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Hello! My name is Anthony I'm a high school student looking for information on hospital financial management for my Foundations in Health Science project about careers. I would appreciate it if you could answer my 5 questions if you have the time.
Were you in a college program?
Did you have to pivot and go back to school at a later date?
Did you shadow another professional in the field?
Did you join any school clubs? related to your current profession?
Was there a particular subject you struggled with during your school years?
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2 answers
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Susan’s Answer
Hi Anthony~
1) I was not in a specific program in college just Business Management as I wasn't sure of a career path. 2) I was always attracted to finance related work and started a career in banking which I loved. When banking jobs were cut back and I was laid off, I did go back to school and got a masters degree in taxation (something I was exposed to in lending for the bank).
This degree open doors for me in the accounting field. I now work for a national CPA firm that I really love. I get to work with not for profit clients in the tax compliance area. I have opportunities to work with CFO, controllers and finance mangers which make my work enjoyable since I work with actual people and not just numbers.
3) It's important to build your "soft skills" and you can do that starting in high school by joping student council, drama, speech, debate and other clubs of interest. Also, try volunteering at a local organization or in this case hospital to get exposed to various people and environments. This also looks good on a resume.
4) Believe it or not, math was always a challenge to me. But because of my persistence, my math teacher encouraged me to join the math club. I thought you had to be really good at math to do that but it really want necessary because we worked and competed as a team and there were others much smarter than me. I would never have guessed I would have built a career at a CPA firm. I still use my finger to count sometimes!
So just because a subject might not come easy to you, dont write it off. Persist and you may find a career path.
Good luck!
1) I was not in a specific program in college just Business Management as I wasn't sure of a career path. 2) I was always attracted to finance related work and started a career in banking which I loved. When banking jobs were cut back and I was laid off, I did go back to school and got a masters degree in taxation (something I was exposed to in lending for the bank).
This degree open doors for me in the accounting field. I now work for a national CPA firm that I really love. I get to work with not for profit clients in the tax compliance area. I have opportunities to work with CFO, controllers and finance mangers which make my work enjoyable since I work with actual people and not just numbers.
3) It's important to build your "soft skills" and you can do that starting in high school by joping student council, drama, speech, debate and other clubs of interest. Also, try volunteering at a local organization or in this case hospital to get exposed to various people and environments. This also looks good on a resume.
4) Believe it or not, math was always a challenge to me. But because of my persistence, my math teacher encouraged me to join the math club. I thought you had to be really good at math to do that but it really want necessary because we worked and competed as a team and there were others much smarter than me. I would never have guessed I would have built a career at a CPA firm. I still use my finger to count sometimes!
So just because a subject might not come easy to you, dont write it off. Persist and you may find a career path.
Good luck!
Updated
Nick’s Answer
These are really good questions! Before I begin answering, let me explain that I am an Audit Analytics Specialist. I work with financial data every day on a large scale. I don't have experience in any healthcare position; however, I believe my experience with financial analysis could add value! Now, let me answer these questions in order:
1. Yes, I studied Accounting in my undergraduate and master programs at BYU and UVa respectively.
2. No, I did not need to pivot back to school. I completed 4 internships in college during the summers to figure out exactly what I wanted to do. I believe the only way to know you want to do something is to go out and do it! So, by the time I finished college, I was certain that I wanted to be in accounting and finance roles, so I did not need to go back to school and study something new.
3. Kind of, I explained in the previous question that I had a significant number of internships, but these were not shadowing experiences. I actually work with people who never did internships in college, but I believe that my internship experience did help me get to where I am today. I believe that it helped my recruiters know that I was passionate about accounting and finance, and also helped me feel certain that my passions weren't misguided!
4. Yes, I joined many! I was a part of primarily Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) and the Institute for Management Accountants (IMA), and there were a few other financial services based clubs I was in too. These were really helpful as they helped me network with people in jobs that I was interested in.
5. Yes, accounting, and I ended up majoring in it! Accounting was one of my worst grades at the start of my college career, but I was really passionate about it and continued studying it. Eventually, I was able to keep up and do well in my courses. Be sure to pursue something you love, because if you really love it, you will get good at it.
1. Yes, I studied Accounting in my undergraduate and master programs at BYU and UVa respectively.
2. No, I did not need to pivot back to school. I completed 4 internships in college during the summers to figure out exactly what I wanted to do. I believe the only way to know you want to do something is to go out and do it! So, by the time I finished college, I was certain that I wanted to be in accounting and finance roles, so I did not need to go back to school and study something new.
3. Kind of, I explained in the previous question that I had a significant number of internships, but these were not shadowing experiences. I actually work with people who never did internships in college, but I believe that my internship experience did help me get to where I am today. I believe that it helped my recruiters know that I was passionate about accounting and finance, and also helped me feel certain that my passions weren't misguided!
4. Yes, I joined many! I was a part of primarily Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) and the Institute for Management Accountants (IMA), and there were a few other financial services based clubs I was in too. These were really helpful as they helped me network with people in jobs that I was interested in.
5. Yes, accounting, and I ended up majoring in it! Accounting was one of my worst grades at the start of my college career, but I was really passionate about it and continued studying it. Eventually, I was able to keep up and do well in my courses. Be sure to pursue something you love, because if you really love it, you will get good at it.