How to Become an Actuary Without Choosing the Wrong Degree

Key Takeaways:

• The right path starts with an affordable, regionally accredited quantitative degree that covers probability and calculus at depth, along with the economics and finance coursework tied to SOA exam requirements, not just a major title that sounds actuarial.
• A bachelor’s degree alone will not make you competitive, because employers expect progress on early SOA exams such as Exam P and Exam FM before graduation.
• Students save time and tuition when they plan coursework and exam prep together, with internships built in as one connected sequence, then compare online programs for exam alignment and career support before enrolling.

Some students spend four years earning a degree that sounds perfectly suited to an actuarial career, only to graduate without the probability theory or financial mathematics that the first SOA exams actually test.

Figuring out how to become an actuary means treating your education as a direct career investment: the right program builds exam-readiness from year one and fits your real life as a working adult. GetEducated makes it easier to compare thousands of accredited online degree programs side by side, so you can find one that aligns with your goals and your budget. Making that comparison before you enroll could save you years of costly catching up after graduation.

How to Become an Actuary Step by Step

Knowing how to become an actuary means understanding that the path is a sequence, not just a degree. Each step builds on the one before it, and getting the order right from the start saves real time and real money.

Start With the Right Bachelor’s Degree

The foundation is a quantitative bachelor’s degree in actuarial science, mathematics, statistics, or a closely related field. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, actuaries typically need this kind of degree to enter the field, where the median annual pay sits at $120,000, and job growth is projected at 22% through 2034. Your coursework in probability and calculus does double duty: it satisfies degree requirements and prepares you for early professional exams.

A Degree Alone Will Not Get You Hired

Here is the part most students do not see until it is too late: in the actuarial hiring process, your degree is essentially a secondary signal. The primary signal is exam progress. Because every candidate for an entry-level actuarial role sits the same standardized SOA exams regardless of school or major, recruiters use passed exams as a common currency that a GPA from one program cannot replicate in another.

The full ASA credential requires passing a series of exams, completing Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) topics, and finishing the required professional modules. A transcript full of math courses, without at least one exam passed, tells a recruiter very little they can compare.

Sequence Your Steps So They Work Together

Most degree programs are designed for full-time students with unlimited study hours. Actuarial prep is not. Exam P and Exam FM have pass rates that hover around 40 to 50 percent, and candidates who pass typically log hundreds of hours of focused preparation. If you are working part-time or carrying family responsibilities, those hours have to come from somewhere.

The students who navigate this most efficiently are the ones who deliberately overlap their coursework and exam prep: probability taken in year one doubles as Exam P study material; financial mathematics in year two does the same for Exam FM.

That overlap does not happen by accident. It depends on choosing a program where those courses appear early in the sequence, not as upper-level electives. Reviewing rankings for affordable online math degrees before enrolling helps you identify programs that schedule those courses early, so you can plan backward from employment rather than forward from enrollment.

Choose a Degree That Supports Exam Readiness

What degree do you need to become an actuary? The honest answer is that the degree matters less than what it contains. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recognizes bachelor’s degrees in actuarial science and mathematics as appropriate preparation, but what actually drives exam success is whether your coursework covers probability and calculus at depth, along with the economics and finance subjects the SOA maps to VEE credit.

The Society of Actuaries maps these exact subject areas to its exam and VEE requirements, meaning a degree that skips them creates gaps you will have to fill on your own time.

A well-structured online mathematics or statistics program from an accredited school can absolutely put you on the right track, provided it covers the quantitative core the SOA expects candidates to know before sitting for early exams. What slows people down is not choosing an online format; it is choosing a program that sounds analytical but lacks the depth in probability and calculus that the first exams demand.

Start With the First Exams and Real Experience

Knowing which actuarial exams you should take first is one of the most practical questions you can ask early in your degree, because exam progress before graduation is one of the clearest signals an employer has that you are serious. The Society of Actuaries recommends starting with Exam P (Probability) and Exam FM (Financial Mathematics) as your entry points into the ASA credential pathway. Both exams map directly to coursework you will take in a quantitative degree, which is exactly why choosing the right program from the start matters so much.

Internships fill in what exams alone cannot show. A transcript full of strong grades tells an employer what you know in theory. An internship shows them you can apply probability and financial modeling to real business problems, and that distinction matters when entry-level competition is high.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that employers look for candidates with both exam progress and practical experience, treating those two things together as a stronger signal than either one alone. Students who combine early exam passing with internship experience are considerably easier for hiring managers to evaluate, and reviewing career opportunities for math degree graduates can show you the range of roles that open up as you progress through the credential.

If you are working part-time or carrying family responsibilities, the timing of all this can feel tight. That is why the program you choose matters as much as the subject you study. Here is what to prioritize:

• Start researching Exam P and FM before your second year. Both exams align with probability and financial mathematics coursework, so taking those classes early doubles as exam prep and reduces the study time you need outside of class.
• Pass at least one exam before graduation. The SOA is clear that employers expect pre-graduation exam progress, and even a single pass puts you ahead of candidates who are degree-only.
• Plan your internship search around your exam schedule. Many actuarial internships begin in the summer after your sophomore or junior year, so knowing your exam registration windows in advance helps you avoid conflicts.
• Choose a program with career support built in. If your online program offers employer connections and career advising, as well as alumni networks in finance or insurance, use them. Those resources make internship access more realistic when you do not have an on-campus recruiting pipeline.
• Look for flexible scheduling that protects your study time. Asynchronous coursework (meaning you complete lessons on your own schedule rather than at a fixed class time) gives you more control over when you study for exams alongside your work and family commitments.

The students who enter actuarial roles smoothly are rarely the ones who waited until graduation to think about exams or experience. They treated their degree as a launchpad and planned the rest of the sequence around it from the beginning.

FAQ: Online Degrees and Actuarial Career Entry

Choosing the right online program raises practical questions that go beyond the degree name on a transcript. The answers below address what programs should actually contain, whether your major title matters as much as you think, and how to time your internship search without falling behind on exams.

What should you look for in an affordable online actuarial science program?

Start with regional accreditation, then look at the curriculum. A solid program should cover probability and calculus at depth, along with economics and finance, because these subjects map directly to the SOA exam and VEE requirements. Bonus points if the school offers exam-prep resources or has faculty familiar with actuarial credentialing. GetEducated’s online degree comparison tools let you filter programs by field and verify accreditation before you spend a dollar.

Can you become an actuary with an online math or statistics degree instead of a named actuarial science major?

Yes, and many actuaries do exactly that. What matters is that your coursework covers the quantitative subjects the SOA expects. Review the program’s course list against SOA requirements, and confirm it includes VEE-eligible economics and finance courses before enrolling.

When should you start applying for internships if you are still preparing for your first actuarial exams?

Start looking in your sophomore or junior year, ideally after passing at least one exam. The BLS notes that employers generally expect candidates to have passed one or two exams by graduation. Having even one exam on your resume signals to recruiters that you are serious and making measurable progress toward the credential.

Compare Accredited Online Degrees Before You Commit

The decision you make before you enroll shapes everything that follows on the path to becoming an actuary. A program that covers probability and financial mathematics in your first two years lets you sit Exam P and Exam FM while you still have coursework reinforcing the material. A program that buries those subjects in the upper-level elective list leaves you cramming for exams after graduation, when you are also job hunting and no longer have an institutional study structure around you.

The gap between those two outcomes is not about talent. It is about which affordable online actuarial science program you chose, and whether you checked its curriculum against Society of Actuaries VEE topics and early exam alignment before committing.

GetEducated’s directory of online bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and related fields includes accredited programs from more than 1,700 schools. Filter by field and cost, and verify accreditation before you spend a dollar on tuition. The comparison takes an afternoon. Choosing the wrong program costs years.