How important is your major?

When we were kids we often dreamed of becoming an astronaut or being a doctor. It seems as though we always knew where we wanted to eventually be, but hardly considered the road path to get there. There may be a few who did set out all the steps and processes necessary to reach their goal. But for the majority of us, we often choose while in college.  More than 50% of college students will change their major at least once. This just proves to show the uncertainty we had when picking our major. I know the feeling when it comes to picking your major and you have finished all of you general education. I put myself under a lot of pressure when choosing a major. I struggled with this decision because I felt as though whatever I chose I would do for the rest of my life. So I looked to job reviews and salaries. I went with something I enjoyed, which was math, and a good payoff, which is a high salary. I ultimately chose finance.

How often do individuals pursue a career in the same field as their major? It is funny to say that less than 20% of individuals actually end up in a career similar to their degree. But how can this be? We go to college for the same reason, attaining a good job related to our degree. We all have different goals and different reasons for going to college. Some want to enhance their minds, some want to challenge themselves, some have a goal of getting a degree, some want a better paying job, and some just want the experience. No matter what we all want a good enjoyable job. This can require 10 years of education plus five years of experience or it can require no education and no experience. We sometimes end up in places we never could have imagined, but we are happy with what we do.

So what are we to do? I would suggest going to school and getting a degree in either something you love or something you can do anything with. Liberal arts is always a good major to bank on. It has a wide variety of classes, and you can pursue many careers with it. After you decide what career you “want” to pursue and you have your major in order, the next thing is to get some experience. When looking at job postings having you bachelor degree is first and second is always having a certain amount of experience. Experience I would rank as being more important than education. It gives you that upper hand needed to get the job over other individuals. I would definitely try to get a paying job in a work related field, but if not an internship is always good. Internships are a great way to get a look inside the career you are pursuing. Even if it is not paid, the experience you will receive is worth it.

The next way I suggest to get into your desired career is by getting an entry level job in a business you would love to be apart of or in a business you know is always giving promotions. Now a business always giving promotions is always a good thing. You can work your way up if you work hard at it and prove you are right for the job. A business you would love to be a part of is a good thing too, because once you attain a degree you can try to move up and hopefully you will be first to consider when a spot opens up. These are actually both of my intended plans for my career path.

The career I want to pursue is still up in the air, but I do have short term plans. For the longest time I wanted to work in finance and eventually become a portfolio manager. But my instincts have kicked in and right now I have a new plan. I work for a great company, U.S. Bank. They really appreciate their employees and are always encouraging advancement from within. I have been waiting to graduate college for quite some time now. But I will finally be done this spring semester. So I currently am a teller at U.S. Bank. I have only been getting better and better at what I do. I have been studying the product knowledge and have been figuring out what it means to give great customer service. These are qualities necessary to be a good teller and as well as a good banker. My plan is to become a banker once I finish college. I would like to be a great banker for 2-3 years and then make my next move. I think currently my next move after being a branch banker would be a business to business banker. I am always open to new options and ideas, and I will go wherever I am taken. The good thing about my strategy for my future jobs is that I have it all planned out and know what steps to take. I also have been networking with my manager and district manager as well as with a few bankers. The great thing about some jobs is even if you do not have a degree you can work your way up from one position to the next, the main thing is to set a plan, your major is not always the most important thing.

http://www.careercast.com/jobs-rated/2012-ranking-200-jobs-best-worst

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/mar/06/graduate-employment-low-skill-jobs

http://michaelhyatt.com/life-plan

Hurricane Sandy’s effect on the economy

Hurricane Sandy was a tragic disaster that affected 4.8 million people. This is the second costliest hurricane in U.S. history. Though it may not have the biggest effect on our economy, it will still put a dent in our economic flow. 4.8 million people were unable to make purchases and were basically useless to economic profits. The NYSE and NASDAQ were closed for two days due to the storm. This caused a lot of losses for shareholders. But the primary people affected by Hurricane Sandy were the ones that lived in the area and owned small businesses. These people are looking to restore their homes and their incomes. They can look forward to Small Business Association Disaster Loans. The government gives the city and businesses the resources necessary to recover and make a transition back into business. Ultimately, disasters bring our economy backwards in terms of lending out money for restoration, while the businesses are unable to bring in revenue.  

http://www.learnvest.com/2012/10/how-will-hurricane-sandy-affect-the-economy-123/

Holiday Spending

Since we are in the season of giving, I thought to myself, what better to write about then holiday spending? Can the holidays substantially boost the economy? Our economy has been in a slump for quite some time. Given these circumstances, the uncertainty in our economy has caused people to be conservative when it comes to spending. However, the average consumer is still predicted to spend more than what they spent last year. Nielsen’s consumer confidence index is the highest it has been since before the recession. When consumer’s confidence increases they also begin to increase their spending. They begin to feel more certainty within the economy and trust that the economy will stay the same for the most part. During Black Friday weekend there were revenue gains of $59.1 billion. This is definitely a large number in terms of retail sales. Regardless of the overall picture of this being a determinant factor in boosting our economy, this will fall short. Sooner or later I believe we will find a way out of this recession.

http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/2012/12/11/can-holiday-spending-lift-economic-doom-and-gloom/

http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/25/pf/black-friday-sales/index.html

Class Evaluation

Throughout college we take a wide variety of classes, some that are directed towards our major and some that are general education. No matter the class I think we can all recall someone in the class asking the question, “why is this important”. Many teachers respond by saying “you will use this in your future”, but honestly we won’t. I would say 75% of the material taught in school we will not use or we already know about it. So why are we forced to take meaningless classes? I am still looking for the answer to that question, but in the meantime there have been a few good classes I have taken while in college.

Since 75% of classes are pointless, what about the remaining 25%? Well this can be seen differently by people in different majors and career paths than myself. I have learned the most from two classes, Economics 101 and Decision Sciences 412. If you have forgotten, I am a finance major and I did not list a finance course. I think this is a good indication that there is a flaw in the school system. 

My economics class taught me great fundamental principles that can be used throughout life and for my career. I think it is important for everyone to know about supply and demand, especially if you are a business major. Other good concepts to learn are consumer surplus, perfect competition, monopolies and price discrimination. These are all key topics that can help you throughout your career. My decision sciences class taught me more in depth and hands on concepts. Supply chain management and forecasting are techniques used to manage and stock your business properly. These really interested me and I feel like I could pursue a career in them.

So what makes a class so appealing to students? One reason for sure is whether you have a good teacher. A good teacher is someone that knowledgeable about the subject, and can answer almost any question in regards to the subject. They are someone who can keep the class entertained and be understanding. This really isn’t asking for much, but many teachers lack these abilities. When they do lack these abilities the class can be torturous. Ultimately we lose interest and do not want to continue learning. A good teacher will stimulate a student to learn. I have taken 2 classes that have been just awful. I am currently taking a investments class, and yes I am very interested in investments and I want to learn, but my teacher just does not know how to teach. He is knowledgeable about investments, but a student has asked him a basic question about a math problem and he simply stated, “I cannot answer that right now”. I have never seen a teacher do that before. He is hard to understand as well. He talks low and unclear. Another bad class I took was international business. This was an online class, and all the teacher did was read slides. He was very monotone and restated the same ideas over and over. I think slides help a class, but they should not be the class. There needs to be teaching involved, or else I could basically teach myself.

It is sad to think that so much of our time being spent at school is wasted. We pay to be educated so we should demand good curricula. We need good teachers who are enthusiastic and classes that will teach us what we need to know to succeed in our fields.

Advice Column

This post is intended to give advice to individuals pursuing the same career path as I am. I wanted to give you my outlook on what I think is necessary to get a job in this economy. A general requirement for pursuing a career is to figure out what degree you need to acquire to be able to attain that job someday. Once you have figured this out, you map out all your classes and eventually get your degree and jump into your career, right?? To be honest that is what I used to think for quite some time. Just last month a thought came to mind, “why is a job going to want to pick me over everyone else that applies”? I am not the smartest person out of everyone else in my field, according to grades, I do not have much experience when it comes to finance, other than taking a few classes, and I do not have too much networking going on. Think about it, a degree in any major should indicate that you are very inclined with all material in your field. But how well does school really prepare us for our future careers? It is my belief that many jobs require you to learn the way they do things, and once you learn you are fit to do the job.

In this tough economy it is difficult to get a job. Many people do not like to believe in the saying, “it is all about who you know” but let’s face reality this is very true. Let’s say you do not know anyone in your field how would one get a job? First step is to take advantage, preferably while you are still at school, of all the internships available. This will be the creation of your network. An internship gives you experience needed to pursue a career right out of graduation. So many jobs we are interested in require 2 years of experience in a related field. So by interning you might be offered a job there, cross your fingers, or you can always just use 
it as a reference for experience.

I wanted to share with you the job requirements to become a financial analyst.  I found a general description of the requirements from Google. To become a junior financial analyst you need a bachelor’s degree in a business field, such as finance, accounting or economics. This webpage also stated that to become a junior financial analyst 2 years or less of experience is required. To become a senior financial analyst you need 3 to 5 years of financial planning and analysis.  Many analysts want to move up so they get their MBA, this allows them to become a senior analyst. Once you have become a financial analyst you want to strengthen your abilities. Many analysts take a series of tests, if you are lucky your employer will pay for them, including the Series 7 General Securities Representative Qualification, Series 63 Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, Series 65 & 66 Uniform Investment Adviser Law and State Law Examinations and the CFA exam. Now the purpose of these tests is for employers and clients to recognize the variation of knowledge you have attained.

I hope my post helps those of you considering a job in my future field. The main idea is that you need to figure out what you want to do in life. Lay on the table the requirements necessary to reach your goal. Once you have done that just follow the steps, and always try to network and get as much experience possible.

Communication

A Private Banking Relationship Manager is someone who provides personalized service to wealthy clients that is not available to typical customers. The job of my interviewee requires a moderate amount of reading and writing. A Private Banking Relationship Manager is required to stay in touch with their clients. She has found that the best way to do this is by email. Email is one of the most popular forms of communication; it is quick and effective. Emailing is not as simple as most people may think. When a professional sends an email, there are guidelines that must be followed. One must understand who their audience is, whether they must stay professional, or if they have the ability to be informal.

Some reading that my interviewee does throughout the day is Market Watch , Biz Journal and CNN Money. These readings give her an idea about the economy, market and business. With these readings she is able to gain information and knowledge that allows her the ability to further educate her clients. When it comes to reading articles, you need to make sure that they are from credible sources. This is important when you are speaking with clients and are referencing what you read. It is so easy for anyone to post information online, so when you become a professional you have to make sure you read and research credible sources. The basic idea behind this post is that when you start your career, you need to be professional and use professional resources. You are representing your company and ultimately yourself.

Career Choices

There are so many different types of jobs in our world. How does one figure what he or she wants to do? This is one of the toughest questions adults face today. People always say do what you love to do or do something fun. I definitely struggled with making a career decision, it took a lot of self exploration. I switched my major twice, and I changed my career outlook at least 20 times. Honestly I still haven’t chosen a career, but I have narrowed my choices down.

My interviewee is Angela, she is a Private Banking Relationship Manager at US Bank. She has a wide variety of education and experience. She has been in the banking industry since 1980. She has education in business management, accounting and finance. She has experience as a teller, manager, business banker, loan officer, and priority banker. A Private Banking Relationship Manager is an expert in understanding and helping clients achieve their financial needs and goals. This can vary from credit and deposit products to sophisticated financial planning. As you can see you cannot just jump into this job. It takes years of familiarizing yourself with products and knowing how to respond to clients. My main focus while I work at US Bank, as a teller, is doing just that. I try to understand all the jargon throughout the day. I am also tested weekly on my customer service skills. My job right now is hopefully preparing me to be a suitable Private Banking Relationship Manager.

An ordinary day for a PBRM consists of constantly checking your email and phone. Angela said, “you always have to be available to your clients”. If you are not close to your phone, you may take too long to respond and potentially miss out on sales, this business is all about being reactive and proactive. While waiting for calls, she works on her Loan Pipeline or makes calls from her lead’s list. As you can see there is a lot of phone activity involved in this job. When she does get a scheduled meeting she can meet at their place of business or at one of her assigned banks. This job requires you to be very people oriented and socially adaptive.

Some of the challenges a PBRM face in this economy is getting loans approved due to low appraisal or income. This can hurt a PBRM’s income, because you can get a referral for a loan, but if it doesn’t get processed through the system than you will not get incentive. So obviously the economy has a major effect on a PBRM’s income. Angela stated, “Sometimes customers want better rates on their savings or CD and we are just not able to meet that”. This can have an effect on your clients that come to you for their business. The clients trust that you can give them the best rates and give them the biggest “bang for their buck”, sometimes they feel resentful that you are not doing your best.

In my opinion the toughest part of this job is first building you cliental and then keeping them all satisfied. But Angela said this takes time and practice, it soon becomes second nature. You have the chance to build real relationships with these customers, it takes a lot of time and hard work. Angela believes the biggest downfall to her job is being stuck in traffic when she has a scheduled meeting. I can imagine this can be frustrating for her and the client.

After the interview I felt good, I believed that I can really do this if given the opportunity. I know I can succeed in this field. I am building the knowledge of products and have great customer service skills. Angela recommended this job to anyone who has these basic qualifications. I think if I follow her steps and climb the job ladder that I too can become a PBRM in the near future.