Career Paths
The Society of Actuaries best prepares individuals for risk management careers and an increasing number of emerging job opportunities in industries where actuaries have never been.
There is no point at which the SOA asks candidates to declare a track to pursue a particular practice area. This is done implicitly the first time a candidate takes an exam or module that is unique to a particular track after completing the common requirements.
To learn more about practice areas related to the examples of actuarial work listed below, visit the SOA community of sections. SOA members and candidates enjoy 20 sections dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and networking in these practice areas to explore.
Examples of actuarial work
| Area | Application |
| Banking and Financial Services | help banks and financial services companies with product portfolio, capital management and risk analysis |
| Consulting | advise clients on actuarial financial risks, usually associated with employee benefits and insurance |
| Enterprise Risk Management | provide tools, techniques and perspective to manage operational risks at an enterprise or corporate level |
| Entrepreneurial Actuaries | represents a wide range of opportunities for actuaries who desire to set up and run their own business |
| Environmental Finance | apply finance techniques and practices to environmental issues |
| Health and Retirement Financing | offer advice on aspects of social insurance including funding levels and population projections |
| Investments and Fund Management | focus on asset risks for asset managers but also contribute in areas such as hedging strategy, derivatives structuring and structured finance |
| Pension | certify the contributions needed to fund a pension plan |
| Predictive Analytics | use modeling and data analysis techniques on large data sets to discover predictive patterns and relationships for business use |
| Pricing | determine product features and pricing |
| Product Line or Segment Risk Management | perform risk management functions for a specific line of business for an insurance company |
| Reinsurance | perform traditional actuarial duties for a reinsurer that would accept risk from a direct insurance company |
| Sales and Marketing | help set policies, messages and compensation levels for those directly involved in marketing |
| Senior Management | provide broad business and management oversight for an organization’s most senior decision makers |
| Valuation | perform experience studies, cash flow testing and other tasks to set the amount of reserve and capital held by an insurer |
| Wealth Management and Financial Planning | contribute skills and expertise to wealth management firms and individuals (rather than to insurance companies) |