Math/SDS Majors and Minors → Careers - under construction → Actuarial Science - About the field; What will I study?
Actuaries consistently appear at the top of the list when it comes to job satisfaction! They typically work in fields where there is a need to evaluate and manage risk. They determine probabilities of events, and come up with ways to reduce the probability of and/or mitigate impacts of the unwanted events. While actuaries work in many different types of businesses (we even have a Risk Management office at the University of Arizona!), the insurance industry is the field that most comes to mind when people think of actuaries: in insurance, actuaries compute premiums and estimate the costs for claims.
Becoming an Actuary requires completion of a series of actuarial exams. Along the way, designations of Associate and then Fellow are earned, either in the property/casualty side of the field, or in life and health. Additional information about the exams can be found on our Exams page, or see the Be An Actuary site linked below.
Find out more about what this career path entails, and whether it may be a good fit for you at http://www.beanactuary.org/
The BeAnActuary.org site above provides some general course work recommendations; U of A courses that have been found useful include: MATH 122A/B or 125, 129, and 223 (the calculus sequence), MATH 464 and 466 (probability and statistics). MATH 464 should be helpful in preparing for the P exam. The Math Department has also added DATA/MATH 462 (financial math) intended to prepare students for the FM exam; it is typically offered only in spring.
ECON 200, 332, and 361 have also been reported to be useful (see VEE requirements below). Note that ECON 200 can fulfill a University general education requirement (Tier 2 Individuals & Societies for students in the "Tiers" program, or Exploring Perspectives: Social Scientist for students in the newer GE program). To enroll in ECON 332 or 361, students usually need to declare a major or minor in Economics and have already completed ECON 200.