Individuals looking for jobs often find it a lot easier to find a position if they know where to look, but just as often, there are sectors and industries that can be a little confusing as to where the jobs are.

Anybody with a mathematics or a statistical background may be looking how to get into an actuarial career, but are struggling to find out where to go for more of idea where they might be able to get a start.

The good thing about an actuarial career is that there are plenty of places to look for a place to start out, so people can be forgiven if they don’t know which direction is the best.
If you’re coming straight out of university, the best course of action is to apply for something like the Star Actuarial graduate schemes. The graduate schemes are the perfect way to get into the industry and can set you up for a job in practice, consultancy or recruitment.

The graduate schemes are also incredibly useful because actuary employers will tend to hire straight from their actuarial graduate schemes. If this is a route you’d like to take, do a bit of searching on graduate recruitment sites to see the selection and also highlight some companies you might like to work for.

It is imperative to understand the market before going into a graduate scheme, so get some research under your belt beforehand. Also, employers may have specific criteria for those coming out of graduate schemes and looking for their first job, so make sure you are working to those details for the companies you’re aiming towards.

Build early relationships with companies also by asking for information about the different roles or advice on what routes to take and what exams are best for the job you want.
If you’re at a stage where you’re looking to get straight into a job and have the required credentials, then you will need to know what areas there are in the industry.

Jobs vary by sector, size and type of company, with most working in the consultancy sector (where most of the money can be found). Other sectors include pensions, merger and acquisition advice and enterprise risk management.

The most common specialisms are insurance (life, non-life, general and reinsurance), investment, actuarial consultancies, pensions and wider fields. As said beforehand, most in the profession will work in consultancy (about 37%).

So aim towards insurance companies that offer consultancy, risk assessment or investment jobs and there will be roles as an actuary in some capacity. For more information, you can always click here for a recruitment company called Star Actuarial that have numerous roles available.