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Actuaries, Mathematicians and Statisticians

Below are details about the field of study you have chosen to explore, as well as some potential careers.

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Actuaries, Mathematicians and Statisticians

Actuaries, Mathematicians and Statisticians develop and apply actuarial, mathematical, statistical and quantitative principles and techniques to solve problems in a range of fields such as business and finance, scientific and social research, and engineering.

Fun facts

  • 1931 Weekly Pay Before Tax
  • 79% full-time Full-Time Share
  • 43% female Gender Share

Tasks

There are many tasks done by actuaries, mathematicians and statisticians. A few are listed below:

  • defining, analysing and solving complex financial and business problems relating to areas such as insurance premiums, annuities, superannuation funds, pensions and dividends
  • examining financial projections for general insurance companies, finance companies, government and other organisations
  • designing new types of policies, assessing risks and analysing investments in life insurance, superannuation funds, health insurance, friendly societies, financial markets and other areas
  • formulating mathematical models to simulate processes
  • applying models to experimental observations, and adjusting and recasting the models
  • using numerical analysis methods to develop algorithms and perform computations
  • liaising with management and clients to determine the subject or area to be surveyed or examined
  • specifying the data to be collected, and the methodology to be used in collection and analysis
  • evaluating and describing the reliability and utility of source information
  • analysing and interpreting data, and producing relevant statistics to describe and infer particular trends and patterns

Specific occupations

  • Actuary
  • Mathematician
  • Statistician
  • Operations Research Analyst
  • Biometrician
  • Demographer
  • Epidemiologist

Women in STEM

Vanessa Robins

"To me, innovation comes from having the freedom to daydream a little and explore questions that just grab your attention and mean something to you."

Vanessa Robins

Mathematician

Asha Rao[1]

"Being a mathematician, I am not afraid of failure. It has always been a part of my life – it just gives me a chance to do things again – get a better solution, solve a bigger problem. "

Asha Rao

Mathematician

Alison Harcourt

"Take the subject that you like and the one that appeals to you and work at that, and if that’s mathematics, do it. There’s a great joy in mathematics!"

Alison Harcourt (Doig)

Mathematician and statistician

Cheryl Praeger

"My first hero was Hanna Neumann … the first woman to become a full professor of mathematics at an Australian university. She … was such a great teacher and mathematician."

Cheryl Praeger

Emeritus Professor of Mathematics

Protecting forests with maths

Cristina Aponte is a Forest Scientist who uses Maths to study and protect our forests. In nature, just like in Maths, there is always something waiting to be discovered.

WATCH THE VIDEO