How to hire actuaries
A job description you can copy, interview questions tied to the real work, and what to pay. Free.
Job description template
Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.
[Job title] at [Company name] [City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range] About the role [Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.] What you will do • Analyze data to determine premium rates required and cash reserves and liabilities necessary to ensure payment of future benefits. • Analyze statistical information to estimate mortality, accident, sickness, disability, and retirement rates. • Collaborate with programmers, underwriters, accounts, claims experts, and senior management to help companies develop plans for new lines of business or improvements to existing business. • Construct probability tables for events such as fires, natural disasters, and unemployment, based on analysis of statistical data and other pertinent information. • Design, review, and help administer insurance, annuity and pension plans, determining financial soundness and calculating premiums. • Determine equitable basis for distributing surplus earnings under participating insurance and annuity contracts in mutual companies. • Determine, or help determine, company policy, and explain complex technical matters to company executives, government officials, shareholders, policyholders, or the public. • Provide advice to clients on a contract basis, working as a consultant. What you bring • [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any] • [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: Bachelor's degree] • Strong mathematics, reading comprehension, active listening, critical thinking, speaking and writing skills • Working knowledge of mathematics and economics and accounting • [Anything else you would really turn someone away for] Pay and benefits [Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $62.50 an hour ($130,000 a year). [Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.] How to apply [Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]
Interview questions for actuaries
Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.
- Tell me about a time you had to analyze data to determine premium rates required and cash reserves and liabilities necessary to ensure payment of future benefits. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to analyze statistical information to estimate mortality, accident, sickness, disability, and retirement rates. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to collaborate with programmers, underwriters, accounts, claims experts, and senior management to help companies develop plans for new lines of business or improvements to existing business. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to construct probability tables for events such as fires, natural disasters, and unemployment, based on analysis of statistical data and other pertinent information. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Walk me through a calculation you do regularly at work and how you check it.
- Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
- Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
- Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?
Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.
What actuaries do
- Analyze data to determine premium rates required and cash reserves and liabilities necessary to ensure payment of future benefits.
- Analyze statistical information to estimate mortality, accident, sickness, disability, and retirement rates.
- Collaborate with programmers, underwriters, accounts, claims experts, and senior management to help companies develop plans for new lines of business or improvements to existing business.
- Construct probability tables for events such as fires, natural disasters, and unemployment, based on analysis of statistical data and other pertinent information.
- Design, review, and help administer insurance, annuity and pension plans, determining financial soundness and calculating premiums.
- Determine equitable basis for distributing surplus earnings under participating insurance and annuity contracts in mutual companies.
- Determine, or help determine, company policy, and explain complex technical matters to company executives, government officials, shareholders, policyholders, or the public.
- Provide advice to clients on a contract basis, working as a consultant.
Skills that matter most
Education, experience and outlook for actuaries
- Typical education to start: Bachelor's degree (BLS)
- Training on the job: Long-term on-the-job training (BLS)
- Job outlook: +9.2% over ten years, much faster than average · about 1,500 openings a year (BLS)
What to pay actuaries
Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:
| State | Median yearly pay |
|---|---|
| Connecticut | $166,800 |
| New York | $156,480 |
| New Jersey | $142,800 |
| Florida | $132,110 |
| Wisconsin | $131,640 |
| Texas | $105,020 |
| Indiana | $100,690 |
| Michigan | $100,640 |
See actuaries pay in every state
Related hiring guides
- Mathematicians
- Operations Research Analysts
- Statisticians
- Data Scientists
- Mathematical Science Occupations, All Other
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Post a job freePay by areaJob duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.