Graduate / I LOVE SOLVING THE PROBLEMS VIA QUANTIFYING IN FORM OF MATH BUT NOT SOLVING MATH [2]

LOI_Actuarial help to advice on ideas as well as grammar.

Master's degree in Actuarial Studies application

Dear Heather Anderson, George Athanasopoulos, Brett Inder, Athanasios Pantelous, Dan Zhu, Julie Cook and Graduate Selection Committee:

I am writing to express the aspiration to pursue a Master's degree in Actuarial Studies in 2020 at Monash University. I attained a bachelor degree in Banking with GPA at 3.01/4.00 and nearly 2 years of working experience as a data analyst. The inquisitive mind about how high level of mathematics could be applied to solve real financial problems makes me believe an Actuary is a right career for me. Because of the highly professional job, Master studying will profoundly benefit me with knowledge and skills. I would like to pass on my experience as a part-time lecturer in the future after gaining enough working experience.

A decision to go after Actuarial profession is rooted from a judicious top-down analysis. Initially, I pursued a Banking bachelor degree due to my favorability in finance. Then, the interest while understanding a bunch of historical data set to benefit future led me to become a data analyst. Consequently, I kept questioning myself about my best-fit career, which should be a sound combination between problem-solving via practical application of advanced math knowledge, fast-paced finance environment, risk minimization philosophy and programming skill until the appearance of Actuarial Science.

I decided to enter Actuarial Science because it not only satisfies my field of interest but its nature also well aligns with my philosophy. Utilizing Statistics to minimize future risk in Actuarial Science is similar to my habit of tracking back and quantifying any affair to better my future decisions. Furthermore, Actuary is a great merger that I have been looking for. Besides, Actuary strongly motivates to learn and research endlessly with multiple levels of exam and challenges. Finally, the rising risk of the unrest and volatile world also secures my employment opportunity as an Actuary because "Risk is Opportunity".

I expect to have the answers for two questions during my master studying as below
1.How possible I might lessen the predicted time array of future consequences? Because it is usual to forecast next incidents but a range of forecasted time is quite large resulting in the waste of budget and slow reaction.

2.How I possibly quantify the incidents and weight past and current affairs into the same benchmark to better our prediction because I see less persuasive when predicting a future by the past with the difference in the macro and micro situations of each time.

I believe my experience suffice the requirement of school admission. Though my bachelor degree and working experience are not directly relevant to an actuarial science, they surely gain me some pluses to pursue Actuary. A bachelor degree equipped me a practical mindset and a bird view of total finance industry because Banks are relatively financial industry-in-miniature. Besides, data analysis job sparks the great insights into the person I want to become and equips me with versatility, critical and analytical thinking, independent project management and messages delivery skills. Some listed achievements would demonstrate for my researching interest, practical skills and ability to guarantee the success of master studying:

2018_Insight Analyst_ Quantitative research department

- A new job offer from a quantitative research team, AC Nielsen but I decided not to join because it does not lead me to an actuary career path.

- An award for insight research with a deep analysis, which I gathered 5-consecutive-year data to detect risks of penetration into existing market segments and the opportunities of new products.

- A recognition from the regional head for a successful research of new product under pilot stage, whose purpose is using AI to achieve around 85% cost reduction, $16k to $3k, and 90% conducting time-saving, 21 days to 2 days. The success results from a great cooperation between UK technical team, India operational team and me, Viet Nam insight team.

2017_Pricing Analyst_ R&D department

- A team recognition for a successful research of the strategy for approximately 3% production cost reduction for 400,000 garments.

2016_Student

- Leading a team of 5 members to succeed in an academic research titled 'the effect of AEC to an emerging market as Viet Nam', which was among 10 best university's researches in 2016. Three factors we measured at that time were labor shift, credit accessibility and balance of trade shift. We approached by qualitative instead of quantitative method due to an unavailability of historical data.

In terms of my characteristics, I am confident to say I am workaholic, self-motivated, self-improving, disciplined, rapidly adaptive, and sharing, whose proofs are in letters of recommendation from my university lecturer and my director in Kantar.

I only have one chance to make the first impression so here I address two shortcomings in my application not as excuses but showing the ambition to pursue this career by making every effort to fulfill skill and knowledge during 2019. Firstly, I would spend whole 2019 to review and self-study some mathematics subjects with low grades in my academic transcript, a root of which was my neglect and less focus because I did not understand the purposes and functions of those subjects while being a freshman and sophomore. My second shortcoming, being equipped during 2019, is programming skill.

In conclusion, I believe I am one of the fit candidates for the 2020 program as four following reasons, the maturity in career decision, relevant and acceptable academic record, a proper preparation of skills as well as experience and a researching interest. I believe that a merge between my characteristics and experience would make classes more exciting, competitive and motivated. Unless I successfully pass the admission this time, please point out the shortcomings for me to improve in the next enrollment.

Warm regards,

Nguyen Duy Nghi