Question in the title. Currently, my father is an insurance analyst and he goes on and on about how sought after actuaries are in his department and in the industry in general. My cousin residing in Canada currently is making 6 figures right out of school as an actuary. My father gave me the option of either being pre-med or a mathematics major here at Berkeley and I’ve chosen to hopefully major in Stats. I’m just curious if being an actuary is a good as it sounds or the people in life just happen to see things skewed in one direction?
It is a pretty good profession to go in to, if you really like the work. There are barriers to entry (skill plus passing the exams) that keep people out, suggesting that starting salaries will be good.
Your father didn’t give you the option of having independent thoughts? Why can’t you be an accountant, engineer, or journalist if you so desire?
It is a good financial living. But if you didn’t like the work, that would not matter.
Actuary is a good-paying job. And one of the reasons is because it requires a very specific mind-set and is not for everybody. Any occupation with a limited supply of talented workers will pay well for talent.
If you find you have a talent for it, great! If not, what will your father do? Forcing yourself into a career like this if it’s not a strength will make you miserable and likely not lead to the kind of salary your father is hoping you earn.
It’s a good job IF you like that kind of work. If you don’t…it’s horrible work.
Sounds like a nightmare to me. But if you like that type of work, go for it. Otherwise, find something you do love. Money is important, but it is not everything, and there are many other high-paying jobs out there.
@anxiousenior1, I went to Cal a long time ago. Every month or two, I walk past Sproul Hall and smile. If you are a math or stats major, you will have many opportunities including becoming an actuary. You can still be premed too.
You are just starting out. Did you look at the course requirements for each major? Sometimes that gives a clue on which major you should choose. Take a variety of courses the first year and see what you like.
Enjoy you college years. You are the one going…not your parents.
An anecdote…my daughter worked in the insurance industry. She was a math major. She did actuarial work. She liked it. She thinks in probablities. But she has shifted to data mining. Pays less but likes the work better. She likes finding problems and figuring out solutions to those problems.
She might do some coding eventually.
Don’t get too locked into a 30 year career. Who knows where your life will lead…
People say there is a 62.875% likelihood of it being as lucrative as your parents say.
Actuaries claim there is 100% employment. Some of that employment may be in Omaha or Oklahoma, but it is there. The actuaries I’ve known were all officers of their companies, respected employees.
Nobody knows what may happen. If low interest rate environment continues insurance company may start consolidating. Retirement actuarial field is already contracting. If US moves to health care single payer - health actuaries may be hit. India is ramping up actuarial training.
Entry level actuarial positions in the US do not pay 6 figures. Probably 75K max if you have 3-4 passed exams.
Good thing that combination of math and ecom courses you will have to take in preparation for the actuarial role will make your education very versatile and you can be hired for many other roles in the insurance and financial industry.
I have been lurking on the Reddit sub forum of Actuary Science daily. As I look for possible careers for D given her personality, strength, and interest.
I see her getting an applied math degree in the future. I look at Indeed and Glassdoor to see what jobs are out there.
Not that D needs to have a lucrative career. Just self supporting and one she likes.
D currently works through “Art of Problem Solving” math text as she enjoys stretching her brain with challenging problems…
That is why I think she will enjoy a math related problem solving type career.
Thank you all for your responses! I appreciate all of your input.
@CheddarcheeseMN My father firmly believes that because he’ll be paying 40k a year for Cal, he should be able to dictate what I study. My dream major was actually political science or IR, but I have taken AB, BC, and Stats in high school and I can see myself doing math in the future.
@dstark Data mining seems attractive to me, especially with the proximity of Cal to Silicon Valley.
Oh, one of those parents.
http://beanactuary.com/ has more information on going into the actuarial field. No specific major is required, but significant course work in math and statistics is needed, as well as some in economics and finance. The math department has some course suggestions for applied math majors looking at actuarial science at https://math.berkeley.edu/programs/undergraduate/major/applied .
The math and statistics majors do not have a lot of requirements, so you should be able to take significant numbers of political science courses in your out-of-major free elective schedule space.
@anxiousenior1, you got into Cal. I think you will be ok. 
If you can code, you can become a level 3 engineer. You can work in data mining and fix the problems. You do not need to major in computer sciences. A level 3 engineer makes a little over $100,000 plus stock options.
I have a kid who minored in math who works on wall street. Majored in chemistry and philosophy.
Just saying there are so many choices for those good in math.
have a kid studying act sci right now. But it sure isnt what i’d chose or would have predicted for him, after knowing him for 20 years. We will see how it goes. We’re encouraging minors in finance or econ or accounting.
what i thought he’d do: something with international security, relations, political science, CIA, State Dept or foreign policy work. He can talk forever about what’s going on. He chose act sci for the $$.
@ucbalumnus Thank you for the links; I will look into them at depth.
@dstark That’s what my father says too; he always says I wasted my time falling in love with the humanities instead of mathematics but he’s happy I’m more than proficient in both.
@bgbg4us That’s what I imagined myself doing a year or two ago; all of those or perhaps even international business.
On a slightly different tangent, would it be more favorable for me to major in applied mathematics or statistics?
There are actuaries who do more than set the rate for insurance premiums. Some are witnesses in court cases on lost income, some work in Vegas, some work for banks or other risk assessing industries. One I worked with at an insurance company was a major (or maybe higher) in the Army reserves so had the guns and danger in another part of his life. I think he loved both.
You can major in math and a humanity at most schools. Or at least choose your electives to coincide with your interests. My son was a math major (at another top tier flagship)- liked theory and did not choose the applied math option. He added computer science and is happily doing that. He started with a lot of physics as well but chose math. He found time for several philosophy courses. I’m sure you can sneak your preferred classes into your schedule.
Your father has a lot to learn about college. YOU, as others have stated, are the one going to college. Get the education you desire, not just the supposed job skills your father thinks work.
You will find overlap, cross listed courses in the realm of math-statistics-computer science. Look at the requirements for the various degrees and choose the one with the most interesting to you courses. Remember, your future jobs are not limited to those in your college major.
Either one will be fine for actuarial preparation, based on your interests beyond the actuarial preparation courses. Statistics is a restricted enrollment major at Berkeley (see http://statistics.berkeley.edu/programs/undergrad/major ), but applied math is not (see https://math.berkeley.edu/programs/undergraduate/majoring-mathematics ). Both majors have some graduates heading into actuarial work (see https://career.berkeley.edu/Survey/2015Majors ).