Value Proposition
Table of Contents
The world counts on actuaries.
A pessimist might suggest that actuaries study and measure potential for loss. An optimist would say actuaries identify opportunities for a more secure future.
Actuaries’ work delivers value. Value to business, organizations and to the public. The world depends on actuaries to make sound decisions for the future. How? By measuring and managing risk, actuaries bring financial security to individuals, organizations and the public. As a result, actuaries receive recognition, respect and rewards.
Recognition
Actuaries earn designations. They meet rigorous standards signaling achievement and expertise in a rich profession.
Respect
Companies, organizations and people respect actuarial skills. Actuaries are highly sought-after professionals who develop and communicate solutions for complex financial issues.
Rewards
The actuarial profession consistently enjoys a high ranking among the best careers. Actuaries do satisfying work that makes a difference. They earn excellent salaries and enjoy career advancement and leadership opportunities. In fact, companies count actuaries among their most senior ranks. Ranks including Chief Actuary and Chief Risk Officer. Actuaries are not in the back room, they are in the board room.
Advancing Education
Actuaries learn forever.
The SOA offers a wealth of continuing education, volunteer and professional development resources and opportunities—empowering individuals with the tools they need to grow, advance and give back to their chosen field.
SOA provides learning programs for actuaries, whatever their role.
The Society of Actuaries provides training and education that focus on technical excellence and business acumen. SOA professional development programs support the full progression of an actuary’s career—from student to senior actuary.
- Actuarial candidates and associates study the fundamental principles of actuarial science and learn skills and methods required to enter and advance in the profession.
- Actuaries working in traditional roles learn new material and new regulations, building on their original actuarial training.
- Actuaries following a non-traditional path may need to further study topics that were not emphasized in their early training.
- Actuaries at all career stages and in all types of work benefit from ongoing development in areas such as communication, collaboration, relationship management and leadership.
The SOA delivers state-of-the-art education through seminars, virtual sessions, webcasts, e-courses, podcasts and study materials—all accessible worldwide. We established the global standard for a complete actuarial curriculum.
SOA supports future actuaries.
As the actuarial profession gains importance and prominence in the world, SOA is eager to prepare and welcome the next generation of actuaries. We engage with students and also support schools that are preparing future actuaries.
- Through the SOA University Outreach Program, actuaries and SOA staff visit college campuses to meet students, promote the profession, and share information with students, faculty and advisors.
- Candidate Connect events bring students, career changers and entry-level actuaries together to learn about the profession from educational presentations, roundtable discussions and networking opportunities.
- SOA Centers of Actuarial Excellence (CAE) program recognizes universities with outstanding actuarial programs that meet and/or exceed eight rigorous criteria. Benefits for CAE universities include the ability to compete for substantial education and research grants.
- The SOA listing of Universities and Colleges with Actuarial Programs (UCAP) serves as a resource for students seeking a university/college actuarial program. The information provided has undergone some review by the SOA, but students will want to verify that a program suits their individual needs.
Leading Innovative Research
Knowledge must change as the world changes.
The Society of Actuaries conducts and shares cutting-edge, impactful research to aid the work of our members, the industry, policymakers and the public.
Early in the SOA’s history the organization’s research focused on mortality and morbidity studies. As the profession’s influence and interests have expanded along with the world’s problems, so has the SOA’s research. SOA research includes surveys, thought leadership papers and experience studies. Today, the SOA supports a dynamic research agenda that stretches across a wide range of topics and industry needs:
- Emerging risks
- Disability
- Retirement plans
- Health care costs
- Longevity
What difference does actuarial research make?
SOA research delivers wide-ranging impact and value—not just to SOA members, but also to the world around us. SOA research initiatives:
- Provide actuaries with technical and informative resources that help them contribute even greater value to the people and organizations they serve
- Cultivate innovative and practical ideas that expand the boundaries of actuarial science—exposing new opportunities for actuaries to do good for business and for the world
- Serve as a trusted source of objective, data-driven analysis for the media, legislators and other influencers who shape public understanding and development of public policy
Global Actuarial Community
SOA membership is growing internationally.
As a global organization, the Society of Actuaries is expanding to more areas of the world.
Actuaries live and work all around the world. To connect with actuaries on a global level, the SOA continuously finds new ways to connect and serve actuaries across a wide span of cultures, business climates and geographies. For example, SOA works to:
- Deliver education through virtual meeting technology, recordings, self-guided materials and other formats are effective across time zones
- Build and support member communities based on professional interests and/or location
- Target member recruiting efforts to select regions and countries, providing information and answers that address local needs
- Use social media to connect people in communities like the SOA Facebook and the SOA New Pathway to Fellowship page.
Support the Profession
We want to make a great profession even better.
The role of actuary is known as a top job, and the credentials of the Society of Actuaries are recognized as the most prestigious and valuable actuarial designations worldwide.
Yet the SOA strives to make this great profession even better. Every day, we ask, “What more can we do?”
We find the answer in our mission, which compels us to continue growing and supporting the profession. The SOA works to:
- Equip actuaries and the organizations they serve to effectively measure and manage risk
- Promote high standards of professional competence and conduct within the actuarial profession
- Strengthen existing relationships and develop new opportunities with employers
- Promote the value of SOA credentials, to attract the best candidates
- Further the reputation and influence of the actuarial profession among the public
Mission
Through education and research, the SOA advances actuaries as leaders in measuring and managing risk to improve financial outcomes for individuals, organizations, and the public.
Learn more about the SOA 2017-2021 Strategic Plan.