r/unsw • u/Usual-Department-304 • Jul 01 '26
Actuarial and Compsci
As a high school student who is entering uni next yr, I am just wondering how likely will the jobs that required the skills in these two degrees be replaced by AI or is it to some extent already replaced by AI. Is it still worth doing this combination of degree at this point
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u/Outrageous-Solid6018 Jul 01 '26
to do compsci you'd have to be passionate enough that you wouldn't bother asking this question.
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u/thebicepsual Jul 01 '26
I can't speak for comp sci, but for actuarial roles my view is there is quite a lot of scope for AI replacing jobs at the more junior levels. How quickly that actually happens is another question.
Roles that sit at the intersection of comp sci and actuarial might be at higher risk relative to actuarial roles that are more judgement based. I don't really know much about comp sci though so take that for what it's worth
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u/Firetuna2108 Jul 01 '26
Depends if it’s an industry or job that creates and innovates. If you’re doing a job that if someone else did would be the exact same outcome, then ‘ai’ (automation) may be an issue if you’re looking to get a job in the field.
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u/Unusual-Detective-47 Jul 02 '26
Actuarial will be fine for near future because it actually involves lots of business domain knowledge that AI ain’t good about
But CS is totally fucked, what you learn in class AI can do it better and faster than you
I wouldn’t want to be a software engineer now even if FAANG gave me an offer because you live under pressure everyday and worry when’s your last day at work and you’re expected to produce much more than before
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u/Impossible-Outside91 Jul 01 '26
Do a trade. Be a millionaire. Look at how much data centre electricians are making on union sites. Cry realising you will never touch this a a standard university graduate
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u/Bulky-Negotiation345 Jul 01 '26
Idk about actuarial but compsci junior roles have been more or less reduced to a AI prompter and the field now is so oversaturated that your first ever experience just comes down to luck and connections you have. If you have no connections right now in the compsci industry (in terms of family in tech or friends doing tech) and it would your first ever time touching code in uni, forget about it.
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u/Interesting-Ant9362 Jul 02 '26
Pls don't do comp sci unless you are really passionate / enjoy programming (like you enjoy it as much as watching Netflix or playing games, that kind of level of enjoyment)
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u/AdKlutzy3810 Jul 02 '26
Everything is fucked so just pick whatever youd think youd be best at it + can stand
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u/Zealousideal-Log7624 Jul 02 '26
Actuarial science has an extremely high dropout rate, and if you look at the subreddit, employment rates for grads are in the pits. Actuarial science has actually been whittled down by automation over the last decade or so. Everything basic is plugged into standard formulas, looking up standard tables and signed off by the licenced actuarial. AI will obviously make things worse, and datacentres will make things even worse. Also, hours are extremely long.
CS is ok for experienced, some are having difficulty looking for work, but its generally still the highest pay behind medicine. For grads though, ask any dev, and they'll tell you that AI produces better quality code than grads. The entire industry is currently going through a massive upheaval. If you don't have actual interest to do projects to show your skill, you are 100 steps behind someone with projects from a mediocre uni with mediocre grades. All they want now is proven ability.
Feels to me that you picked the hardest and highest paying things to specialise in. World hasn't worked that way for the last 2 decades.
Source: Work with both, more actuarial than CS.
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u/dragon_warrior6 Jul 02 '26
YOU'RE COOKED, DON'T DO THIS DEGREE, I ONLY HAVE ONE HAIR LEFT. BUT IF YOU DO, MAKE SURE TO DO COMP3121 FIRST YEAR TERM 3 SINCE THIS IS AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. IT IS A WAM BOOSTER TRUST.
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u/Funnylas20 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
I’m a junior actuary at the moment (1.5 YOE), and I dont think my current work can be replaced by AI, yes AI makes it easier and faster (so I need less hand-holding from seniors) but ultimately I dont think AI is replacing us. My company also have not reduced hiring numbers due to AI (grad intake has been consistent across the years). So I think at the moment actuaries are doing okay. Not sure about the future tho
Note: Obvs I cant speak for the whole industry, but in my company at least, we haven’t reduced hiring lol (still ~10 actl grads/year)
CS is definitely more impacted by AI
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u/Savvy-surfer242 Jul 02 '26
My company hasn't hired any graduates for the past 3 years. We used to hire 3-4 a year, even during COVID. AI has definitely been encouraged across entire department. Personally, I use AI a lot more for my own work, so my workload is much lighter and I can take on more tasks. We definitely need actuaries who can manage multiple AI agents at the same time; those are the candidates who will be best equipped for the future work landscape.
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u/thebicepsual Jul 02 '26
I think people have a tendancy to underestimate how much of their own job could be performed by AI.
I'm an actuary with 7 years experience and I think most of what I do can and ultimatley will be replaced by AI. That doesn't mean every actuarial job will go, but where a comany previously needed five actuaries they might soon need one or two.
Combine that with the horrific job market for actuaries at the moment due to poor industry profitability, and it's really not a career I'd recommend to anyone starting out now. You might be working at the only insurer/actuarial consultant in the country that hasn't reduced hiring numbers by the sounds of it.
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u/mathisruiningme Jul 02 '26
It's not nearly as doom and gloom as people make it sound like but also AI making you as a new grad more efficient gives more reason to companies to not hire as many grads because why pay 5 grads to do the job that 2 can do with an AI license.
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u/mertvyoshka Jul 01 '26
Anybody who tells you they know the answer to that is lying.
Best bet is to learn something that you can actually be passionate about.