What is a risk manager?
If something goes wrong within a company, it could have a detrimental effect on their employees, clients, and general reputation. As a risk manager, you’ll work to identify risks that a company may face, and design action plans to decrease the likelihood of these risks occurring. In case something does go wrong, you’ll also be in charge of reducing the impact of this risk. A poorly managed risk can affect the profitability, safety, security, or even existence of the company, so the role of a risk manager is incredibly important.
How are risk management and physics related?
Studying physics provides you with a number of transferable skills, which are appealing to employers. For example, research and problem solving are just two skills that are used in both risk management and physics. Furthermore, even as a risk manager, you could still find yourself working with science. For example, as a risk manager for a commodity trading firm, you’ll manage risks as it pertains to the sale of energy sources.
What are the typical responsibilities of a risk manager?
Given how quickly a risk can occur, your responsibilities will differ from day-to-day. However, typical responsibilities include: identifying financial or security risks that the organisation may face, designing action plans to reduce risk factors, managing the insurance policies of the company, minimising future risk by altering current methods of operation, and reporting risks in different ways for different audiences.
Where do risk managers typically work?
There are a number of sectors and specialties that typically employ risk managers. These include: environmental risk, technology risk, financial risk, information and security risk, and enterprise risk.
What qualifications are needed to become a risk manager?
There are a number of ways to enter the field. You could take a certificate programme, like the International Certificate in Enterprise Risk Management. These are shorter and cheaper than a degree, but still provide valuable skills and a boost to your CV. A degree in the STEM field can also provide a number of transferable skills. Afterwards, you could complete a risk management or business apprenticeship. These offer the chance to gain paid work experience, while working towards a fully funded postgraduate qualification. UCAS provides lots of information for anyone thinking of pursuing an apprenticeship.