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Career That Requires Mathematics And Uses It Often Term Paper

Actuaries The Jobs Rated Almanac has printed five editions from 1998 to 2001 (Society of Actuaries, n.d.). In two of these editions, "actuary" was rated as the best career in terms of environment, income, employment, outlook, physical demands, security, and stress. In two other editions, "actuary" was rated as the second best career. In only one other edition was it rated fourth. The data used to calculate these findings came from trade association and industry group studies, as well as government sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labour and Statistics. In addition, Actuaries were rated number six by PayScale.com in terms of highest salary (Braverman & Jeffries, 2009). The average actuary makes around $129,000 a year and a top actuary make around $257,000. This paper will further explore the role and purpose of an actuary, the use of mathematics within this career, and how it influences the world around us.

The role of an actuary is to assemble and analyze various statistics to calculate the probabilities of injury, sickness, disability, property loss, retirement, unemployment, and death (Kouba, n.d.). Furthermore, an actuary will design creative...

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For example, although death cannot always be avoided, the financial impact felt by the families who lose a loved one can be reduced.
Actuaries work in all sectors of the economy; however, most work in the insurance industry or for a company related to this industry (Department of Mathematics, n.d.). "They are heavily involved in insurance because that is society's most powerful answer for managing risk" (Society of Actuaries, n.d.). Furthermore, actuaries work with the insurance companies to ensure that they have reserved enough funds to process claims, and they provide these companies with advice and strategies on how to best invest their assets. Many actuaries also work for the state and federal government and consulting firms, and some are self-employed.

A solid understanding of mathematics is needed to work as an actuary (Department of Mathematics, n.d.). Students studying to be an actuary are required to have a solid understanding of calculus, matrix algebra, probability, statistics, economics, and business. The career itself…

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References

Braverman, B. & Jeffries, A. (2009, December 1). Top-paying jobs. CNNMoney.com. Retrieved from http://finance.yahoo.com/personal-finance/article/108264/top-paying-jobs.

Department of Mathematics. (n.d.). Actuarial studies. University of Texas at Austin.

Retrieved from: http://www.ma.utexas.edu/dev/actuarial.

Kouba, D. (n.d.). Why choose a mathematics-related profession? University of California.
Retrieved from: http://www.math.ucdavis.edu/~kouba/MathJobs.html.
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