Other than most people not knowing what actuarial studies is, the rest who know about the career are quick to judge and call it a dying career. But is it though?
Actuarial science in simple terms is applying statistical and mathematical methods to assess financial risk in a particular field/industry.
So, let us start with what actuaries are best at, statistics.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, predicts through its Employment Projections program, that the field of actuarial science is expected to produce 30,000 employment opportunities by 2028. That is a whopping 20% increase from 2018 to 2028, implying faster growth than any other occupation.
This surely isn't the sign of a dooming career, right?
It is indeed an ancient field and has been constrained to the traditional field of insurance for a long time. However, that is no longer the case.
What's changed is the knowledge and growth of big data and advanced analytics. That means a new role is emerging for underwriters and actuaries to apply their specific data science skills. They will likely include reassessment and enhancement of the statistical approach to traditional underwriting. Besides this, the transformation of statistical analysis and certain specialized lines will still require the old methods to be applied as there may not be sufficient data to underwrite at the press of a button.
Even though it is not bizarre to think that industries like insurtech can have the potential to reduce actuaries in certain general areas of commercial insurance, there will always be a place for people with log books to do the really hard and modified risk calculations. Actuaries are deemed very valuable because of their risk management and problem-solving abilities. Hence, there is no doubt actuarial students have bright career prospects.
My advice? Increase your awareness about the actuarial application in non-traditional industries as well. The ever-growing trend of business digitalization is pushing a lot of companies to acquire people with technical skills related to big data platforms and automation. Presently, this is all anyone is talking about. Companies will need more people with the ability to analyze large amounts of raw data, manipulate it, and create an algorithm to be able to implement and use it in a practical way. That is where a business analyst plays an important role. Business analysts in the financial, insurance, and investment industries, require a combination of strong data analysis skills as well as the ability to quantify future risks. In these cases, actuaries will prove to be more beneficial. Other similar areas can be explored by actuarial students.
In a certain way, actuaries learn how to deal with the risk associated with uncertainty, and ironically in all this uncertainty of their future employment, the certain aspect is the knowledge and skills that all actuarial professionals hold.
In my opinion, the actuarial field is not dying and as long as you are willing to be determined and devote to it wholely, actuarial science will definitely be the next hype in YOUR career.
Also have a look at a very insightful article published by KPMG discussing a similar topic:-
https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2018/12/actuaries-of-the-future-fs.html