Long gone are the days where people think you are speaking alien language when you tell them the term 'Actuarial Science'.  In those days, people don't have a clue that this career existed, what more to consider it for tertiary studies. Today, more people aware of this career due to wider publicity about the prospects of an actuary. For instance, if you tell people you're studying actuarial science or working as an actuary executive, you get that 'oh-my-god-you're-good' reaction. From 20-30 plus actuary previously, today the number in Malaysia has already over 3 digits.

Nonetheless, the reality is that many people may know Actuarial Science today but majority are getting the misconception. Either they are completely misinformed, or they are too deviated towards one side of the story instead of the whole picture. If you ask students why they study Actuarial Science, you will get vague answers like have interest in Mathematics, score A's for SPM Mathematics and therefore they have what it takes to excel in Actuarial Science. Realistically speaking, there is a sizable gap in education standards between schools and universities, making it unsurprisingly that there are a number of bright students who fail in the subjects of Mathematics, struggling through the degree with average results or some eventually dropping out from the course totally. Besides that, many are jumping blindly into this course for the very wrong reason that it is a money-making career. While it may be true that an actuary can be very successful financially, many people are oblivious to the decades of arduous hardship actuaries go through to be where they are today, and hence not mentally prepared for the culture shock.

This is definitely no exception for me in my own actuarial educational journey. With Mathematics as my all-time favourite subject during school days and I didn't like Science subjects although I was good in them, it seemed natural for me to enroll into the actuarial cours. To say that it was a breeze through my degree is definitely a lie as there were numerous challenges I wanted to share with the current students. Obvious examples like the change of teaching medium to English, discovered of how high school Mathematics standards misled me to believe that I was good in it, time management issues, losing touch with reality that I was doubting whether I was still enjoying Mathematics or I was just studying for examinations and the long list goes on and on. After graduated, I further my studies on Masters in Statistics and today here I am a lecturer, hoping to change the mindset of students while continuing my own actuarial journey.

Being in the education line and having had the privilege to work for one of the top life insurance companies before, it dawned on me about how the academic lifestyle of current young students is affecting their chances of employment after graduation. In my opinion, it could be summarized into a simple chronological scenario: back then, to fresh graduates it was a question of 'Am I good enough for the job?', now to them it is a question of 'Is the job good enough for me?'. The current educational trend  of pampering students and also meddling of education standards are definitely the major cause. Other chronic issues such as poor command of English, poor communication skills, individualistic mindset, dependence on people around them to make decisions, etc. Those days, university students were very hard working and always prepared to take on challenges whenever they are thrown with obstacles and problems. Today, there is loss of humility in them as they are too accustomed to being spoon-fed and are demanding and complaining. Looking at how the financial services industry has become more and more demanding due to the recent global economic downturn, employees are required to be much more independent as well as sharper in decision-makings. Hence it is definitely a worrisome subject on how these 'supposed future leaders of society' can fit into the market place .

As the saying goes, 'Attitude determines your Altitude'. Sometimes, attitude could be your best asset that covers up your academic weaknesses.