Actuary vs Underwriter
Measured from each occupation's own live postings: related jobs with a real gap between them. Posted pay favors the actuary by about $39k at the midpoint. Everything on this page is read from the two occupations’ own live postings and refreshed every night.
The short answer
On pay, actuarys come out ahead by about $39k a year at the midpoint of posted bands: $78k–$154k against $57k–$95k for underwriters. These are advertised figures from postings that state a salary, not estimates.
On skills, they are related jobs with a real gap between them. There is a shared core, and then each side asks for things the other rarely does. The readiness numbers further down say how far a typical profile on each side already reaches into the other, and which direction is the easier move.
Actuary
actuary jobs · actuary salary · actuary career guide · careers for actuarys
Underwriter
underwriter jobs · underwriter salary · underwriter career guide · careers for underwriters
The overlap, measured
Skills that appear in both occupations’ posting demand. This is the shared core; everything else on each side is the difference. Each linked skill has its own page with the roles it unlocks.
Switching, both directions
The direction matters: underwriter → actuary reads 55% ready, the reverse only 35%. Skill overlap is not symmetric.
Actuary → Underwriter
State insurance licenses for some lines
Transition estimate: 12–24 mo.
What underwriter postings ask for that actuary profiles usually lack: Account Management, Customer Service, Training & Facilitation, Negotiation.
Underwriter → Actuary
Credentialing exams (SOA/CAS) effectively required
Transition estimate: 12–24 mo + license.
What actuary postings ask for that underwriter profiles usually lack: Accounting, Python, Forecasting, Excel.
Open actuary roles right now
The freshest actuary openings on the board, from company career pages and remote boards. Apply at the source.
Sr Managing Actuary - WFH at Health Care Service CorporationUnited States · Remote$112k–$203k1d agoApply
Senior Actuary & Data Science Engineer at Arbital HealthUnited States · Remote$190k–$215k1d agoApply
Senior Pricing Actuary Corporate Life & Pensions (m/w/d) at ZurichZürich, Zürich, Switzerland1d agoApply
Life Reinsurance Pricing Actuary (all gender) Full-Time or Part-Time at HelvetiaZürich, Zürich, Switzerland2d agoApply
Open underwriter roles right now
The freshest underwriter openings on the board. Same rules: live, tagged to the occupation, linking to the original posting.
Condo Project Underwriter at Atlantic Coast MortgageUnited States · Remote$70k–$100k1d agoApply- E&S Package Underwriter at Signers NationalRemote1d agoApply
- Underwriter Geschäftsversicherung KMU (w/m/d) Teilzeit/Vollzeit at HelvetiaDübendorf, Zürich, Switzerland1d agoApply
Graduate Credit Analyst at MonzoLondon2d agoUnlock
See the whole board for both
139 live roles across the two, freshest first, with posted pay and remote flags where the posting states them.
Related comparisons
- Actuary vs Financial Analyst50% peak overlap
- Actuary vs Economist42% peak overlap
- Actuary vs Data Scientist34% peak overlap
- Actuary vs Auditor33% peak overlap
- Actuary vs Statistician31% peak overlap
- Accountant vs Actuary24% peak overlap
Which one do your skills favor?
Run the instrument with your own skill set and both readiness numbers recompute for you. Free, no account.
Quick answers
Which pays more, actuary or underwriter?
On pay, actuarys come out ahead by about $39k a year at the midpoint of posted bands: $78k–$154k against $57k–$95k for underwriters. These are advertised figures from postings that state a salary, not estimates. By seniority and country: actuary salary and underwriter salary.
Are actuary and underwriter the same job?
On skills, they are related jobs with a real gap between them. There is a shared core, and then each side asks for things the other rarely does. The skills both sets of postings want most are Financial Modeling, Underwriting, Risk Management, Business Development, Data Analysis.
Can an actuary become an underwriter?
Yes, and the numbers say how far along you already are: a typical actuary profile covers 35% of what underwriter postings ask for. One thing to settle first: state insurance licenses for some lines. Skill overlap does not shorten a credential. Our estimate for the move is 12–24 mo. The instrument lists the exact skills that make up the rest.
Can an underwriter become an actuary?
Going the other way, a typical underwriter profile covers 55% of what actuary postings ask for. Keep in mind: credentialing exams (soa/cas) effectively required. Our estimate for the move is 12–24 mo + license. The two directions are not symmetric: underwriter to actuary is the easier move, 55% against 35%. The route page has the gap itemized.
How many actuary and underwriter jobs are open right now?
Right now our board has 39 actuary openings and 100 underwriter openings, each linking to the original posting. The board refreshes every night, so the counts move with the market. Hiring the most actuarys at the moment: Helvetia (2), Just Group (2), Generali Personenversicherung AG (2). For underwriters: Bank of America (11), Helvetia (6), Zurich (5).
Method: each occupation’s salary band is the posted 25th to 75th percentile from its own corpus, counting only postings that state pay; readiness is coverage of the destination’s posting-skill weight; shared skills are read from the overlap waterfall. Pairs sharing too few skills are not scored in that direction. Job lists and counts are the live board. Refreshed with the nightly scrape.