Tolstoy said: "The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity."But if he was to be a college counselor today, he probably wouldn'tsuggest a humanities major. Math and sciences are wherethe money's at today. Starting salaries for engineering (petroleum, nuclear,chemical and electrical) majors, for example, far exceed those ofHumanities majors. 

Once the often overlooked and underrated, actuarial sciencemajors currently enjoy one of the most secure white-collared andwell-paying jobs inAmerica. 

So, what is an actuary? 

You can ask that question to a thousand actuaries, and you might get athousand different answers. Simply put, Actuaries managerisk (mostly insurance) in a highly quantitativemanner. In the day and life of an actuary, you may findhim or her doing the following:

• Pricing Universal Life products or developing hedgingstrategies for variable annuities;

• Calculating pension benefits for retirees;

• Assessing the financial losses of a natural catastrophe(hurricanes, hail, earthquakes, etc.); 

• Partnering with business unit CROs to deliver processimprovements for strengthening risk control environments whilesimultaneously generating efficiency gains;

• Implementing individual and small group pricing requirements ofthe Affordable Care Act;

• Performing rate-level indications and in-depth rating plananalyses for auto insurance; or

• Conducting  loss cost analysis for large commercialrisks in workers' compensation, auto liability, general liabilityand medical malpractice.

So, can anyone be anactuary?   

Actuaries typically major in actuarial science, mathematics,statistics or economics. The true distinction is thesacrifice, dedication, commitment and superior mathematical skillset to complete a series of rigorous examinations offered by theSociety of Actuaries (SOA) and the CasualtyActuarial Society (CAS). The typical "travel time" toattaining their respective designation(s) is roughly six to eightyears. Typically, most employers will offer actuarial exam support,both financially and by providing paid study time. 

So, why the ever-growing demand for actuarialtalent? 

It was once believed that actuaries are needed specifically inbad times or in good. Today, actuaries are needed to manage therapidly changing risk landscape—the changes keepcoming. From a regulatory perspective, there wasSarbanes-Oxley and Frank-Dodd; now the ACA/Healthcare Reform andSolvency II will keep actuaries gainfully employed long into thefuture here in the U.S.  

Another challenge the insurance world faces are the extremeshifts in demographics. We aren't just talking about the impact ofmortality tables on the aging population of baby boomers. Inconverse, the profession's sustainability and growth will dependheavily on its ability to attract and retain Millennials, who areexpected to comprise up to 75% of the workforce in 10 years.

Many will argue that there are other key drivers that will havea greater impact on the economy, employment and the insuranceindustry. No one can deny, however, the exponential impact of theadvancement of technology on everything we touch and cannot touch.In the insurance world, one cannot ignore the insurmountable amountof data being captured and collected. This shift has led to thebiggest disruption and explosion: big data and analytics, whichalso includes modeling (predictive, catastrophe and economiccapital). Everyone is trying to make sense of the data,and the ability to do it more swiftly, comprehensively andaccurately will provide an enormous competitive edge. Once therewere two unavoidable things in life: death and taxes. Now you canadd data to that list.

Actuaries serve as backbone of change

In summary, consultants love to talk about modernization,industrialization and transformational change while taking aholistic, enterprise and interdisciplinary approach to solvingproblems and challenges. Mostly, everyone is doing that already insome form, from GEICO to Google. Science without humanities lacksimagination, thus thwarting innovation. Diversity, including thatof thought, is critical and necessary.  

So, as we look up from our smartphones and into the futurethrough the windshield of our driverless car, which is insured byan insurance company that probably uses telematics, we askourselves: "What role will actuaries play in the rapidly changingworld of risk in the next decade?" They may not necessarily beleading the charge or even doing the heavy lifting, but they serveas the backbone of change. After all, who better to serve as theconnector of ideas, people and analytics? He or she will probablybe a Millennial, and most likely a double major who knows that Leois more than just a sign.  

KC Cho is a Partner at the largest Actuarial Search Firm inthe world, DW Simpson Global Actuarial and Analytics Recruitment inChicago, Illinois. He joined DW Simpson in October of 1995. Outsideof his recruiting, client management, and business developmentresponsibilities, K.C. is heavily involved with the firm's keyinitiatives of recruitment, training and development of staff. Healso continues to play a critical role in the expansion anddevelopment of DW Simpson's strong presence in the Canadianmarket.