Computer and Mathematical · Holland code CIE

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 insurance rates required and cash reserves necessary to ensure payment of future benefits.

Also called: Actuarial Analyst, Actuary, Consulting Actuary, Pricing Actuary, Actuarial Associate, Actuarial Consultant, Health Actuary, Life Actuary.

O*NET 15-2011.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $130,000; Middle half earn $97,680 to $170,650. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +22% · Much faster than average; 33,600 jobs in 2024, projected 40,900. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Actuaries".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Analyze data to determine 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 improvements to existing business.
Provide advice to clients on a contract basis, working as a consultant.
Determine, or help determine, company policy, and explain complex technical matters to company executives, government officials, shareholders, policyholders, or the public.
Construct probability tables for events such as fires, natural disasters, and unemployment, based on analysis of statistical data and other pertinent information.
Determine equitable basis for distributing surplus earnings under participating insurance and annuity contracts in mutual companies.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Mathematics4.4 / 5
Reading Comprehension4.1 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Writing3.9 / 5
Speaking3.9 / 5

Knowledge areas

Mathematics4.8 / 5
Economics and Accounting4.1 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.4 / 5
English Language3.1 / 5
Administration and Management3.0 / 5
Law and Government2.9 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic13
Investigative58
Artistic2
Social25
Enterprising39
Conventional88

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

insurance product manager · DE Versicherungsmanager/Versicherungsmanagerin · FR chef de produit en assurances
actuarial consultant · DE Aktuar/Aktuarin · FR actuaire
insurance rating analyst · DE Rating-Analyst im Versicherungsbereich/Rating-Analystin im Versicherungsbereich · FR analyste notation en assurances
actuarial assistant · DE Versicherungsmathematischer Assistent/Versicherungsmathematische Assistentin · FR assistant actuaire/assistante actuaire
insurance claims handler · DE Versicherungsgutachter/Versicherungsgutachterin · FR chargé d’indemnisation en assurances/chargée d’indemnisation en assurances
loss adjuster · DE Schadensregulierer/Schadensreguliererin · FR expert en règlement de sinistres en assurances/experte en règlement de sinistres en assurances

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Insurance underwriters (3532)37,600 employed
Research and development (R&D) managers (2161)86,200 employed
Estimators, valuers and assessors (3541)57,000 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.52. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (15-2011).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test