Each fall and spring semester, the actuarial program mails to about 400 employers a booklet of the resumés of students seeking permanent entry-level actuarial jobs at the end of that or the coming semester. A similar booklet is mailed each spring semester for students that are approaching their last summer prior to seeking a permanent job and are interested in a summer internship.
About two dozen employers last year interviewed actuarial students seeking jobs, primarily in a Mathematics Department room, with follow-up office visits. Most of these interviews are for permanent jobs, although some companies interview internship candidates as well; most internships are filled without campus interviews, however.
Wise students will also launch their own job-seeking campaign, sending letters and resumés to companies in whom they are interested. Professor Daniel can provide a list of the companies to whom UT mails the booklets. Natural Sciences College students may use that College's Career Guidance and Placement Center, which offers much useful help and advice on seeking employment; students in other colleges have similar resources available.
No one can predict what the future job market will be. But here is a historical fact: Since the actuarial program moved to Mathematics in 1989, of those students that, by the time of job interviews,
all but one have found entry-level actuarial jobs. For some examples, see the list of first jobs for recent graduates. Although most students have accepted job offers in Texas, many receive offers from outside the state as well. In some years students with fewer exams or without those crucial classes have found actuarial jobs; on average, however, only a small fraction of those students are that lucky. The cautious student will aim at having three or four current-system exams passed prior to having job interviews (probably two or three Year-2000 exams). But remember: a strong record as described here will get you interviews, but it is interviews that get you jobs.
International students. Students that are not U.S. Citizens or U.S. Permanent Residents usually have a much more difficult time finding actuarial jobs in the United States. Some employers simply do not want to be involved in any manner in visa issues and therefore will not even interview international students. At the other extreme, however, are some companies that will have their corporate attorneys assist with the visas of any international students they might hire. Since communication skills are crucial in all areas of actuarial employment, fluency in written and spoken English is a necessity. Although many well-qualified international students with excellent English skills have found actuarial jobs, they have all had a far harder time and fewer opportunities than less-qualified individuals eligible to work permanently in the United States.