I find it incredible that you are asking these questions given you already have an engineering degree. You would know more about engineering and at least have a far better idea of civil eng than most lay people.

I'm going to make an educated guess and say civil engineers have an easier time looking for work than student actuaries. Actuaries add value to financial services and risk management, and sometimes statistical modelling, but nothing quite as solid as buildings and the environment. I'm sure there are more engineers than student actuaries in each graduating class, but very few people want to employ actuaries for their specific skillset or training. It is a lot easier to replace actuaries than engineers, and you don't need as many. The conversation will forever evolve around what actuaries or students can do outside of insurance, pensions, finance, and risk. Well, they may be smart or good with numbers and technical stuff, but who the hell knows what actuarial science is?

The market for entry level student actuaries is pretty bad everywhere you go. This is because schools and courses have bloomed in the past couple decades and supply far exceeds demand. It also takes very long for most people to pass the exams so they stay at analyst level quite some time (meaning an even bigger oversupply). Most people (at the entry level) find jobs via luck or connections (though most would hold the qualifications to merit the job).

To you, it seems that Job Security takes priority over any other matter. However, I'd like to explore your perspectives on Mathematics before commenting. Think about the maths you’ve done so far.

(1) What do you think Mathematics is?

(2) Why is Mathematics important? (What’s this good for?)

(3) How do students go about learning Mathematics more effectively?

(4) What is the contribution of Mathematics to your professional working life?

Is it really difficult to get Mechanical Engineering jobs in America? As far as I know, STEM graduates (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) are among the most sought after. If you are looking for jobs, find someone who’s working in your field and get to know them. Having a contact already at the firm is always better than cold-calling through the job boards.

Actuaries are required to have an understanding of the mathematical structure underlying insurance and financial security systems, and thus must have a strong background in discrete mathematics, applied statistics and business. Are you ready?