data base user interface and query software — Business Objects BusinessObjects Desktop Intelligence; Data entry software; dBase Plus; Microsoft Access |
| Financial analysis software — Appraisal software; Pricing software; SS&C PTS; Towers Perrin TAS Tillinghast Actuarial Software |
| Office suite software — Microsoft Office |
| Spreadsheet software — Microsoft Excel |
| Word processing software — Microsoft Word |
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Knowledge
| Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications. |
| English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
| Economics and Accounting — Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data. |
| Computers and Electronics — Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming. |
| Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. |
| Law and Government — Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process. |
| Sales and Marketing — Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems. |
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Skills
| Mathematics — Using mathematics to solve problems. |
| Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. |
| Complex Problem Solving — Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions. |
| Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
| Active Listening — Giving 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. |
| Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
| Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others. |
| Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
| Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions. |
| Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
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Abilities
| Mathematical Reasoning — The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem. |
| Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). |
| Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. |
| Information Ordering — The 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). |
| Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
| Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
| Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
| Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. |
| Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways. |
| Problem Sensitivity — The 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. |
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Work Activities
| Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
| Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data. |
| Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts. |
| Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information. |
| Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events. |
| Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. |
| Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work. |
| Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job. |
| Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form. |
| Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards. |
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Work Context
| Electronic Mail — How often do you use electronic mail in this job? |
| Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions? |
| Spend Time Sitting — How much does this job require sitting? |
| Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job? |
| Face-to-Face Discussions — How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? |
| Telephone — How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? |
| Structured versus Unstructured Work — To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals? |
| Freedom to Make Decisions — How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer? |
| Work With Work Group or Team — How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job? |
| Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results — How do the decisions an employee makes impact the results of co-workers, clients or the company? |
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Job Zone
| Title |
Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed |
| Overall Experience |
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job. |
| Job Training |
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training. |
| Job Zone Examples |
These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include librarians, lawyers, aerospace engineers, physicists, school psychologists, and surgeons. |
| SVP Range |
(8.0 and above) |
| Education |
A bachelor's degree is the minimum formal education required for these occupations. However, many also require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree). |
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Interests
Interest code: CI
| Conventional — Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow. |
| Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally. |
| Realistic — Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others. |
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Work Styles
| Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. |
| Analytical Thinking — Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems. |
| Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical. |
| Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. |
| Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. |
| Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. |
| Achievement/Effort — Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks. |
| Leadership — Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction. |
| Innovation — Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems. |
| Independence — Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done. |
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Work Values
| Working Conditions — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions. |
| Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy. |
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Related Occupations
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Wages & Employment Trends
National
| Median wages (2006) |
$39.81 hourly, $82,800 annual |
| Employment (2006) |
18,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2006-2016) |
Much faster than average (21% or higher)
|
| Projected need (2006-2016) |
11,000 additional employees |
State & National
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2006 wage data
and 2006-2016 employment projections
.
"Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2006-2016). "Projected need" represents job openings due to growth and net replacement.
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