Internships and Careers

Internships

Drake offers many tools to help students find—and obtain—internships and jobs, including a dedicated career counselor within the college that can help with résumé-building and interviewing skills. Each fall, the College of Business and Public Administration hosts an actuarial science career fair that brings 40-50 companies to campus to conduct interviews for internships and full-time jobs. These companies recruit students for jobs in more than 20 states, and, internationally.  With access to so many opportunities, nearly all of our actuarial science majors—approximately 91 percent—complete at least one internship before graduation.

Here are a few such employers who have recruited at Drake during the past few years.

Drake’s hometown, Des Moines, is a hub of insurance and financial services industries and is home to companies such as Principal, Nationwide Insurance, and Farm Bureau Financial Services, all of which provide access to stellar internships throughout the year.

Drake actuarial science students have held internships and accepted full-time jobs at top companies such as:

Careers

Chief Executive Officer of the Sammons Financial Group, Inc., retired Chairman of The Principal Financial Group; Chairman of Unified Life Insurance Co.; CRO of AIG; CEO Swiss Re Reinsurance Asia—these are just a few of the School of Actuarial Science’s outstanding alumni. Many actuarial science graduates maintain strong ties to the University, recruit students for internships and jobs, and are a great resource as you attend Drake and begin your career.

As highly sought-after professionals actuaries work in many fields, including finance, risk management, and insurance. The actuarial career ranks high for job satisfaction and compensation. CareerCast.com recently identified actuary as the No. 1 job in the United States, and CNNMoney named actuarial science as on the top 15 most lucrative college degrees. Experienced actuarial fellows may earn $150,000 or more. According to CNN Money, starting salaries average around $45,000 and $50,000 a year for recently graduated actuaries. Information about traditional and non-traditional career paths can be found at the Society of Actuaries. Examples of non-traditional fields include enterprise risk management, investments, sales and marketing, and entrepreneurship. 

In addition to the professional staff in Drake’s Professional and Career Development Center, Handshake helps students and alumni advance their careers and find job openings.