How to become an actuary in the UK

Get hired first, then qualify.

Most UK actuaries train while working. You join an employer, usually through a graduate scheme or another entry-level role, and work towards the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) qualification alongside the job. Graduate schemes normally provide study support and fund the professional exams.

You do not normally need to have passed an actuarial exam before applying for a UK graduate role.

What do actuaries actually do?

Four of the main areas hiring UK actuarial graduates are pensions, life insurance, general insurance and investments. You will usually be asked which area interests you and why.

The Big 4 (PwC, EY, KPMG, Deloitte) advise across all of those areas, and their actuarial graduates sit IFoA exams rather than accountancy ones. The Government Actuary's Department (GAD) advises government on public-sector pensions.

Excel is common in many graduate actuarial roles, while Python, R and other tools are increasingly useful depending on the team. UK analyst adverts typically call strong Excel essential and Python or R desirable but not essential, and no major UK scheme we reviewed makes prior coding an entry requirement.

The other major part of the job is communication: explaining what the numbers mean to clients, underwriters, trustees, finance teams and other decision makers. The IFoA's own development framework makes effective communication one of its three competency categories.

Anyone in the UK can call themselves an actuary; the title has no legal protection. "Chartered actuary" has been protected since 12 November 2024, and only qualified IFoA members may use it.

What are the routes in?

• Graduate scheme: the main door. Two to five years depending on the firm, with rotations and funded exams.
• Summer internship: normally eight to nine weeks over the summer of your penultimate year, and the main feeder into graduate offers at several firms.
• Year in industry: nine to twelve months mid-degree. Aviva, L&G, XPS and Isio all ran one in the 2026 cycle.
• Level 4 Actuarial Technician apprenticeship: the school-leaver route, two to three years with BPP.
• Level 7 Actuary apprenticeship: master's level, covering the IFoA's core subjects to Associate. Some graduate schemes are delivered this way, so read it as part of how the employer structures the training. Our apprenticeship vs university guide compares the two.

Internships are usually aimed at penultimate-year students and often recruit months before the placement begins. Some employers use internships as a route into graduate offers, so start checking opportunities early. RSA says top-performing summer interns are the most likely to get a place on the following year's graduate programme, and Hymans Robertson's internships can lead to a ring-fenced place.

Other ways to gain experience

If a firm does not advertise work experience, a short and specific approach to someone in the profession may still help you learn more about the work. Do not treat this as a substitute for applying through formal recruitment routes.

Career changers can apply for many of the same entry-level actuarial roles as graduates, although individual employer requirements vary. Relevant quantitative, financial or professional experience can help you explain why you are moving into actuarial work. A qualification from a professional body with an IFoA agreement (the CFA Institute, ACCA, CIMA, ICAEW and others) can also carry exemptions from named subjects.

Visa sponsorship varies by employer and programme. If you need sponsorship, check the employer's current policy and the live visa requirements before applying. The visa sponsorship tracker keeps the employer list and the current rules in one place.

What degree do you need?

You do not have to have read maths. The standard published bar is a 2:1 in a numerate discipline, or a 2:1 in any discipline plus A-level Maths at grade A or B. The outliers run in both directions.

Examples of published entry requirements, checked July 2026:

These are examples rather than universal rules, and the current advert is the only place the requirement for a particular scheme is stated. If you clear them and want to know what to work on next, the readiness quiz shows which parts of your preparation are weakest.

How does IFoA qualification work?

The IFoA awards two qualifications. The Associate (AIA or AFA) is a qualified actuary at generalist level. The Fellow (FIA or FFA) is the profession's highest qualification, and it sits on top of Associateship.

Thirteen subjects in all, by exam or exemption. The current subject structure replaced older CT, CA and ST naming, so use the current IFoA terminology when researching the qualification. Both Associates and Fellows may use the Chartered Actuary designation.

The two main exam sessions are April and September, and entry closes weeks before each one, so a graduate starting in September normally sits for the first time the following April. Since April 2025 the exams have been closed-book, sat mostly in person at invigilated centres. Our IFoA exams guide has the subject-by-subject formats, deadlines and fees.

Pass rates vary considerably by subject and sitting, and resits are common. Do not build a qualification plan by assuming every exam will be passed first time. As an illustration, the April 2025 session ran CM1 40%, CS1 44%, CB2 63% and 48% overall, and the CM subjects fell to 33% as a group in September 2025.

How long does it take?

Qualification usually takes several years because exams are completed alongside full-time work and Fellowship also requires a minimum period of recorded professional experience.

Those minimums are fixed: 24 months of recorded PPD for Associate, 36 months for Fellow, and no exam speed shortens them. The IFoA publishes no official average time to qualify, so treat any figure you meet elsewhere as an estimate rather than a fact.

Exemptions shorten the exam list, not the experience clock. Graduates of IFoA-accredited degrees can claim Route A exemptions from named subjects, subject to module marks, at £248 per CS, CM or CB subject on the schedule effective 1 July 2026. Each one removes roughly 200 hours of study alongside a full-time job. Exemptions are claimed, not conferred: for awards made after 1 January 2019, claim within five years of the award date or they are gone.

What does it cost, and who pays?

Straight through to Fellowship with no exemptions and no resits, exam entry fees alone come to £5,906 on that schedule, our arithmetic on the published fees. Add resits, materials (ActEd's Combined Materials Pack ran £287–£321 per CS or CM subject at April 2026 prices) and tutorials at £136 a day, and self-funding is a five-figure project. Fees change each 1 July and subscriptions each 1 October, so check the live page before budgeting.

UK actuarial graduate schemes commonly provide study support, which can include exam fees, IFoA subscriptions, study materials, tutorials and paid study leave. LCP publishes that it funds at least two attempts at each exam. Some employers link salary progression to exam progress, while the exact policy varies by firm: Aviva, for example, states that it pays a rise for every exam pass.

Support is contractual, so ask at offer stage: how many attempts are funded, how many study days a year, and what happens after a failed sitting.

How competitive is it, and when should you apply?

UK employers averaged around 140 applications per graduate vacancy in the ISE's 2025 survey, a record, while graduate vacancies fell 8% year on year. That does not mean every applicant is equally competitive, but it does mean preparation and applying early matter.

Employers name schemes by start year. A "2027 graduate programme" starts in September 2027 and opens for applications in autumn 2026. Most firms also recruit on a rolling basis and close when full, and some open in January rather than autumn. Have your CV and standard answers finished before the windows open, then apply early, across more than one practice area. The grad scheme tracker carries the live windows.

What will you earn?

Recent advertised graduate salaries we verified were broadly in the £31,000–£38,000 range, with variation by employer and location.

Pay can then rise significantly through the student and qualified stages. Published London recruiter ranges put some junior actuarial roles around £33,000–£50,000 and qualified roles substantially higher, depending on the practice area. Recruiter guides are placement estimates rather than audited statistics, so treat them as dated ranges.

Explore actuarial salaries →

Want to go further?

If you are serious about applying, Become an Actuary takes you through the profession, qualification and application process in more detail. If you already know which area interests you, you can go straight into General Insurance, Life Insurance, Pensions or Investments.

You can also use the free grad-scheme tracker to see which opportunities are currently open.

Explore Become an Actuary → · Open the grad-scheme tracker →