Bryan Hoang, Assistant Actuary, has planted his roots at Pacific Life.

His career journey with Pacific Life began in the summer of 2018 when he joined as an intern in the Summer Actuarial Intern Program (SAIP), although his path to securing that internship was unique and serendipitous.

“At the time, I was actually studying abroad in Spain for my fall semester,” Bryan said. “But it was recruiting season for summer internships, and so I continued to apply to as many as I could.”

A LinkedIn application sent by a friend eventually led Bryan to Pacific Life, and despite the challenges of interviewing via international phone call, Bryan secured a position at Pacific Life to begin his internship the following summer.

That marked the beginning of his career journey at Pacific Life.

Bryan started his internship in the Product Design team within what was then known as the Retirement Solutions Division (RSD). His dedication and hard work during that internship paved the way for his first full-time role in RSD Risk Management, where he focused on Asset Liability Management (ALM).

Later, he rotated to RSD Valuation before finally moving into his current role on the CMD Product team.

However, Bryan’s career journey wasn’t always so obvious for him.

“When I was applying for colleges, I initially thought I wanted to be a mechanical engineer or a doctor,” he said.

However, after loving his AP statistics class in high school, Bryan decided to major in statistics at UC Santa Barbara. Later, he found his true calling in actuarial science and formally changed his major in his second year.

Throughout his time in school, Bryan actively participated in UCSB’s actuarial association and other professional organizations. He even solidified his career choice by studying for, and passing, his first actuarial exam in his second year of school.

Mentorship also played a critical role in Bryan's career development at Pacific Life.

His first intern manager, as well as the executive leadership on his team, provided invaluable guidance and support.

“The leadership on my team created a very warm atmosphere and made sure I felt welcomed as an entry level analyst,” Bryan noted. “That made me feel like a part of the PL family.”

Bryan continues to seek career advice from many different avenues, for example through his current mentor Kevin, Associate Actuary, and through an outside actuarial mentorship program called Abacus Actuaries. Both have been instrumental in his career growth.

“Kevin and I are actually on the same team now.” Bryan noted. “That was just by coincidence. But it’s been nice to have him on my team because Kevin is so great at giving me general career advice.”

And so, what advice would Bryan give to interns today?

He says the best advice he can give is to be proactive in both your contributions to the company and in building relationships.

Bryan also encourages interns to ask a lot of questions, learn as much as possible, and make the most of their internship experience.