How Do I Begin Actuarial Consulting?

Actuarial consultants are professionals who help various insurance companies to determine the risk of events such as car accidents taking place and then help these organizations to develop solid business plans that result in profits to these companies. If you want to enter the actuarial consulting field, you need to complete four years of college beyond high school and gain hands-on training. You also can complete industry tests to earn certification that will make you more marketable in this career area.

A person who wants to begin actuarial consulting first must earn a four-year bachelor’s degree in actuarial science, finance, or math. Getting into this type of program requires that you turn in your high school diploma or the equivalent certification as well as submit your latest standardized test scores to your desired college. The training institution will ask that you also provide a completed admission application along with your high school transcript.

Multiple math courses give you the information that you need to be successful in this career area. You must study topics such as statistics, calculus, and math reasoning. These subjects are important if you wish to go into the actuarial consulting field because professionals in this industry are responsible for determining how insurance companies can better handle their financial investments to remain profitable and how much money different types of incidents can cost them. Mathematical courses will build your problem-solving skills and improve your ability to work with numerical data in an actuarial consulting job.

Completing an internship is a solid way to gain hands-on experience in this field. You should ask your college’s career services department about local insurance companies that might be willing to accept you as an intern. During your on-the-job training opportunity, you need to practice developing financial plans and forecasts for companies in addition to monitoring budgets. A benefit of an internship is that you can choose a specialty area in which to consult, such as health, life, or property insurance. Working in the field also will help you to forge connections with industry professionals for whom you can perform actuarial consulting in the future.

Passing several tests create job opportunities for you in this industry as well. A person who wants to enter the actuarial consulting sector needs to pass multiple examinations available through societies in this field to earn certification. Acquiring these types of credentials is valuable in that it shows insurance companies that you are well-versed in this career area. You then can contact or visit different insurance companies to promote your skills and ability to work with them on a freelance basis.