How to Become an Actuary: Degree, Steps & Salary (2026)

Key takeaway: Becoming an actuary is an exam path, not a degree path: you need a bachelor's degree in a quantitative field, but what actually credentials you is passing a sequence of professional exams administered by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) or the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), typically while employed. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a national median annual wage of $130,000 for actuaries (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS national median).

The actuarial profession is unusual among high-paying quantitative careers: no graduate degree is expected, no state license is issued, and no specific major is required. What is required is a long series of professional examinations with low pass rates, taken over several years, mostly after you are already working. Employers hire you partway through the sequence and expect you to keep passing.

That structure has a real consequence for how you plan. The decision that matters most is not which school you attend – it is whether you start passing exams before you graduate, because the first one or two exams are what get you an entry-level job at all. This guide lays out the path in the order it happens.

Step-by-step: how to become an actuary

Step 1: Earn a bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field

You need a bachelor’s degree, and employers expect quantitative coursework, but no single major is required. Actuarial science, statistics, mathematics, economics, and finance are the common ones. Programs specifically titled actuarial science align coursework with the exam syllabus and often build in the university-approved courses that satisfy Validation by Educational Experience credits (see step 3), which saves time later.

Whatever the major, the transcript needs calculus, probability, statistics, linear algebra, and economics, plus programming and spreadsheet work. Some universities hold designations from the SOA recognizing actuarial programs; those are useful signals but not requirements.

Step 2: Pass the first preliminary exams

This is the step that separates candidates who get hired from those who do not. Most employers want one or two preliminary exams passed before an entry-level offer, and strong candidates sit for the first exam during their sophomore or junior year.

The two credentialing bodies split by practice area:

• Society of Actuaries (SOA) credentials actuaries in life insurance, health, retirement benefits, and investments.
• Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) credentials actuaries in property and casualty insurance – auto, home, commercial liability, workers’ compensation.

The early preliminary exams overlap substantially between the two organizations, so you do not have to choose your specialty at the first exam. Exam names, syllabi, sittings, and the specific sequence are set by the SOA and CAS and are revised periodically – always plan against the current syllabus published by the organization you intend to credential through, not against a description like this one. Pass rates are typically well under half, and repeat attempts are normal rather than a mark against you.

Step 3: Complete the education requirements attached to the credential

Alongside exams, both organizations require non-exam components. Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) credit covers subjects such as economics, corporate finance, and applied statistics, and is earned through approved university courses, approved exams, or other approved options rather than by sitting an actuarial exam. Both organizations also require online modules and a professionalism course before granting a credential.

Plan VEE deliberately as an undergraduate. Taking the approved courses while you are already enrolled is far cheaper in time than satisfying the requirement afterward.

Step 4: Get hired as an actuarial analyst

With a degree and one or two exams passed, you enter as an actuarial analyst or actuarial assistant at an insurer, consultancy, reinsurer, or government agency. This is the point at which the economics of the profession change in your favor: most employers run an actuarial study program that pays exam fees, supplies study materials, and provides paid study hours before each sitting. You are getting paid while you credential.

Internships during college follow the same logic and are the most common route into a full-time analyst role.

Step 5: Reach Associate, then Fellow

The credentials come in two tiers:

• Associate – Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA) or Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society (ACAS). This is the first full professional credential and typically arrives after several years of exams and modules.
• Fellow – Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) or Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS). The terminal credential, requiring further specialized exams beyond associateship, and the usual expectation for senior and signing roles.

There is no state licensure for actuaries in the way there is for accountants or engineers. Where legal authority is required – signing certain statements of actuarial opinion for insurance regulatory filings, for example – the relevant qualification generally runs through the American Academy of Actuaries, which has its own membership and qualification standards. Confirm what any specific role requires with the credentialing body and, where filings are involved, the applicable regulator.

What degree do you need to be an actuary?

A bachelor’s degree in a quantitative discipline. Nothing more is required, and a graduate degree is uncommon in the profession.

A bachelor’s in statistics is a strong fit because probability and mathematical statistics sit at the center of the early exams. Actuarial science, mathematics, and economics majors work equally well. What matters is that the transcript carries calculus, probability, and statistics, and that you have started passing exams.

A master’s in statistics is optional. It can help candidates changing careers or those who want to move toward predictive modeling and data science roles inside insurance, but it does not substitute for exams and it does not accelerate them. For the fuller picture of the field, see the online statistics degrees guide and what you can do with a statistics degree.

How much do actuaries make?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a national median annual wage of $130,000 for actuaries (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS national median). That midpoint spans the full range of the profession, from analysts partway through the exam sequence to credentialed fellows, so early-career pay sits below it and fellowship-level pay above it.

For comparison, the BLS reports national median annual wages of $105,650 for statisticians and $124,720 for economists (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS national medians). Actuaries reach a comparable or higher midpoint without a graduate degree, which is the profession’s central trade: exams instead of tuition.

How long does it take to become an actuary?

The degree is the short part. The credential is not.

• Bachelor’s degree: four years. See accelerated statistics options if you are compressing it.
• First one or two exams: typically taken during college; each usually requires three to five months of study, and repeat attempts are common.
• Entry as an actuarial analyst: immediately after graduation, with exams passed.
• Associate (ASA or ACAS): commonly three to five years after starting work, depending on pass rates and sitting schedules.
• Fellow (FSA or FCAS): commonly six to ten years after starting work.

Realistically, plan on four years of college plus three to five years to associate, and roughly seven to ten years total to fellowship. These are ranges, not promises: the timeline is driven by how many exams you pass on the first attempt, and no one controls that precisely. The offsetting fact is that almost all of it happens while you are employed and being paid.

Frequently asked questions

What degree do you need to be an actuary?

A bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field – actuarial science, statistics, mathematics, economics, or finance. No specific major is mandated and no graduate degree is expected. The transcript needs calculus, probability, statistics, and economics, and you should be passing professional exams alongside it.

How long does it take to become an actuary?

Four years for the bachelor’s, then commonly three to five more years of work and exams to reach associate, and six to ten years to fellowship. The exam sequence, not the degree, controls the timeline, and most of it happens while you are employed full time.

How much do actuaries make?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a national median annual wage of $130,000 for actuaries (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS national median). Pay rises with each exam passed and each credential earned, so analysts early in the sequence earn below that midpoint and fellows above it.

Do you need a degree to be an actuary?

Effectively yes, though the requirement comes from employers rather than the credentialing bodies. The SOA and CAS credential you on exams and modules, not on a diploma, but employers hiring entry-level analysts expect a bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field.

Do actuaries need a license?

Not a state license. Actuaries are credentialed by professional bodies – the Society of Actuaries or the Casualty Actuarial Society – rather than licensed by state boards. Certain regulated work, such as signing statements of actuarial opinion for insurance filings, carries additional qualification standards through the American Academy of Actuaries; confirm requirements with the credentialing body and the relevant regulator.

Which exams should I take first, SOA or CAS?

You do not have to decide immediately. The earliest preliminary exams overlap substantially between the two organizations, so candidates commonly sit for the first exam before choosing a practice area. Choose SOA if you are heading toward life, health, retirement, or investments; choose CAS for property and casualty insurance. Check the current syllabus with each organization, since exam structures are revised periodically.

Next steps

• Start with the field. The online statistics degrees guide covers the mathematics that the early actuarial exams draw on.
• Choose the degree. Compare statistics bachelor’s programs; the master’s in statistics is optional for this path but useful for modeling roles inside insurance.
• See the wider role set. What can you do with a statistics degree? covers the analyst and data roles that sit alongside the actuarial track.
• Weigh the investment. Is a statistics degree worth it? puts cost against outcomes.
• Compare adjacent paths. How to become a statistician is the same mathematics gated by a graduate degree instead of exams, and how to become an economist covers a third quantitative route.

Wage figures on this page are national median annual wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025. Exam sequences, VEE requirements, and credentialing standards are set by the Society of Actuaries and the Casualty Actuarial Society and are revised periodically; confirm current requirements directly with the organization you plan to credential through.

Data verified: August 12, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.

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