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.
- O*NET-SOC code
15-2011.00 - Preparation Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$130,000
Employment, U.S.26,670
Median hourly wage$62.50
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $78,570 | $97,680 | $130,000 | $170,650 | $215,100 |
By state (39)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 190 | $136,950 | 0.51 |
| Arizona | 200 | $135,870 | 0.35 |
| California | 1,280 | $130,510 | 0.41 |
| Colorado | 500 | $120,440 | 1.01 |
| Connecticut | 1,380 | $166,800 | 4.76 |
| District of Columbia | 160 | $166,230 | 1.29 |
| Florida | 1,300 | $132,110 | 0.76 |
| Georgia | 1,470 | Not available | 1.76 |
| Hawaii | 30 | Not available | 0.30 |
| Illinois | 2,280 | $115,430 | 2.18 |
| Indiana | 780 | $100,690 | 1.42 |
| Iowa | 530 | $128,690 | 1.97 |
| Kansas | 180 | $125,010 | 0.72 |
| Kentucky | 70 | $120,400 | 0.21 |
| Louisiana | 40 | $80,860 | 0.11 |
| Maine | 80 | $119,620 | 0.72 |
| Maryland | 580 | $126,950 | 1.22 |
| Massachusetts | $126,040 | ||
| Michigan | 570 | $100,640 | 0.75 |
| Minnesota | 1,170 | $128,100 | 2.32 |
| Mississippi | 40 | $106,210 | 0.21 |
| Missouri | 390 | $129,220 | 0.78 |
| Nebraska | 270 | $102,790 | 1.51 |
| Nevada | 120 | $132,370 | 0.45 |
| New Jersey | 1,260 | $142,800 | 1.72 |
| New York | 2,630 | $156,480 | 1.58 |
| North Carolina | 610 | $128,730 | 0.72 |
| Ohio | 1,090 | $110,980 | 1.14 |
| Oklahoma | 70 | $109,760 | 0.24 |
| Oregon | 210 | $130,380 | 0.63 |
| Pennsylvania | 1,710 | $125,040 | 1.64 |
| Rhode Island | 100 | $111,090 | 1.21 |
| South Carolina | 140 | Not available | 0.36 |
| Tennessee | 300 | $108,930 | 0.53 |
| Texas | 1,750 | $105,020 | 0.72 |
| Utah | 180 | $132,720 | 0.60 |
| Virginia | 440 | $131,900 | 0.62 |
| Washington | 360 | $134,720 | 0.59 |
| Wisconsin | 890 | $131,640 | 1.76 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Financial Quantitative Analysts | 5 | 0.981 |
| 2 | Budget Analysts | 4 | 0.968 |
| 3 | Credit Analysts | 4 | 0.966 |
| 4 | Economists | 5 | 0.963 |
| 5 | Treasurers and Controllers | 4 | 0.962 |
| 6 | Environmental Economists | 5 | 0.958 |
| 7 | Statisticians | 5 | 0.955 |
| 8 | Financial Examiners | 4 | 0.954 |
| 9 | Business Intelligence Analysts | 4 | 0.953 |
| 10 | Investment Fund Managers | 5 | 0.952 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Actuaries, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget Analysts | Management of Financial Resources | 1.26 | 0.968 |
| Cost Estimators | Management of Financial Resources | 1.00 | 0.946 |
| Statistical Assistants | Programming | 1.50 | 0.944 |
| Personal Financial Advisors | Service Orientation | 0.88 | 0.940 |
| Data Warehousing Specialists | Programming | 1.75 | 0.929 |
| Social Science Research Assistants | Science | 1.63 | 0.915 |
| Clinical Data Managers | Programming | 1.62 | 0.915 |
| Logistics Engineers | Operations Analysis | 1.12 | 0.908 |
| Software Developers | Technology Design | 2.74 | 0.899 |
| Petroleum Engineers | Science | 2.25 | 0.899 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Actuaries, excluding software Actuaries already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Oracle Hyperion | 10 of 20 | 9.0x |
| StataCorp Stata | 10 of 20 | 8.5x |
| Oracle E-Business Suite Financials | 8 of 20 | 8.2x |
| The MathWorks MATLAB | 11 of 20 | 4.6x |
| UNIX | 10 of 20 | 5.2x |
| Microsoft Dynamics | 11 of 20 | 4.3x |
| Fund accounting software | 7 of 20 | 9.0x |
| Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne | 8 of 20 | 5.4x |
| IBM Cognos Impromptu | 7 of 20 | 6.1x |
| Teradata Database | 7 of 20 | 6.1x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 4.38 | 5.00 |
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 4.12 | 4.88 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 4.00 | 4.88 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.88 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 4.00 | 4.75 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 3.88 | 4.62 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 3.88 | 4.25 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 4.75 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.38 | 3.88 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.50 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.50 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.25 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 3.50 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Science | Essential skill | 1.88 | 1.75 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 0.88 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 1.25 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 4.85 | 6.62 |
| Economics and Accounting | 4.06 | 5.59 |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.44 | 5.09 |
| English Language | 3.12 | 3.88 |
| Administration and Management | 3.03 | 4.38 |
| Law and Government | 2.85 | 3.00 |
| Administrative | 2.74 | 3.76 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 2.29 | 2.41 |
| Sales and Marketing | 2.15 | 3.12 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 2.12 | 2.82 |
| Education and Training | 1.79 | 1.85 |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1.73 | 1.27 |
| Communications and Media | 1.68 | 1.41 |
| Production and Processing | 1.65 | 1.35 |
| Psychology | 1.65 | 1.35 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 1.64 | 1.39 |
| Design | 1.53 | 1.24 |
| Engineering and Technology | 1.50 | 0.79 |
| Geography | 1.48 | 1.30 |
| Public Safety and Security | 1.39 | 0.62 |
| Telecommunications | 1.33 | not rated |
| Physics | 1.30 | not rated |
| Therapy and Counseling | 1.30 | not rated |
| Philosophy and Theology | 1.26 | not rated |
| Building and Construction | 1.21 | not rated |
| History and Archeology | 1.19 | not rated |
| Biology | 1.18 | not rated |
| Foreign Language | 1.15 | not rated |
| Transportation | 1.15 | not rated |
| Mechanical | 1.12 | not rated |
| Food Production | 1.09 | not rated |
| Chemistry | 1.06 | not rated |
| Fine Arts | 1.06 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematical Reasoning | 4.88 | 5.00 |
| Number Facility | 4.12 | 5.00 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.12 | 4.88 |
| Oral Comprehension | 4.00 | 4.88 |
| Oral Expression | 4.00 | 4.88 |
| Written Comprehension | 4.00 | 4.88 |
| Written Expression | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.88 | 4.88 |
| Category Flexibility | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Near Vision | 3.75 | 4.12 |
| Information Ordering | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Speech Clarity | 3.62 | 3.88 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.25 | 3.88 |
| Selective Attention | 3.25 | 3.25 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.12 | 3.62 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Originality | 3.00 | 3.62 |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Far Vision | 2.62 | 2.88 |
| Memorization | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Time Sharing | 2.38 | 2.00 |
| Visualization | 2.00 | 2.50 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Auditory Attention | 2.00 | 1.25 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 2.00 | 1.25 |
| Trunk Strength | 2.00 | 1.25 |
| Depth Perception | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Finger Dexterity | 1.25 | not rated |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 1.00 | not rated |
| Control Precision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Dynamic Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
| Explosive Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
| Extent Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.00 | not rated |
| Gross Body Coordination | 1.00 | not rated |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 1.00 | not rated |
| Manual Dexterity | 1.00 | not rated |
| Multilimb Coordination | 1.00 | not rated |
| Night Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Rate Control | 1.00 | not rated |
| Reaction Time | 1.00 | not rated |
| Response Orientation | 1.00 | not rated |
| Sound Localization | 1.00 | not rated |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.00 | not rated |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.00 | not rated |
| Stamina | 1.00 | not rated |
| Static Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Microsoft Excel in demand
- Microsoft Office software in demand
- Microsoft Power BI in demand
- Microsoft PowerPoint in demand
- Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications VBA in demand
- Python in demand
- R in demand
- SAS in demand
- Structured query language SQL in demand
- Tableau in demand
- C++ hot
- IBM SPSS Statistics hot
- Microsoft Access hot
- Microsoft Project hot
- Microsoft SQL Server hot
- Microsoft Visio hot
- Microsoft Visual Basic hot
- Microsoft Word hot
- Oracle Database hot
- Oracle Java hot
- ARMON Technologies XLActuary
- Appraisal software
- Cash flow software
- Compliance testing software
- GGY AXIS
- IBM Lotus Notes
- Insightful S-PLUS
- Insureware ICRFS-ELRF
- Lewis & Ellis LEAPPS
- Microsoft Visual FoxPro
All 42
- Milliman Corporate Affinity
- Milliman ReservePro
- Oak Mountain Software AnnuityValue
- PolySystems Asset Delphi
- Pricing software
- Qlik Tech QlikView
- SAP BusinessObjects Desktop Intelligence
- SS&C PTS
- Statistical software
- Towers Perrin MoSes
- Wolfram Research Mathematica
- dBASE Plus
Where it concentrates
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | 960 | 9.29 | $166,800 |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 400 | 5.79 | $130,540 |
| Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 180 | 4.84 | $80,910 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | 220 | 3.21 | $194,130 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 1,020 | 3.05 | $125,960 |
| Trenton-Princeton, NJ | 110 | 2.59 | $129,540 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | 490 | 2.57 | $101,040 |
| Madison, WI | 170 | 2.43 | $135,330 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 1,200 | 2.41 | Not available |
| Chattanooga, TN-GA | 110 | 2.30 | Not available |