Be Bold, Actuarial Science Students Told

One of the first graduates from the South African Actuaries Development Programme (SAADP), Riyadh Bhyat, has urged Actuarial Science students to be bold. Riyadh is working at Rand Merchant Bank in Johannesburg and serves as an inspiration to members of SAADP aspiring to qualify as actuaries one day.

This is an edited version of his video-taped speech to students at the year-end function of SAADP hosted by Billy Enderstein at the Faculty of Commerce:

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I was asked to give a talk tonight because I recently finished the exams required to be called an actuary. I can’t actually call myself an actuary because the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries require three years work experience after varsity. I tried to negotiate with the Faculty and my employer to simply pay me the same amount that I would make over three years and we could call it quits, but, strangely, neither of them were keen.

But regardless of what I’m allowed to call myself, I was asked to give a general talk tonight on SAADP, some thoughts on qualifying, and some advice for those in SAADP who are still to qualify.

So, On SAADP, firstly: Thanks for giving me money when I was at varsity. Secondly, thank you for not asking for it back once I left varsity. Those are somewhat blunt statements but actuaries aren’t known for their situational awareness, and also I think it captures the most important purpose of SAADP – to provide the economic opportunity for otherwise able students who lack sufficient financial means to finish a degree in this thing called Actuarial Science. Not to discount the other facets of SAADP – the access to employer networks, mentors, and an almost familial bond between members; but to me the economic opportunity is the purpose of SAADP.

There’s a Japanese proverb “Getting money is like digging with a needle. Spending it is like water soaking into sand.” Even while at varsity, on a tight budget, I would agree with the second part. But with SAADP, getting money was more like turning on a tap. The generosity of the programme is something all SAADP students (and their parents) should be thankful for, and all the Directors, Managers and Administrators of SAADP and the sponsors thereof - SASRIA - who make this possible, deserve a large thank you that I would like to extend.

If at any point you would like me to repay the money, I’d be happy to do so in kind at the going rate for an actuary. By my calculations I should have paid off half by the time I finish this speech.

Secondly, On qualifying. To the prospective students, it’s not as good as they say it is….. No. I’m joking. It’s great. The clouds don’t part with sunshine. Money doesn’t rain from the sky. Girls don’t find you instantly more attractive. It takes a few days for that. But, nonetheless, like any tough-to-accomplish achievement it feels satisfying after the fact. But I wanted to reflect for a minute on why SAADP students are striving to one day be called “an actuary”.

Professions, in general, developed historically as a means for the intellectually able members of the middle and lower classes (who weren’t gifted with land or capital in the lottery of birth) to find comfortable places in society. They offered services that were needed by others; they had sufficient ability and knowledge-based barriers to entry that ensured enough economic rewards to have happy lives. And they lived in this comfortable equilibrium with the rest of the world.

In today’s knowledge-based world though, professionals can achieve things previously not possible. Economic rewards, reputational success, intellectual achievement. The scale of the possibilities is limited only to your intelligence, energy, and integrity. And a career in actuarial science is no different. The same way SAADP gives you the opportunity to achieve levels of self-fulfillment open to very few. If those aren’t your reasons for “striving”, then at least it won’t hurt to know that all those things are possible with the opportunities being an actuary brings.

And this word “opportunity” that I keep on using brings me to the last thing that I’m going to talk about, which is advice to the prospective actuaries in SAADP. They say men give away nothing so freely as advice, but in particular actuaries give away advice more liberally than the average man, typically because they get paid to do so. I’m not getting paid for this, so you might want to take it with a pinch of salt. Nonetheless, my advice to the prospectives is two-fold only. Firstly, is a saying “You have to make your deposits before you can make your withdrawals.” Though you have the opportunity to achieve much, there is no substitute for personal, independent, self-motivation and work. It’s not fun, in general, studying stochastic processes and life contingencies…especially at a varsity like UCT….but “you have to make your deposits before you can make your withdrawals” – and that’s not just interpretable in the financial sense!

The second and final piece of advice is to be bold. Your opportunities aren’t bounded by what’s been done before or what the consensus is over what you should and shouldn’t do. Only the bold and the lucky get to the top. Only the smart, bold and lucky stay there. And that’s not just the top of the class, or the corporate ladder, or the biggest pile of money, but over any variable of personal satisfaction you want to focus on. Put a grain of boldness in everything you do. The next exam you write, the next idea you pursue…the next anything.

And that’s my two cents’ worth of advice.

Posted 25/10/2008 by Carolyn McGibbon