Most of my actuarial friends had never heard of an actuary until they were in college, so i was lucky. Now, im not too trusty of his source he claimed that. The difference between an actuary and a data scientist the hot new thing, data science, isnt so new after all. Computer science vs software engineering which major is best for you. Actuaries primarily work in finance and insurance, while data analysts may work in a range of career fields. The difference between an actuary and a data scientist. Earn an undergraduate degree the most direct educational path is a threeyear undergraduate actuarial science degree.
An actuary is mostly needed in the insurance sector and pension programs where the task is to use financial theories, statistics, and mathematics to study uncertain future events. I interpreted the data analyst salaries from the same website, here. Software engineering focuses on the bottom levels of abstraction. I was more than disappointed when i heard that many of these engineers had gotten to a point where they couldnt even do basic calculus. Learn about salaries, benefits, salary satisfaction and where you could earn the most. Visit payscale to research software engineer salaries by city, experience, skill, employer and more. They utilize specialized computer software to crunch numbers and generate tables, graphs, and reports regarding their findings. So is an advanced skill set in information technology the only difference. As might be expected, there is no simple answer to which career path might be best for you.
Im a career changer from actuary to software developer. But it really depends on your definition of good money. This is a fairly typical day in my life as a software engineer. Its hard to study actuarial and become software developer. Data analysts and actuaries are similar in many ways. Actuarial jobs, career and employment resources for casualty, consulting, health, investments, life and pensions. Which job pays better between actuary science and software. Im helping them get good health care, im helping them protect themselves in old age. All of our information is listed below, and you may click these links to jump to the casualty, health, life and pension actuarial salary surveys this information includes all of our data broken out by us state.
Im currently an actuary w 4 years of work experience and no coding experience although i know vba, sql and r pretty well potentially looking at being a software engineer. Currently, you can major in cs and end up becoming actuary if you take exams. An actuary is a part superhero, part fortuneteller, part trusted advisor, says. Virtually every computer science program has introduction to programming course. A career in actuarial consulting versus working at an insurance company is a topic that is discussed often and at great length by many actuaries. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on the actual actuary position you are looking for. Obviously the answer depends on your abilities, your desires and your needs. Its a hard career to break into, but once you get some experience under your belt you have a lot of opportunities. View alex drews profile on linkedin, the worlds largest professional community. Since the advent of modern actuarial science in the late 1980s, insurance companies have relied on actuaries to use math and statistics to anticipate the future. I completely understand that this is something anyone considering the career would want to know. Actuaries bring a special set of skills to their work. So you dont have to know programming before you enter the program.
Which career is the best in terms of pay, job security, exit opportunities, etc. Both have similar skill sets, using mathematics, statistical techniques and computer knowledge to compile and analyze data and report conclusions. The dw simpson actuary salary survey by state is comprised of salary data we accumulate in our daytoday operations. Actuary has consistently been rated one of the top jobs in the united states. Read the job description, duties, education requirements, salary and. The average salary for a software engineer in south africa is r370,566. Actuary, accountant, or engineer wall street oasis. Hi all, i am graduating college this semester with accounting, finance major and stat minor. An actuary is one of the top jobs for graduates who major in mathematics. Specialized math knowledge calculus, statistics, probability. Obviously im not going to quit my job until i have something else lined up. Four years ago when i was a junior in high school, i decided i wanted to become an actuary. The yearly salary of an actuary also varies by state. And by the time he reaches age 42, hes making about 3.
The most shocking part of the career change was open office arrangements. Whenever i would start reading a success story, i would immediately look to find the authors background, hoping it would match mine. Salary estimates are based on 359 salaries submitted anonymously to indeed by actuary employees, users, and collected from past and present job advertisements on indeed in the past 36 months. Actuaries perform complex calculations to determine the likelihood of various outcomes related to accidents, illnesses, consumer demand, and investments. The average salary for an actuary is r 638 828 per year in south africa. Filter by location to see hardwaresoftware engineer salaries in your area.
Data analysts work in a wide variety of settings with. Actuaries are in tremendous demand, and hard to find. An actuary is a dweeb who reads very thick books with tiny, tiny print and enjoys the footnotes more than the text. Actuarial analysts, which is the typical entry level terminology, are a dime a dozen and trivial to find. I recently went through a job search myself and the demand for my services was really empowering. Interview with a quant from two sigma my brother duration. I would probably enroll in a bootcamp looking at hack reactor or use moocs edx and coursera to get up to speed. Reality vs expectations what its really like being a. Computer science vs software engineering which major is. Pondering career switch from software developer to actuary. The other day, a group of friends and i were heading to an engineering competition with the clubs sponsor, and a conversation about jobs came up. Moreover, computer science is much more than coding as lay people see it.
The following is a guest article, written by stephanie mims. Employment info and requirements for becoming an actuary. Preferably people who have experience in these specific fields. Both careers are technical and require both concentration and collaboration. See the complete profile on linkedin and discover alexs connections. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession. Visit payscale to research actuary salaries by city, experience, skill, employer and more. They differ in the scope of their work and employment settings. With more online, realtime compensation data than any other website, salary. I think they seek phds in finance for this kind of jobs.
Yes,software engineering is a branch of computer science. An overview the financial sector is full of careers for analytical individuals. But there are so many other great reasons to consider a career as an actuary. Of course, the teaching talked great things about engineering, but when we started talking about the best jobs in the market aside from software and computer engineering, actuary came up. How i went from newbie to software engineer in 9 months. They are both plausible career choices for someone who is hardworking and smart.
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