How actuarial students become actuaries | F&G

Becoming an actuary requires a lot of hard work, but the process can be an exciting time to learn and gain work experience. Learn how actuarial students become actuaries and how F&G supports our team members along the way.

Start earning your credentials

After completing a bachelor’s degree in actuarial science, aspiring actuaries must gain work experience and take exams to earn their credentials.

There are two credential levels aspiring actuaries work toward, both of which require a series of exams and other requirements completed over several years:

• An Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA) has completed the first level of requirements and received the first actuarial credential. Being an ASA is the stepping stone to pursuing Fellowship.
• A Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) has completed all exams and requirements and is a fully credentialed actuary.

Though this process can take several years, it’s paired simultaneously with valuable on-the-job experience and continued learning. Often this can include participating in a company’s actuarial rotational program. Once completed, these are life-long credentials as long as the actuary adheres to continuing education requirements.

Discover your specialty through a rotational program

Entry-level actuaries can choose to work for a company with an educational rotational program that provides valuable work experience and helps determine their preferred practice area. While in the program, aspiring actuaries continue working toward receiving their credentials.

At F&G, our actuarial students rotate through several of our actuarial teams such as:

• Pricing & Design actuaries are product-focused and work closely with our sales and marketing teams to develop new products.
• Corporate Actuarial & Valuation actuaries work with our finance and information technology teams to calculate or project actuarial balances for financial reporting and internal planning.
• Modeling actuaries specialize in the complex software used to make actuarial calculations and play an integral role in financial reporting.
• Inforce Management actuaries focus on experiential analysis and setting rates for our products. They work between all actuarial teams to analyze our product experience relative to how products are expected to behave over time.

Once an actuarial student has achieved their credentials and completed the rotational program, they will typically choose a focus area based on their experiences.

Taking on leadership opportunities

As the actuary continues to learn and grow, they may take on leadership opportunities in their field.

Amber Decker, FSA, CERA, MAAA is an Assistant Vice President (AVP) of Inforce Management at F&G. She has worked as an actuary in Des Moines for over seven years since graduating from Drake University, and joined F&G in 2020 to lead one of F&G’s inforce management actuarial teams. In addition, Amber leads F&G’s actuarial intern recruitment program and volunteers for the Society of Actuaries.

“It’s exciting to be an actuary at F&G,” said Amber. “F&G is a rapidly growing company, and it’s exciting for younger actuaries to be able to influence the department and work on a variety of new products and channels.”

Amber also appreciates the cross-functional opportunities that come with being an actuary at F&G. She enjoys being involved in major corporate projects and working with team members in finance, operations, information technology, risk and more, which opens up opportunities for career growth.

Now that you’ve learned about becoming an actuary, find out more about continuing your career at F&G.