There will be a time when you buy your first home or first car.

A fact of life HOWEVER is that BAD THINGS do happen to people.

And when they happen, recovering can take time and money.

So you could return home one evening to find your house burnt down.

This can be devastating.

Rebuilding the house can take lots of money. Money you may not have.

Thankfully we have ways to recover from such big expenses. One solution is called INSURANCE.

By paying the insurance company a small amount every month, a large chunk of your costs are

taken care of when bad things happen.

By insuring your property, you are transferring YOUR RISK to the insurance company.

And just like you, there would be thousands of other customers doing the same thing.

This means that the insurance company has a lot of risk on its hands. Why would it want

to take on so much risk?

One reason is because NOT everyone would have their car stolen or their house burnt down.

Thus the insurance company is taking in a lot of small amounts and distributing only

a FEW large ones.

So how does the insurance company predict the likelihood of someone's car being stolen

or house burning down? How does the company decide what premiums

to charge a customer?

These, are just SOME of the questions tackled, by an Actuary, the subject of this session.

An actuary is a business professional who uses his or her broad knowledge of math, finance

and business to study uncertain future events. And this profession has CONSISTENTLY ranked

as one of the MOST DESIRABLE in various studies over the years.

As the previous example demonstrates, actuaries may work in insurance companies.

They may also advice companies on issues such as mergers and acquisitions.

Actuaries may also be involved in the pricing and management of large investments particularly

in reducing the risks of investments. They may also be also involved in the design

of retirement or pension funds. They are also involved in healthcare finance.

The skills you will gain as an actuary will be invaluable in your future career, whether

that is as an actuary or not. Many actuaries change practice area and career

paths. They may move into teaching, alternative risk

roles, consultancy, career advisers – the list is endless.

So what skills do actuaries possess that make them such a valuable resource?

Actuaries have specialized mathematical knowledge. Some of their strong areas are Calculus , statistics

and probability.

They have good domain knowledge in the areas of finance, accounting and economics.

They also have strong computer skills. They are comfortable with programming, database

manipulation and statistical analysis software for example.

Actuaries are also motivated people with good problem solving skills.

So how do you go about becoming an actuary? Let me assume that you are a high school student.

Firstly, you should have a love for mathematics and be good at it.

Computer science is another subject you should be fond of and be good at.

Once you finish metric or grade 12, you could earn an undergraduate degree in statistics,

mathematics, finance or actuarial science. Please note you could also pursue other relevant

undergraduate courses. They key however is for you to have an interest

in, and an aptitude for, math and a desire to put math skills to use in a business context.

Before becoming a fully qualified actuary, individuals must pass certification examinations

given by actuarial societies.

Some of these exams can be taken while you are still in college.

In fact, some companies expect students to have passed at least 1 actuarial exam in addition

to getting a degree.

After graduation, many students obtain jobs as entry-level actuaries and work through

the remaining certification exams while simultaneously gaining experience in the work place.

Many employers help by paying the examination fees and providing study time.

Passing these exams will help you become an associate or fellow of the actuarial society.

This can normally take between 5 to 8 years.

As in all our videos, I suggest that you talk to actuaries or visit a college close by and

talk to professors and students to learn more about this role.

So this brings us to the end of this session. I hope you found it useful.

Good luck.