Actuary to Risk Analyst

Summary: 1 of the 6 core skills listed for Risk Analyst carry over directly from Actuary, and 5 more build on related experience. The US median salary changes by -22% ($115K → $90K). Difficulty: Moderate, typically around 6 months of focused upskilling.

The two roles

Actuary: Use mathematics and statistics to assess risk for insurance and pension plans.

Risk Analyst: Identify, assess, and mitigate financial, market, and operational risks. Growth outlook +12%; AI-augmented (AI changes how the work is done, not whether it exists). Typical education: bachelor. Typical experience: 2-5 years.

Skills that carry over

• Excel

Builds on related experience

• Risk Modeling — builds on Probability Theory
• VaR Analysis — builds on Probability Theory
• Regulatory Compliance — builds on Risk Assessment
• Statistical Analysis — builds on Statistical Modeling
• Stress Testing — builds on Probability Theory

Skills to learn for Risk Analyst

None of the core skills are missing.

Salary comparison (median, estimated)

Salary figures are estimates benchmarked against public compensation data — see methodology.

Next steps

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Related

Actuary career guide | Risk Analyst career guide

Other transitions to consider

• Actuary to Credit Analyst — 4 of the core skills carry over
• Actuary to Demand Planner — 3 of the core skills carry over
• Actuary to Insurance Underwriter — 2 of the core skills carry over
• Actuary to Financial Analyst — 5 of the core skills carry over
• Financial Analyst to Risk Analyst — 5 of the core skills carry over
• Credit Analyst to Risk Analyst — 5 of the core skills carry over
• Market Risk Analyst to Risk Analyst — 4 of the core skills carry over
• Equities Trader to Risk Analyst — 4 of the core skills carry over