Landing an actuarial internship is an exciting milestone, but the real value lies in how you leverage that experience to accelerate your Society of Actuaries (SOA) exam progression. With exams getting more challenging and the competition stiffer, choosing the right projects during your internship can make all the difference in building your skills and confidence. To help you maximize your internship value in 2026, here are five types of projects that not only enrich your resume but also give you practical insights and exam-relevant experience.

First up, pricing and product development projects. These are the bread and butter of actuarial work and closely linked to exam topics like probability, financial mathematics, and actuarial models. By working on pricing, you’ll get hands-on experience applying mortality tables, interest rate assumptions, and risk loads to design insurance products or annuities. For example, you might assist in creating premium rate models for life insurance or help analyze the profitability of a new health insurance plan. This kind of project forces you to connect theory to practice, sharpening your understanding of key exam concepts while also familiarizing yourself with real-world actuarial software tools. Plus, seeing how assumptions impact pricing decisions gives you a deeper grasp of model validation—a skill highly prized in actuarial roles.

Next, consider valuation and reserving assignments. These projects involve estimating the liabilities an insurer must hold to cover future claims, which ties directly to exam content on actuarial present value and stochastic modeling. Interns often get to assist with data gathering, run reserving methods like chain-ladder or Bornhuetter-Ferguson, and prepare documentation for auditors. Working on reserving hones your technical skills in Excel and specialized actuarial software and enhances your analytical thinking. For instance, you might analyze claim development patterns or test the sensitivity of reserves to different assumptions. This experience is invaluable because it mirrors the day-to-day tasks of many entry-level actuaries and reinforces the mathematical rigor tested on exams.

Third, dive into experience studies and data analysis projects. These involve analyzing historical data on mortality, morbidity, or lapse rates to update assumptions used in pricing and reserving. Conducting experience studies sharpens your statistical skills and deepens your understanding of credibility theory and data credibility—important topics on SOA exams. A practical example would be helping to clean data sets, segment experience by demographics, and calculate updated assumption tables. By linking your analysis to business decisions, you’ll learn how actuaries balance statistical accuracy with practical considerations. This kind of work also builds your programming skills, often in R, Python, or VBA, which are increasingly important in the profession.

Fourth, look for opportunities in financial reporting and risk management projects. These assignments might involve preparing actuarial reports for regulatory filings, supporting enterprise risk management initiatives, or analyzing capital requirements. They expose you to the broader financial context actuaries operate in and connect with exam topics like risk theory, financial economics, and stochastic processes. For example, you might help quantify the impact of interest rate changes on the company’s capital or assist in stress testing scenarios. This experience is particularly beneficial for interns aiming for roles in property and casualty insurance or reinsurance, where risk management is front and center. It also enhances your communication skills, as you’ll often translate complex quantitative results into clear, actionable insights for non-actuarial stakeholders.

Finally, don’t overlook projects involving predictive analytics and automation. As the actuarial profession embraces data science, internships offering exposure to machine learning models, predictive modeling, or process automation are a goldmine. These projects might include building models to predict claim frequency, automating repetitive tasks using scripting, or analyzing large datasets to identify trends. Not only do these experiences expand your technical toolkit beyond traditional actuarial methods, but they also align with evolving SOA exam content that increasingly emphasizes data analytics and programming. For instance, you could help develop a predictive model to forecast customer behavior, applying regression techniques or decision trees. This modern skill set makes you more marketable and ready for the future of actuarial work.

Throughout your internship, it’s crucial to be proactive in seeking projects that align with your exam goals and career interests. Don’t hesitate to ask your manager or mentor about opportunities to work on pricing models if you’re preparing for Exam P, or reserving tasks if you’re focusing on Exam C. Keep a learning journal where you note how each project relates to exam topics, challenges you faced, and skills gained. This habit helps consolidate your knowledge and provides concrete examples to discuss in future interviews.

Additionally, networking with experienced actuaries during your internship can provide invaluable guidance on exam strategies and career paths. Many companies also offer technical training sessions or study groups for interns—take full advantage of these resources. Balancing project work with exam preparation is tough, but integrating the two through relevant projects can make studying feel more purposeful and less abstract.

Remember, the ultimate goal of an actuarial internship is not just to complete assigned tasks but to deepen your understanding of actuarial science in action and boost your exam progression. Companies like New York Life, CNO Financial, and Highmark offer internships with a range of project types from traditional pricing and reserving to innovative data analytics, reflecting the diverse skills needed in the profession today. Embrace variety but focus on projects that push your technical abilities and build your confidence in applying exam principles.

By targeting these five project types—pricing/product development, valuation/reserving, experience studies/data analysis, financial reporting/risk management, and predictive analytics/automation—you’ll gain a well-rounded experience that accelerates your SOA exam journey in 2026. The skills and insights you acquire will not only help you pass exams more effectively but also set a strong foundation for a successful actuarial career. Approach your internship like a learning laboratory, and you’ll come out ahead both in exams and in your future role.