Actuarial Science and Statistics are two courses which are hot cakes in the job market in Kenya. The obvious question students often ask is whether actuaries earn more than statisticians, the answer is simple: Qualified actuaries earn 5 times what statisticians earn.
The fact that university students should know that a mere basic salary does not guarantee you attractive packe,until you decide to enroll for a professional certificate or masters program.In Actuarial science, what matters is the fact that you possess actuarial papers. With this in your CV, you will easily earn up to Ksh800, 000 per month even when you are a junior employee within an organization. In statistics, the more you accumulate papers the better-the most important qualification is a PhD.
The current average monthly salary of a fresh graduate with a degree in actuarial science is Ksh 75,000 while that of statisticians is Ksh68,000.The gap widens as the two add more papers to their profile.By the time an individual earns associate status,his salary would be Ksh250,000 while an individual with a masters in statistics pockets Ksh120,000-Ksh180,000.A fully qualified actuary earns average monthly salary of Ksh 350,000 while a statistician with a PhD earns average salary of Ksh280,000.
You can see at no level a statistician will earn more than an actuary, meaning that actuarial science is better, at all levels.