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The differences between underwriters and actuaries can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an actuary has an average salary of $88,255, which is higher than the $61,751 average annual salary of an underwriter.
The top three skills for an underwriter include customer service, investor guidelines and mortgage loans. The most important skills for an actuary are risk management, VBA, and GAAP.
| Underwriter | Actuary | |
| Yearly salary | $61,751 | $88,255 |
| Hourly rate | $29.69 | $42.43 |
| Growth rate | -4% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 8,510 | 13,566 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 83% |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
An underwriter's duties depend on the line of work or industry involved, such as mortgage companies, insurance, or lending firms. However, an Underwriter's responsibility will mainly revolve around using their extensive expertise on how a company will achieve financial gains, and assessing the possible financial risks of a client by reviewing various aspects to determine their capacity to uphold monetary obligations. Most of the time, the Underwriter's tasks will also involve evaluating a client's credit history, health, assets, overall financial history.
An actuary specializes in performing research and analysis to assess risks and help companies prepare for any financial disadvantages or impact it may bring. Their responsibilities revolve around coordinating with different departments to gather accurate data, maintain records of all transactions, evaluate the data through various processes, and develop new strategies to cut down costs and risks. An actuary is also responsible for performing clerical tasks such as producing reports through graphs and charts, preparing presentations, answering inquiries and concern, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Underwriters and actuaries have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Underwriter | Actuary | |
| Average salary | $61,751 | $88,255 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $96,000 | Between $52,000 And $147,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | New York |
| Best paying company | PayPal | |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Professional |
There are a few differences between an underwriter and an actuary in terms of educational background:
| Underwriter | Actuary | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 83% |
| Most common major | Business | Mathematics |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Notre Dame |
Here are the differences between underwriters' and actuaries' demographics:
| Underwriter | Actuary | |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% | Male, 74.3% Female, 25.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 2.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 5.6% White, 72.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 3.0% Hispanic or Latino, 5.1% Asian, 17.3% White, 71.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 18% |