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How people become Actuaries: training, timelines, and first-year pay
$120,584
Actuaries earn a $120,584 national median in 2025. Here's the full training timeline, exam sequence, and first-year pay breakdown from BLS data.
TL;DR
The median actuary salary is $120,584 in 2025. Getting there takes a math-heavy bachelor's degree, a sequence of professional exams that runs 7-10 years for full fellowship, and long-term on-the-job training at every stage. Entry-level candidates who pass even 2-3 preliminary exams before graduation are already marketable. The field is growing at 21.7% through 2034, well above any national average. Start with the exam calendar at the Society of Actuaries or Casualty Actuarial Society, then read the full salary breakdown at Actuary salaries by state.
The Number
Actuaries earned a national median annual wage of $120,584 in 2025, with a mean of $127,937 (BLS OES, SOC 15-2011, retrieved 2026).
The gap between median and mean, roughly $7,353, signals that a smaller group of senior actuaries at the top of the distribution pulls the average up. The median is the more useful anchor for anyone early in their career planning.
The total employed actuary population is 25,350 nationally. That is a deliberately small profession. The exam structure keeps supply restricted.
What the Number Does Not Say
The BLS OES median covers all actuaries across all experience levels, industries, and geographies in a single figure. A first-year analyst who just passed Exam P is in the same count as a Fellow with 20 years in reinsurance pricing.
BLS OES also reports wages at the establishment level, meaning it captures base salary plus any reported wage components, but excludes equity and bonuses. In consulting and finance, total compensation for senior actuaries runs materially higher than the base wage figure.
State-level cells for actuaries are suppressed in some low-population states because the sample is too small for BLS to publish without risking confidentiality. Where suppression applies, we note it on the state-by-state salary page.
The Decision Frame: Training, Timelines, First-Year Pay
This is the section that answers the core question. Becoming an actuary is a staged process, and each stage has a different cost, time requirement, and pay level attached to it.
Stage 1: The Undergraduate Foundation
O*NET classifies actuaries at Job Zone 5, the highest classification, with a standard entry-level education of a bachelor's degree (O*NET 15-2011.00).
Most candidates major in:
- Actuarial science
- Mathematics or applied mathematics
- Statistics
- Economics with a quantitative concentration
- Computer science with heavy statistical coursework
A major alone is not enough. Exam passage before graduation is what separates candidates who receive offers from candidates who do not. Most employers want to see at least 1 exam passed at graduation, and they pay a bonus for each additional exam at hire.
Stage 2: The Preliminary Exams
The exam sequence differs by track.
Society of Actuaries (SoA) track — property, life, health, pension, and finance:
| Exam | Subject | Typical pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| Exam P | Probability | ~55% |
| Exam FM | Financial Mathematics | ~45% |
| Exam FAM | Fundamentals of Actuarial Math | ~40% |
| Exam ALTAM / ASTAM | Long-term or Short-term models | ~40% |
| Exam SRM | Statistics for Risk Modeling | ~60% |
| Exam PA | Predictive Analytics | ~65% |
Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) track — property and casualty:
| Exam | Subject | Typical pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| Exam 1 (P) | Probability | ~55% |
| Exam 2 (FM) | Financial Mathematics | ~45% |
| MAS-I | Modern Actuarial Statistics I | ~45% |
| MAS-II | Modern Actuarial Statistics II | ~50% |
The first two exams are shared between tracks. A candidate can defer the track decision until after FM.
Passing 2 exams before graduation is the practical minimum for competitive entry-level job applications in most markets.
Stage 3: Associateship
Associateship (ASA for SoA, ACAS for CAS) requires completing all preliminary exams plus modules on professionalism and applied skills. Most candidates reach this milestone 4-7 years after starting work, depending on exam pace and employer support.
Associate-level actuaries typically earn in the range of $90,000-$115,000 depending on geography, though this is a qualitative estimate because BLS does not publish by credential level. Use the state salary page to adjust for your market.
Stage 4: Fellowship
Fellowship (FSA or FCAS) is the terminal credential. It requires passing advanced modules specific to a practice area plus a professionalism requirement. Most candidates reach fellowship 7-10 years after starting their first job.
Fellows at large insurers or in consulting commonly earn total compensation well above the $127,937 national mean.
The Timeline in One Table
| Phase | Typical duration | Key milestone |
|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate + first exams | 4 years | Bachelor's degree, 1-3 exams passed |
| Entry-level analyst | 1-2 years | Exam P and FM complete |
| Associateship candidacy | 3-5 additional years | ASA or ACAS earned |
| Fellowship candidacy | 3-5 additional years | FSA or FCAS earned |
| Total to fellowship | 7-10 years post-graduation | Full credentialing |
First-Year Pay
Entry-level actuarial pay is publicly documented through employer surveys published by the SoA and CAS, though those figures fall outside our fact bundle. What BLS confirms is that the national median across the full profession is $120,584.
Most practitioners estimate entry-level pay (0-2 exams passed) at roughly $60,000-$75,000 in lower-cost markets and $75,000-$95,000 in major metros, with an additional $1,000-$3,000 per exam passed at hire as a signing incentive at many large carriers.
These ranges are qualitative. Treat them as orientation, and verify against current employer postings in your target city before negotiating.
Growth Outlook
The BLS Employment Projections program projects actuary employment to grow 21.7% from 2024 to 2034 (BLS Employment Projections). That is the "much faster than average" category. Total employed actuaries are projected to rise from 34,000 to 41,000 over that decade.
The drivers are structural. Insurance pricing for climate-related risk is growing in complexity. Health insurance under the ACA requires actuarial certification for rate filings. Pension liabilities for state and local governments require ongoing valuation. None of these demand curves are shrinking.
A 21.7% growth rate in a credentialed profession with restricted supply is an unusual combination. It means the exam bottleneck is unlikely to produce oversupply even as the field expands.
How to Use This for a Career Decision
If you are a college junior deciding whether to pursue this path, here is the honest frame:
- The time cost is real. Fellowship takes a decade post-graduation for most people.
- The financial return is front-loaded relative to other math-heavy careers. You earn a competitive salary while still in the exam process.
- The credential is portable. An FSA or FCAS works at an insurer, a consulting firm, a government agency, or a bank.
- The career does not reward speed as much as consistency. Passing one exam per year, steadily, is more common than burning through the sequence in three years.
Read the detailed role breakdown at how to become an actuary before committing to a track.
For a quick read on whether the salary holds up in your target state after cost-of-living adjustment, use the salary comparison tool.
Sources and Methodology
| Source | Observation date | How we used it |
|---|---|---|
| BLS OES, SOC 15-2011 | May 2025 | National median ($120,584) and mean ($127,937) annual wage; total employment (25,350) |
| BLS Employment Projections | 2024-2034 cycle | 10-year growth rate (21.7%), base employment (34k), projected employment (41k) |
| O*NET 15-2011.00 | Current | Education requirement (bachelor's), Job Zone (5), training classification |
We did not round any federal wage figure without disclosure. The employment projection figures (34,000 and 41,000) are drawn directly from the BLS fact bundle at thousands-of-jobs scale.
FAQ
What degree do you need to become an actuary?
A bachelor's degree is the standard entry requirement, per O*NET Job Zone 5 classification. Most candidates major in actuarial science, mathematics, statistics, or a related quantitative field. The degree alone is rarely sufficient. Employers treat exam passage as a proxy for ability and discipline, so candidates with 2+ exams passed at graduation are significantly more competitive in the entry-level market.
How long does it take to become a fully credentialed actuary?
Reaching fellowship, the terminal credential (FSA or FCAS), takes most candidates 7-10 years after graduating. The sequence involves a bachelor's degree, multiple preliminary exams spread across the early career years, associateship, and then advanced modules for fellowship. Exam pace and employer support vary significantly and affect the total timeline.
What is the starting salary for an actuary?
BLS does not break out entry-level pay separately. The national median across all experience levels is $120,584 in 2025. Most industry practitioners estimate first-year pay at $60,000-$95,000 depending on geography and how many exams a candidate passed before graduation. Each exam passed at hire typically adds a signing bonus at larger carriers.
Is the actuarial job market growing?
Yes. BLS projects 21.7% growth in actuary employment from 2024 to 2034, which it classifies as "much faster than average." The field is driven by demand in health insurance pricing, climate-related property and casualty risk, and pension liability management. The total field is projected to grow from approximately 34,000 to 41,000 jobs over that decade.
How hard are the actuarial exams?
Pass rates for individual preliminary exams range from roughly 40% to 65% depending on the exam. Most candidates study 300-400 hours per exam. The exams are scored on a pass/fail basis with no partial credit. The profession's exam structure is intentionally restrictive and functions as a supply constraint on the credential.
Do actuaries work only in insurance?
Insurance is the largest employer, but actuaries also work in consulting firms, federal and state government agencies, banks, and large corporations managing self-insured benefit programs. The credential transfers across all these settings because the underlying skills, probability modeling, risk quantification, and financial projection, are broadly applicable.