I'm an actuary

[DadDadDad]

This is a bit niche, but a MNetter did PM me because their DS is interested in an actuarial career. So I'll watch this thread should anyone else want to ask.

Being an actuary is a (financially and intellectually) rewarding career if you are good at Maths (numerate degree) and have some interest in finance, economics and insurance (although all those you can learn on the job). Main employers are insurance companies and consultancies (including specialist pension scheme actuaries, the Big 4 accountancy firms).

And of course, you shouldn't put much trust in an anonymous stranger on the internet, but if I'm not genuine, you'd have to wonder why I've kept up this rather niche impersonation on MN for so many years. (Do an advanced search on actuary and my username!).

Anyway, here's a photo I took this morning - my actuarial qualification proudly hanging in the downstairs loo!

We have had a qualified accountant and a qualified lawyer apply to our graduate recruitment actuarial scheme. We gave both a job. (They were both our top choices for their respective years actually as - funnily enough! - the years work experience they had meant that they were far better at group exercises and presentations than the 21 year old students they were up against.)

They were both grilled pretty thoroughly on why (on earth!) they wanted to do this and were they aware that they will be completely “starting from the beginning” before they were let within a mile of an assessment centre though. The concern was that they would do it for 6 months, realise what a backwards step is was for them and go back to their old careers. Neither have though - and amusingly - one is now qualified and was part of the recruitment for the other!

My husband is an actuary so I was very excited to see this in active conversations!

I can't add much, but the studying alongside working was brutal, lots of evenings and weekends spent studying in the run up to exams but once he qualified it feels like a distant memory.

Salary is excellent, DH made it to six figures in his 30s (non life in London).

I'm not good enough at Maths to be one but the work sounds very interesting, and their flexible working and mat leave policies are very good.

Anyway, actuaries are able to see into the future, so this is a conversation that will happen in five years time...

Me: thanks for coming to interview today. What got you interested in actuarial work?

Graduate: yeah, funny story, when I was still at school my mum read this thread on done website. Netmums or something...

Me: You mean Mumsnet, er, , I mean it could have been that, I don't really, umm, yes, moving on ...

some not done

Daddaddad in your house doe WTAF stand for What The Actuarial Fuck when you are surprised my something. That would be pretty cool!

Thanks for the info.

What would salary expectations be for someone in their 30s with lots of accounting And financial services experience? I have checked online and I see that I get 2 exam exemptions, but I'd be looking for a job that offers study support as I'd still have all the other exams to do.

Pleasemummy the starting point for a salary would likely be the trainee starting salary (approx £30k) plus whatever salary uplift trainees are given for the exam passes you are exempt from. You could also argue for an experience uplift as you have financial service experience so possibly somewhere in the mid 30s.

All companies will offer varying levels of study support to actuarial trainees, usually exams paid plus one day off per week plus tutorials and study materials.

Agree with Trixy re Grad starting salary plus exemptions. I don’t think we would give an experience uplift - you would be treated no differently to any other new graduate.

I would expect that you would be better than average in the office though due to your experience which would be reflected in bonuses and pay rises after the first year.

If you can also translate that experience into faster than average exam passes then your salary will go up fast. My salary on qualification was roughly double that of a new graduate. And you get the increase with each exam pass.

One thing to bear in mind is that some employers are a bit sceptical about the value of exemptions so won’t give you the salary uplift for the exemptions until you’ve passed a couple of exams IRL, so for each pass you get double uplift.

Daddaddad in your house doe WTAF stand for What The Actuarial Fuck when you are surprised my something. That would be pretty cool!

I can't see that catching on with my children, but we could probably start using that at work with some of the stuff our accounting colleagues send us.

I don’t think we would give an experience uplift automatically either mumoftwo, it would really depend on the individual and their experience. It could be used to try and negotiate the initial pay offer upwards though.

Thanks for the info, very helpful. Seriously considering the switch as while I enjoy what I do, I feel it's not quite 'me' and that I'd enjoy actuarial work more.

The drop in salary is off-putting, but it's good to know it would be temporary. I need to look at the numbers and see if it is possible, but I suspect I may need to wait until DS is old enough for some free childcare.

If it helps I passed 5 exams in my first year as a trainee actuary and my salary increased by about 1/3 iirc. Wish I could get a pay rise like that now!!!

@trixymalixy that is useful info thank you. Having taken 15 accountancy exams already I am used to studying while working full time, so the volume of exams are not off-putting for me.

What sort of bonus % can be expected for an average performer and for a high performer?

I can only really say for my company but I think our bonus structure is really crap compared to other companies. On target bonus for my students is 5% to which a multiplier will be applied depending on company and individual performance. That probably only takes it to 6% for a high performer so not much difference.

That’s just students though, actuaries bonuses are much higher between 15-25%.

Perhaps the other actuaries can also give an idea as I’d be really interested to see what other companies pay in bonuses?

Also that’s an insurance company. I’ve no idea what consultancies give out in bonuses.

I know consultancy salaries are higher, but they expect much more from you in terms of hours worked which can make it much more difficult to pass the exams.

@DadDadDad how much do you make and how old are you? I'm curious after 20 years what the potential earning is like.

... this is AMA 🤷🏻‍♀️😬

trixy - I think our insurance company is broadly similar on bonuses. Trainees can in theory get up to 10% based on performance but in practice they don't get as much as that.

I'm in Dublin, in non-life insurance, so it'll be interesting to see if things are very different regarding bonuses.

Up to this year the on target performance bonus was 7% and we generally get a bonus depending on the company performance which is also linked to your performance.

For last year I managed to get a total bonus of 20% but I wouldn't get that two years in a row. My targets/expected performance this year is of a much higher standard this year due to exceeding expectations last year.

Theres been changes now so I won't ever get such a high total bonus again, unfortunately!

I can’t resist joining in. I am an actuary too...

I'm not very blown away by the bonuses being mentioned. I thought they'd be higher if I'm honest.

I was in a small consultancy - no bonus at all!

I agree that bonuses aren’t usually huge - 20% would be high IME and most places I’ve worked the cap has been maybe 12%. It’s just not that kind of job.

I think I averaged about 8% as a trainee and 12% - 15% as a qualified.

We did have a few years where we averaged quite a bit higher but that was when there was a huge recruitment / retention crisis (God bless S2!) and you had to stay with the company for the relevant time to get them.

One thing to note is that it sounds like we are all insurance company actuaries not consultancy actuaries (the consultancy actuaries are probably too busy working to post here!) and consultancies pay a lot better. (But they own you!)

I would describe my life as “4 bed house, 2 holidays a year, never worry about money” not “private jets and champers all the way!”

But I get to pick my kids up from school 4 days a week and I never really liked the taste of champagne anyway......

I’m so pleased you posted this. I’m not an actuary but have worked with lots. If you’re good at maths and like maths then it’s a brilliant job and qualification and career. Actuaries are much in demand in all sorts of jobs that require the ability to do mathematical modelling and to understand mathematical modelling so there are actually a lot of career options,.