Life as an Actuary

In honor of #NationalVolunteerMonth this April, we’re spotlighting Neal Holthus, a dedicated STEM Stars mentor and experienced actuary. With over a decade in the field, Neal brings a unique perspective on what it really means to be an actuary—breaking the stereotype of spreadsheets and silence, and instead highlighting a career full of variety, communication, and continual growth. His journey offers valuable insight for students exploring actuarial science and professionals seeking a dynamic, rewarding path.

Contrary to popular societal belief, I personally think life as an actuary is extraordinary. Sure, I spend a few days in spreadsheets here and there, but overall, I find there to be a high level of interaction with a wide range of other professions, and a career that can uniquely fit just about anyone’s taste who is interested in passing a ton of math exams.

I knew I wanted to be an actuary during my Sophomore year of college. I had never heard the word actuary, at least consciously, until a friend’s dad recommended the career to fit with my math major. After one night spent on beanactuary.org, I was sold. Major points of interest for me that day were no requirement for graduate school and earning decent money.

Further research and consultation with academic advisors led me to many other great reasons to be an actuary. I viewed the career as prime for initiative-takers who want to take their early career growth into their own hands. I was fascinated at the thought of getting time off work to study for an exam, then getting paid more when I passed. The opportunity to self-commit to the exam process is like no other profession I can think of for early-career professionals to control your own growth in both knowledge and compensation.

Now that I’ve been an actuary for fourteen years, I’ve come to love the career for many other reasons. I’ve worked at five companies now and have been exposed to many unique opportunities to work with such a diverse range of people. The range of expertise an actuary can choose from is endless. I’ve worked at three pension consulting firms, but each one I was able to work on vastly different projects from private sector to public sector, big to small employers. I’ve consulted finance executives brilliant with numbers, HR executives that prefer people to numbers, and I’ve taken a call from a plumber looking to create the perfect pension plan for their small business. Most recently I chose to change my actuarial career and move into healthcare. There’s a place in this career for just about any unique individual.

The uniqueness of different paths an actuary can take leads to many different opinions on what makes a good actuary. I think one of the most important abilities an actuary can hone to succeed is communication, especially with non-actuaries. Day to day I find myself talking to more accountants and finance professionals than actuaries. The ability to communicate from an actuarial perspective to cross-functional teams is crucial to aligning all stakeholders’ goals. This includes listening and speaking, even if we need to draw pictures with crayons to understand each other. Secondarily, and possibly overdramatized, is an uncanny sixth sense for numbers. It might come as a surprise to non-actuaries or aspiring actuaries, but the math isn’t usually that hard. We have computers that do the math, but an actuary needs to be able to read and interpret the output. Over time with years of honing the craft, great actuaries understand what they’re looking for, what output should look like given the model and its inputs, what model levers to pull to tweak the output appropriately, practically smell the numbers. And lastly, the best actuaries combine the first two to have the confidence to walk into a meeting and say “these aren’t the results we were hoping for or expecting but I can explain it!”

Neal’s life as an actuary is a powerful reminder that the actuarial profession is far more than just numbers—it’s about solving problems, building relationships, and finding your own path in a versatile field. As a STEM Stars mentor, Neal is helping to guide the next generation of actuaries, proving that passion, adaptability, and strong communication skills can open countless doors. We’re grateful for mentors like Neal who are shaping the future of this incredible profession.