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(business related) how long did it take you to get to the position you are in now? Also what is your job life like; how many hours do you work or what are your major task that you handle?

I'm very observant and love asking questions just to make sure i'm doing something right. I also like working with lots of people, since i'm very conversational and spirited. #general #business

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Subject: Career question for you

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Raquel’s Answer

Hi Raven! I am just barely starting out my career but I hope my journey shines some light on ways you can expand your network. During my second year of college, I started working as a teller at a big national bank for about 1.5 years. This was my first step into the financial services industry which helped me gain some professionalism and people skills. I've always hated making small talk with people and I was never good at holding a conversation. Thankfully, this job forced me to talk with customers on a daily basis which was an important skill when it came to talking with recruiters.

I was part of an organization called the Hispanic Business Student Association at Arizona State University and they were hosting a job fair. The bank I was currently working for was going to have some recruiters there and I figured this could be my way in to the corporate world. After a long 10-hour shift at my teller job, I was completely exhausted and the last thing I wanted to do was attend the fair and socialize. When I got home, I figured that I wouldn't progress in my career if I didn't put myself out there so I forced myself to go. Little did I know that going to this event would change my life. At the event, I saw 2 recruiters that, frankly, looked quite bored. One of them started to leave and right before he exited, I stopped him in his tracks and started talking a little a bit about myself. That conversation evolved throughout the night and he ended up bringing over his colleague who then suggested that she would give me a phone interview that following weekend. At this point, I had no idea what I was interviewing for but I knew that I wanted to do something outside of retail. I had the interview on Saturday and the recruiter mentioned that they had an internship opening in Minneapolis and that they would be flying me out there on Tuesday. It was all happening so fast and next thing I know, I'm in Minnesota that summer interning for the bank in Corporate Trust Services. I got to manage my own project and work with managers in different lines of business that summer. I loved what I did and I figured I would go back home to my teller job in AZ at the end of the summer.

Right before my internship was about to end, they offered me a full time job in Minneapolis. This was one of the hardest decisions I had to make as I had one semester left of college and all of my friends and family were back in Arizona. However, I knew that I would regret passing up this opportunity if I didn't take it so I accepted the offer. I finished up my last semester online and put myself out there in order to make friends. The decision to move away from everything I knew helped me learn things about myself and forced me to meet new people in the office and outside of work. This was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

After my internship, I worked as a cash analyst moving large amounts of money for asset-backed securities. I loved working with my coworkers and learning about the ins and outs of the industry. After working there for about another year, I started applying to the early-talent programs for post-college graduates within the bank. I applied to one called the Financial Analyst Program where the recruiter was the same one that I had met in Arizona! Going to that job fair 2 years back was still paying off.

I ended up getting the job and I started working there earlier this year where I now do credit underwriting. This involves analyzing financial statements from a myriad of organizations, in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. The 6 month training program that I'm in has been great with connecting the incoming analysts to experts across the field and top executives in the company. I work about 40 hours per week but will occasionally work more if I need to work late to get a report done. This is all currently virtual due to the pandemic but we are expected to go to in the office later this year. Originally, the 6 month training program consisted of all 43 analysts going to Charlotte, NC and then moving to our respective offices throughout the nation. I love everything I've been learning so far and the experience has been rewarding. I'm excited to see where this job will take me!
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Simeon’s Answer

For my current job, I was able to get into the company on my first go, luckily. My career is called risk assurance, but you can think of it as computer auditing to support a normal audit. During the non-busy season, I have forty hour work weeks, but we have minimum fifty hours weeks half the year during busy season. The hours are much higher during crunch time if the workload is particularly high. I do a lot of testing of IT systems. We look at the client's computer systems and document our findings in excel sheets.
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Carmen’s Answer

Hi Raven!
In my current role as Chief of Staff of Customer Experience, I got the job without looking for it, if that makes sense. I applied for another role and was recommended by the interviewer for my current role. I workin the Marketing organization collaborating with all of our business units in busines and consumer groups, develope and guide "Best Place to Work' initiatives, culture programs, learning and development, organizational effectiveness , and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. I have a variety of other adhoc responsibilities as well, presentation development, budget oversigth, as well as event planning to name a few. My previous roles as Sr. Manager Data & Analytics, business planning, supply chain, experiental marketing and merchandising all contributed to being able to obtain this role. But as you can see, vary in areas of business. I'm also a certified paralegal, so that aides in all of these aspects. My hours vary depending on projects, but my goal is always to ensure my team focuses on life balancing. So on average, 9 maybe 10 hours a day, but I also carve out time for personal learning and development. Working with people, managing personalities, being empathetic and understanding while maintaining milestones, deliverables, and goals are huge parts of my day.
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Joe’s Answer

Hello,
First a little about me. I have been in business corporate setting for 35 years. My background has been in finance/operations and project management while serving in numerous roles. I work very hard to keep up my skills and also to ensure that I meet all aspects of my job. It's not a nine to five for me and I suspect for most successful in business would be the same. Because I've been with the same company for 23 years, I have some advantages that I enjoy now that I didn't have when I started. Not to say you should be that long with the same company...but if you get into one with many opportunities you can always rotate and take different assignments while you build your career there.
So if you are interested in pursuing a life in corporate America...I suggest first you prepare yourself with the right schooling first
In today's corporate world, data and manipulation are as much valued skill as the traditional skills of communication, team building, and project management. If you like Data and Data Science, please ensure you take the needed schooling to get those skills ahead of time. There are many ways to get those technical skills depending on your situation. There is a great shortage of these skills in the market today. People that have them will get many offers including internships to major corporations that will get you a foot in the door right away. It's the easiest way I know how to get hired by a major corp out of school
Below are more links /info about Data Science for your reference

Data Science is one of the most highly paid jobs. According to Glassdoor, Data Scientists make an average of $116,100 per year. This makes Data Science a highly lucrative career option.Apr 20, 2019

11 DS Careers Shaping the Future...
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiMwtyuiKnvAhUHCM0KHQQ6CAIQFjAAegQICxAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.northeastern.edu%2Fgraduate%2Fblog%2Fdata-science-careers-shaping-our-future%2F&usg=AOvVaw3J4YBb2mr9jJV3y5BxpcrY

Starting your career in Data Science..what are your options
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiMwtyuiKnvAhUHCM0KHQQ6CAIQFjAKegQIGxAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dataquest.io%2Fblog%2Fcareer-guide-data-science-options%2F&usg=AOvVaw1La1eD8sFMkEt5_wxzHC-x

Data Scientist - How to become one
https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/guide/data-scientist-careers/

Hope this helps and good luck in whatever career you chose to go into.

Joe recommends the following next steps:

Chart your school path to get to the skills you need
List out what types of DS roles you would be interested in pursuing
See your school counselor to help you
Attend the needed schooling
Look for internship roles later after you've had the needed schooling
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Rebecca’s Answer

I am an accountant. The Company I work for is the Company I interned with when I was in college and I have been working for this Company for 11 and a half years. I am now a Senior Manager and responsibilities include performing audits and managing the people that work on the audit team. I work with our clients on a regular basis. While it important to have the skill and expertise in accounting, I have also learned that leadership and interacting with people, managing emotions and leading my example are important characteristics in my day to day responsibilities as well
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Justin’s Answer

Hi Raven, I work in healthcare and started out my career thinking I wanted to go to medical school, and was working clinically alongside physicians. I joined a start-up medical staffing and training organization and have had roles in operations and now am in HR under our talent acquisition side. I worked for the same organization for the past 13 years and through two separate company acquisitions. I will agree with many of the comments here that I definitely don't work 9-5, and recently returned to school to complete my MBA. My career is very rewarding for me and very much enjoy what I do in helping to strategize with company leaders to make impactful decisions daily for our business. This means a lot of time I am working in the evenings, and dedicate myself to improving professionally. Best of luck in your career research!

Justin
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