Advice for newly-qualified Actuaries

Qualifying as an actuary is an important career milestone, but it can also bring a new set of decisions about the direction you want your career to take. 

By this stage, you will already have built valuable actuarial experience alongside your professional exams. Qualification can create opportunities to take on greater technical responsibility, broaden your remit, develop your commercial or leadership skills, or consider a move into a different type of organisation. 

Whether you are considering your first move after qualification or thinking about your longer-term career direction, it is worth looking beyond job title and salary. The experience, exposure, responsibilities and development opportunities attached to a role can all have a significant impact on your next stage of progression. 

In this guide, Sellick Partnership’s specialist Actuarial recruitment team looks at some of the key decisions newly qualified actuaries may face, from choosing a career direction and developing post-qualification skills to reviewing job offers and considering permanent or contract opportunities. 

Understanding your career options  

Qualification is a useful point to reassess the direction you want your career to take. You may decide to build further expertise in your current specialism, broaden your remit, move into a different type of organisation or take on more commercial, client-facing or leadership responsibility. 

The options available to you will depend on the experience you have built while qualifying, rather than qualification alone. In life insurance, that could mean moving further into areas such as valuation, capital, pricing, reporting, product or risk. In general insurance, you may choose to specialise in pricing, reserving, capital, catastrophe modelling or portfolio work. In pensions, opportunities can include trustee or corporate consulting, risk transfer, in-house roles, investment or governance. 

Some newly qualified actuaries also move into broader areas such as enterprise risk, data, transformation, people leadership or more commercially focused roles. 

When comparing opportunities, think about the type of work you want to do more of, the responsibilities you want to take on and the experience that will support your longer-term goals. A specialist actuarial recruiter can also help you understand how different roles compare across the market and where your existing experience may be most relevant. 

Updating your CV after qualification 

Once you qualify, your CV should reflect not only your new professional status, but also the level of experience and responsibility you have built alongside your exams. 

Key areas to focus on include: 

• Professional qualification: Clearly state your IFoA Associate or Fellow status, or another recognised actuarial qualification. If you hold an additional credential such as CERA, list this separately.  
• Technical experience: Highlight the tools, models and systems most relevant to your specialism, such as Radar, Emblem, ResQ, Python, R, SQL or other actuarial software.  
• Responsibility and ownership: Show the work you have led or taken ownership of, rather than simply listing tasks you have supported.  
• Achievements and impact: Include clear examples of the difference your work has made, such as improving a model, supporting a major project, reducing risk or improving the quality or efficiency of analysis.  
• Stakeholder exposure: Demonstrate where you have presented recommendations, worked with clients, trustees or senior stakeholders, or influenced decision-making.
• Commercial and professional judgement: Show how you have applied technical knowledge in a wider business context, challenged assumptions or contributed to decisions.  

Earlier internships or placements may no longer need prominent space unless they remain directly relevant to the role you are targeting. 

For broader advice on structuring and tailoring your CV, read our guide to  CV writing for actuarial professionals.   

Building your professional network and profile 

Qualification is also a good time to review how you present your experience and expertise professionally. 

Make sure your LinkedIn profile reflects your Associate or Fellow status, current specialism and the level of responsibility you have built while qualifying. Your profile should make it clear what areas you work across, the type of experience you have gained and the direction you want your career to take. 

Professional networks can also help you stay connected to developments in your market and learn from others working across the actuarial profession. This might include IFoA communities, industry events, conferences, colleagues and contacts you have built throughout your career. 

As you become more experienced, the relationships you build can also help you understand how different organisations and roles compare, stay aware of market developments and broaden your exposure beyond your immediate team. 

For practical advice on updating your profile, read our guide to how to showcase your LinkedIn profile and stand out. 

Enhancing your technical and soft skills 

Qualification usually brings greater expectations around professional judgement, ownership and stakeholder influence as well as technical delivery. The skills that matter most will depend on your practice area and the direction you want to take. 

Employers increasingly value Actuaries who can turn technical analysis into clear recommendations, challenge assumptions appropriately and communicate with senior stakeholders, clients or non-specialists. 

Depending on your specialism and role, development priorities may include: 

• Data, modelling and automation skills, including Python, R or SQL where relevant, alongside an understanding of how AI and automation can be used responsibly 
• Current regulatory and reporting knowledge relevant to your market, such as Solvency UK and established IFRS 17 requirements in insurance, or pensions funding and risk transfer developments 
• Leadership, commercial judgement, stakeholder management and your ongoing CPD and professional responsibilities 

Building your skills after qualification 

Qualification is an important milestone, but employers will continue to expect your skills and judgement to develop as your responsibilities increase. 

As a newly qualified actuary, this can mean building on your technical knowledge while also developing the commercial, leadership and communication skills that become more important as you progress. 

Depending on your specialism and the direction you want to take, areas to focus on may include: 

• Professional judgement: Developing the confidence to challenge assumptions, recognise limitations and explain the implications of your analysis. 
• Commercial understanding: Looking beyond the technical output and understanding how your work affects clients, customers, risk, financial performance and wider business decisions. 
• Stakeholder management and communication: Becoming more confident presenting recommendations, explaining uncertainty and influencing senior or non-technical stakeholders. 
• Leadership and ownership: Taking greater responsibility for projects, reviewing work and supporting the development of more junior colleagues. 
• Technical development: Continuing to build relevant modelling, data and automation skills, including tools such as Python, R or SQL where they are relevant to your role. 
• Regulation and market developments: Keeping up to date with changes that affect your specialism, such as Solvency UK, IFRS 17, pensions funding developments or changes in risk transfer activity. 
• Technology and AI: Understanding how automation, data and AI are changing actuarial work and how these tools can be used responsibly. 
• Ongoing professional development: Keeping your CPD and wider professional responsibilities up to date as your role develops. 

The areas you prioritise will depend on your current role and longer-term ambitions. You do not need to develop in every direction at once, but it is useful to consider which skills will help you take on the type of work and responsibility you want next. 

For further market updates and career advice, take a look at our latest actuarial insights. 

Negotiating your salary and benefits 

Qualification can strengthen your position in the market, but it does not automatically mean every newly qualified actuary should expect the same salary increase. 

Pay can vary considerably depending on your specialism, previous experience, employer type, location and the scope of the role. When benchmarking an opportunity, make sure you are comparing roles with similar responsibilities rather than looking at qualification status or job title alone. 

You should also consider the wider package alongside base salary, including: 

• Bonus arrangements 
• Pension contributions 
• Flexible and hybrid working 
• Holiday entitlement 
• Professional development 
• Job title and reporting line 
• Leadership or management responsibilities 
• The technical and commercial scope of the role 

Think about which elements would genuinely affect your decision before entering a negotiation. A higher salary may be attractive, but the experience, responsibilities and progression attached to the role can be just as important at this stage of your career. 

A specialist actuarial recruiter can provide context on current market expectations, help you compare opportunities and discuss which elements of an offer may be worth raising with the employer. 

Should you consider a permanent or contract actuarial role? 

As you explore your next move, you may come across both permanent and contract actuarial opportunities. Neither route is automatically better, and the right option will depend on your experience, priorities and appetite for change. 

A permanent role may offer greater continuity, a wider benefits package and a clearer route for longer-term development within an organisation. Contract roles can provide exposure to specific projects, different organisations and attractive day rates, but they can also involve greater uncertainty and may offer fewer employee benefits. 

Contracting can be particularly suited to professionals who have developed skills that allow them to become effective quickly within a project or team. If you are newly qualified, consider whether you have the depth of experience required for the contract opportunities you are looking at rather than assuming qualification alone will make contracting the right next step. 

When comparing permanent and contract roles, consider: 

• The responsibilities and technical scope 
• The length and security of the opportunity 
• Salary or day rate alongside the wider package 
• The experience you will gain 
• The level of support available 
• Working arrangements and location 
• How the opportunity supports your longer-term plans 

Looking at the complete opportunity will help you make a more informed decision about which route suits you. 

Ready for your next move after qualification? 

Becoming qualified is an opportunity to reassess what you want from the next stage of your actuarial career. The right move will depend on the experience you have already built, the responsibilities you want to take on and the direction you want your career to develop. 

Sellick Partnership’s specialist Actuarial recruitment team works with qualified and experienced professionals across pensions, life, general insurance and wider financial services. We can provide market insight, help you compare opportunities and support you throughout the recruitment process. 

If you are considering your first move after qualification, browse our latest actuarial jobs or speak to our Actuarial team for a confidential discussion about your next step.