What qualifications do you need to become an actuary?

Answer 1

Actuaries earn professional designations based on the organization they belong to and their status in the professional exam system. When an actuary has met certain professional educational standards by passing a series of exams, he or she achieves the designation of Associate. Actuaries who specialize in property and casualty practice receive the ACAS designation. It stands for Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society. Actuaries who practice in life, health, finance, investments or pensions receive the Associate of the Society of Actuaries, or ASA, designation. After achieving the Associate designation, the actuary can elect to continue to take exams to achieve the highest designation, Fellow. Casualty actuaries are Fellows of the Casualty Actuarial Society or FCAS. Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, or FSA, is the designation achieved by life, health, pension, finance and investment actuaries. Below are the different actuarial designations and organizations that grant them. Check out the actuarial alphabet. FCAS Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society ACAS Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society FSA Fellow of the Society of Actuaries ASA Associate of the Society of Actuaries MAAA Member of the American Academy of Actuaries FSPA Fellow of the American Society of Pension Actuaries MSPA Member of the American Society of Pension Actuaries FCA Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries MCA Member of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries ACA Associate of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries FCIA Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries EA Enrolled Actuary What skills are needed to be an actuary? Specialized math knowledge. Calculus, statistics, probability. Keen analytical, project management and problem solving skills. Good business sense. Finance, accounting, economics. Solid communication skills (oral & written). Strong computer skills. Word processing programs, spreadsheets, statistical analysis programs, database manipulation, programming languages. What talents are needed to be an actuary? Self-motivation Creativity Independence Ability to work with others Ambition In a nutshell, the abilities developed and honed by successful actuaries include an excellent business sense with a knowledge of finance, accounting and economics, keen analytical, project management, and problem solving skills, specialized math knowledge, strong computer skills, and solid written and oral communication skills. In addition, actuaries enjoy learning, like to solve complicated problems, enjoy writing and talking to people, can work effectively alone or as part of a team, are interested in a variety of historical, social, legislative, and political issues, and are self-motivated achievers.