Middle School Counselor

Kylie L. "A middle school counselor is someone who has completely lost their mind and chosen to spend their days in the company of 1000 teenagers. (Just kidding.) But in all honesty, I do a little of everything. My previous co-counselor and I used to joke that people thought all we did was make macaroni necklaces with sad kids,but it's so much more."

Education

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Required License(s) For my position, I need an Educators Certificate in Guidance and Counseling K-12. I am also a Registered Mental Health Intern, working my way towards taking the state board exam.

Required Degree(s) Master's degree (generally in school counseling), but some states allow other counseling related majors if your internship fits the right requirements.

Importance of GPA not very important

What do you need to do to maintain your license(s)?

The school district requires professional development often. Once I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, I will have to participate in continuing education as well to maintain my license.

Kylie's Highest Degree: Bachelor's degree (Bachelor of Arts) and Master's degree
Kylie's College Major: Bachelor's in Psychology and Criminal Justice; Master's in Mental Health Counseling
Kylie's College GPA Range: 3.6 for Bachelor's; 4.0 for Master's

Salary

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Counselor salaries vary in every state.
(But I will tell you that we do not get paid enough.)

Getting the Job

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How did you get your job?

I have a mental health background, as well as experience providing therapy and other services in schools.

How important was networking to landing your position?

Not at all. I randomly applied from out of state.

Life on the Job

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What is a typical day (or week) for you like?

There are no typical days in a middle school counselor's life.

How closely does your typical day (or week) match up to the general "job description" for your position?

... And even if I did have a typical day or week, it wouldn't match up to any job description.

Does being a woman affect any aspect of your career?

Actually, no. I'm pretty fortunate in that my administration supports me above and beyond.

What is the best thing about your job?

Getting to hang out with kids all day. It's never dull. Every single day something happens that makes me laugh. I work with some amazing people. My kids need me.

What is the worst thing about your job?

Sometimes it's heavy (if that makes sense). I see and hear a lot.

How demanding is your job?

Very. I work over my contracted hours often. I definitely earn my summer vacation for all of the hours I put in and don't get paid for. Physical toughness isn't necessarily required, but mentally, you better be a ninja.

Do you have any advancement opportunities?

Once I become a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, there will be a lot of opportunities to grow. Not so much as a middle school counselor, but I truly love my position regardless.

Advice for You

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What are the skills, characteristics, or talents that are most important to be effective in your position?

Being able to connect with kids, truly hearing them, taking the time to build relationships, compassion, and patience.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about pursuing a career like yours?

It is one of the most worthwhile careers there is.

If you could do it over again, would you still pursue the same career?

I do love being a counselor, but my bank account would want me to pursue another career.

Follow Up

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Want to learn more? Check out Kylie's site here. Want to read later? Pin me -->

Licensed Acupuncturist

Norah M. "In the state of California, a Licensed Acupuncturist actually does more than just acupuncture. I am a practitioner of Chinese medicine, which means I use acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutrition, tai chi and other types of meditation, and bodywork to help people heal from a variety of health challenges and conditions."

Education

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Required License(s) I am licensed by both California and the national organization (NCCAOM).

Required Degree(s) Master's degree

Importance of GPA somewhat important

What do you need to do to maintain your license(s)?

A certain number of hours are required in continuing education, and you have to pay a fee every two years for renewal.

Norah's Highest Degree: Master's degree
Norah's College Major: Master of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine
Norah's College GPA: 3.6-3.9

Salary

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$30,000-$150,000
(Depends on the setting and your business)

Getting the Job

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How did you get your job?

I am in private practice, i.e., self-employed. Before having this office, I trained with more experienced practitioners for about 9 years in a clinic where I worked with others.

How important was networking to landing your position?

Hugely important

Life on the Job

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What is a typical day (or week) for you like?

It is a mix of working with patients, paperwork, correspondence, writing (blogs, articles) and networking.  There is quite of bit of business work in addition to seeing patients.

How closely does your typical day (or week) match up to the general "job description" for your position?

Fairly closely

Does being a woman affect any aspect of your career?

I'm not sure. Women are well represented statistically in the acupuncture field.

What is the best thing about your job?

Getting to help people with natural, safe methods and watching people discover resources they did not realize they had.

What is the worst thing about your job?

It can be difficult and demanding to be in business for yourself.

How demanding is your job?

Practicing East Asian medicine is a lifetime study. You have to combine this with the tenacity required to succeed as a small business. You have to be committed.

Do you have any advancement opportunities?

One can always pursue additional training. This is an ongoing process, and can open opportunities to teach or practice in a different settings and with different patient populations.

Advice for You

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What are the skills, characteristics, or talents that are most important to be effective in your position?

Sincerity, perseverance, and commitment.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about pursuing a career like yours?

Study how to be effective in business and marketing, as well as the medicine.

If you could do it over again, would you still pursue the same career?

Yes!

Follow Up

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Want to learn more? Check out Norah's site here. Want to read later? Pin me -->

Senior Corporate Accountant

Katelyn R. "It is my job to ensure my team books appropriate journal entries that will enable the accurate reporting of financial data on my company's financial statements. Specifically, I work with intercompany payables and receivables, equity, debt, and cash; basically everything that is held at a corporate level."

Education

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Required License(s) Having the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) designation is very important for the advancement of an accounting career.

Required Degree(s) It helps to get a Master's, but only so you get the required credits (150 hours) to sit for the CPA exam.

Importance of GPA very important

What do you need to do to maintain your license(s)?

They call it the CPA because it stands for Couldn't Pass Again. Kidding, kind of. Once you pass the exam, you have to maintain certain levels of CPE (Continuing Professional Education). Most CPE is provided by or sponsored by your firm/company.

Katelyn's Highest Degree: Bachelor's degree (Bachelor of Science) and Master's degree
Katelyn's College Major: Both in Accounting
Katelyn's College GPA: 3.6-3.9

Salary

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Starting out, salaries tend to range from $40,000 - $60,000, depending on your city and the career path you choose. Big firms generally pay less, but have higher earnings potential in the long run.  

Getting the Job

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How did you get your job?

I had two short summer internships at very small CPA firms and worked through college in the accounting department serving as a tutor and researcher. I was offered a job with a Big 4 accounting firm my junior year of college (not that unusual) and worked there for just over 2 years before my current opportunity was presented to me.

How important was networking to landing your position?

Networking honestly wasn't as important as everyone told me it would be in college. My friend got me in contact with the firm recruiter and I took it from there. Once I had started my job, professional recruiters reached out often with job opportunities on LinkedIn. Having an accurate and active LinkedIn profile has helped me more than anything.

Life on the Job

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What is a typical day (or week) for you like?

We operate in cycles in corporate accounting. The first week of the month, we put in around 55 hours to close the general ledger so that the consolidations team can put together financial statements in a timely fashion. The rest of the month is the predictable 8:30 - 5:00 working on special projects and creating process improvements.

How closely does your typical day (or week) match up to the general "job description" for your position?

I think my job description is very accurate for the typical industry accounting job.

Does being a woman affect any aspect of your career?

No. The only thing it affects is that I have to think about what to wear in the morning instead of doing the typical pants and button-up like a man. (I'm jealous of their lack of options of business casual wear.)

What is the best thing about your job?

The people I work with are wonderful and caring. A work-life balance is promoted at my company and that's what I was looking for after leaving Big 4.

What is the worst thing about your job?

It's very predictable. We tend to fall into patterns. It seems that once you get bored, there's always a new opportunity at the company to keep you on your toes.

How demanding is your job?

Big 4 accounting wore me out. The hours were long, the people weren't always nice, and there was always a deadline looming. Corporate accounting is much different—you can decide how tough you want to make it sometimes. I volunteer to take challenging projects that drain me mentally sometimes, however aside from the first week of the month, I work substantially less than I did before.

Do you have any advancement opportunities?

Yes, my company offers many growth opportunities. Typically, one doesn't stay in his or her position for longer than a year. My next move will be to transfer to a different department as a senior accountant to expand my company knowledge, and then working my way up (and across) the ladder from Manager, Senior Manager, Director, VP, etc.

Advice for You

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What are the skills, characteristics, or talents that are most important to be effective in your position?

You have to be organized. I would say that's the number one thing for me. The other things I feel have helped me progress are being driven, detail oriented, a problem solving mindset, and most importantly a positive attitude.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about pursuing a career like yours?

Start in Big 4 or something like it. It will be grueling at times, but the experience you'll gain is invaluable. Having a big name public accounting firm on your resume will get you to where you want to be with fewer road blocks.

If you could do it over again, would you still pursue the same career?

Yes. Although a Disney Princess is still always in the back of my mind...

Follow Up

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Team Manager Success Team, Chef Software

Note from Nicole: Marsha is a Team Manager for Chef Software. "Chef" is both the name of a company and the name of the software the company provides. Chef, the software, is an automation platform, meaning it focuses on the relationship between parts of a system to understand how changing one part of the system might affect the system as a whole.

However, the career advice Marsha provides below spans career industries, and is worth reading no matter what job you are seeking.

Marsha "I ensure post sales customer satisfaction, through pro serve consulting and technical services delivery, to maintain and/or increase product adoption."

Education

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Required License(s) For initial credibility, I had to get a few InfoSec certificates. It was useful for my job but not critical.

Required Degree(s) A Master's degree is good because it is often an interviewing gatekeeper.

Importance of GPA not very important

What do you need to do to maintain your license(s)?

To maintain my certificates, I need to do professional hours against criteria set by the certification authority (usually about 40 hours of continuing education a year, plus some fees).

Marsha's Highest Degree: Bachelor's degree (Bachelor of Arts) and MBA
Marsha's College Major: Bachelor's in English
Marsha's College GPA Range: 3.1-3.5

Salary

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For Technical Project Managers (where I was about eight years ago) the range was about $110,000 -$130,000. 

As a leadership team member, you generally make more. 

Getting the Job

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How did you get your job?

My initial job in consulting was landed in great part due to my security clearance I got during my time in the Army. In that first job, I spent nearly a decade learning all I could to be better technically, responding to proposals, and volunteering for many projects to be as well rounded and employable as possible. After I left that first job and moved to a new company, I began to set only 3-5 year goals before I would anticipate a transition to a new employer. Sometimes that transition took place sooner, sometimes later. Either way, knowing I would need to demonstrate substantive impact in a year or two kept me sharp, or the resume would look unimpressive for that job, right?

How important was networking to landing your position?

9 out of 10. I have always valued networking over all. And not as a catalyst to my success but also as a way to help others succeed too. Kind of a Career Karma bank.

Life on the Job

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What is a typical day (or week) for you like?

I am fortunate in that for my last three jobs I have worked from home/worked remote. My current company has about 70% of staff remotely working. So my weekdays are pretty routine. (Let the dog out, let the cats in, take kids to school, get more coffee, head to my home office and start work around 8am.) I am managing a team of 7 folks at this time, and I am ensuring they are happy, busy, engaged, enabled to do their job, and learning more each day so they can be more helpful to other team members and our clients. We use Slack for 75% of communication, and Zoom for our meetings. I feel very connected to both my internal team, but also the many other Chef team members because of our level of use of these mediums. I talk with many clients per week, interface with our sales staff to write proposals and contracts, and I propose ways to improve our business processes and get the word out about our great company and product.

How closely does your typical day (or week) match up to the general "job description" for your position?

The job description is filled with tasks and activities, like most jobs have. However, the nuances of listening and being a true consultant require me to be an advisor, focused on earning trust with my team, my managers, my clients, really everyone I interface with, and that is a day by day demonstration of positive, friendly interactions and behaviors that help me achieve my professional goals for my company. So I rely heavily on soft skills that do not easily translate to a job description per se.

Does being a woman affect any aspect of your career?

It has. I enjoy being a woman in a to-date male dominated profession, but it has taken many jobs to get to a place that wholly values what I bring to the table as much as the technical engineers bring. It is hard to find companies that understand that to create a world-class team, there need to be a balance of both soft and hard skills, and that everyone benefits when one-upsmanship is frowned upon while collaboration is lauded.

What is the best thing about your job?

The people I get to work with every day, and that I get to contemplate the future of cloud computing and automation (I'm a dreamer that way) and help my customers find their way to get there.

What is the worst thing about your job?

I don't know. Nothing really. I think I would still work here even if I won the lottery.

How demanding is your job?

I view the need for mental toughness to be a requirement to protect oneself when there are political issues rife within a company, or when the culture is broken, morale is low, turnover high, and you leave each day exhausted for the struggle. So in that way, I do not need a flack jacket at this job. I don't steel myself each day. I actually look forward to interacting with my team members. And we have unlimited PTO [paid time off], so if I need a mental health day, or the day off to take my kid to a doctors appointment or chaperone a field trip, I just do it. I've worked long and hard to get to this place. I absolutely do not take this for granted.

Do you have any advancement opportunities?

Yes, I can transfer laterally to work with products or be an Engineering Manager. I can move vertically when the company grows or someone departs. But since I have only been in my position for 6 months, I feel it is incumbent on me to serve as a strong leader in my current position until I have made it the best it can be and I have identified and trained a sufficient backfill so as not to leave the team in a lurch. I love to imagine being more to a company whose values so closely mirror my own and that push me to learn and grow.

Advice for You

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What are the skills, characteristics, or talents that are most important to be effective in your position?

Me personally, the ability to use my high EQ [emotional intelligence] to put myself in the shoes of my customers who may in fact be struggling with a challenging, politically charged difficult environment. I care when people hurt, and to gain insights to their issues and respond with kindness, warmth, and a potential solution is pivotal to my success (and in my opinion, for anyone doing my/my kind of job).

What advice would you give to someone thinking about pursuing a career like yours?

Nowadays, plan only 3-5 years ahead. You will be exposed to so much in that time that I am sure if you have any energy or drive or ambition, it will redefine what you think you want. That does not mean you are wishy-washy—it simply means you can go with the flow. That, in my opinion, will be more and more critical to your professional survival should you find you do not win the lottery this week and need to continue to work for the next 50 years.

If you could do it over again, would you still pursue the same career?

I would not say I pursued this career. But would I follow the same path? Yes. Were it not for my crappy, I'd-rather-do-anything-but-this-job jobs, I would not have worked so hard to find the perfect-for-me-right-now place, where I currently, happily find myself.

Follow Up

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Want to learn more? You can connect with Marsha using LinkedIn here. According to Marsha, "If you personalize your request to connect, I almost always will connect back. I love to meet motivated, like-minded professionals."