Power

How much power does an actuary have? Quite a bit, actually. You have a lot of say in what potential accounts are declined, where premiums are set, what corporate investments are made, and how the name on your door reads.

In a sense, you're the wizard behind the green curtain. When the CEO of the company wants to know the magnitude of a risk that may drastically affect her business, she walks down a long and scary hallway only to stand quivering outside your office, nervously requesting permission to enter before asking you for your all-knowing, all-mighty opinion.

Even if it isn't as dramatic as all that in the real world, the idea is the same. And who knows, maybe you'll even get to float away in your own big, beautiful hot air balloon when all is said and done.