How would you like to work in an area that most people know nothing about? That is one challenge that awaits an actuary. An actuary is a risk mathematician, one who solves real-world problems involving money (sometimes billions of dollars), probabilities, and future events. Most actuaries work for insurance companies or consulting firms; relatively few work for the government or in education.

Here are some questions that actuaries answer:

1. • How much do we pay for insurance—for life, auto, home, or health?

2. • How much should we pay for Social Security and Medicare benefits? Is Social Security going broke? Should Social Security taxes be reduced?

3. • How much should employers contribute to pension plans so that there will be sufficient funds to pay benefits that have been promised?

I am a life actuary by training and in my work. Other actuaries pursue a career in the casualty actuarial field, working with such issues as earthquake insurance and liability coverage for doctors.

At the University of Santa Clara, I explored the broad career opportunities available to mathematics majors, including teaching, computing, and the actuarial field. I supplemented my mathematics program with courses in the liberal arts, economics, and business. Then, at the University of Illinois, I discovered that my interests were more in solving practical problems than in proving theorems, so I looked into the possibility of a career in actuarial work.