Meeting Planner & Event Manager

Kali A. "As an in-house meeting planner for a trade association, I am responsible for the three member meetings held annually in April, August, and December at various locations across the US. I manage all aspects of the meetings from pre-planning to on-site execution including: development of event budget, RFP creation and disbursement, site visit, venue selection, contract negotiation, marketing strategy and implementation, registration, shipping, food and beverage needs, audio/visual needs, auxiliary events, staffing coordination, and on-site logistics."

Education

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Required License(s) None required, but I have my CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) and it certainly helped me get the job I have now.

Required Degree(s) Usually requires a college degree

Importance of GPA somewhat important

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

You need to earn a certain amount of CEU (Continuing Education Credits) every 5 years to renew the CMP.

Kali's Highest Degree: Bachelor's degree
Kali's College Major: Business Administration - Marketing
Kali's College GPA Range: 3.6 - 3.9

Salary

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The most recent salary survey said the average was around $75,000.

It varies greatly depending on location, amount of experience, management level, etc.

Getting the Job

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How did you get your job?

I interned for the American Volleyball Coaches Association in college where I was assigned to the events. I fell in love with planning, so I decided that's what I wanted to do. The AVCA hired me full time after college. After 3 years there, I got my current job with AI. Employers are very focused on experience in this field. Skip the extra degree and do an internship where you get real event experience.

How important was networking to landing your position?

Somewhat important. Lexington is a smaller city so people are bound to have someone in common.

Life on the Job

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

If I'm in the office, it's working at my desk answering emails, planning out event details, or on the phone with hotels or vendors. If it's an event week, we are on-site running everything. It's long hours but so much fun. If it's a site visit, I'm in a city alone touring hotels, restaurants, etc. Those are the most exciting since the local representatives show you the best the location has to offer!

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

Very close

Does being a woman affect any aspect of your career?

In my current position and at my specific company, no.

What is the best thing about your job?

Traveling around the country and touring locations I would not be able to visit personally. Also, getting to execute experiences for other people and seeing their reactions—it's very rewarding to see it all come together.

What is the worst thing about your job?

A lot of planners complain about long hours. My current position is very fair about hours. Actual event days are long, but those are only 3 weeks a year. This job does tend to put you in high-stress environments and forces you to make quick decisions on your feet.

How demanding is your job?

My specific job is good with managing time. They know we work hard when we have to, so they are flexible at other times (not all companies are like that). If time is a big issue for you (maybe you have a family), I would suggest trying to find a small company that really cares about their employees and values what's important. Again, there is some stress with this job, mostly on-site. But if you have a good team around you and can be decisive in stressful moments, it's not bad.

Do you have any advancement opportunities?

It depends on the company, I would say. I'm a single planner here, but some companies have teams of planners. In that case, you could move up to manage a team. Otherwise, you may have to move companies to achieve a higher title or better pay.

Advice for You

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

Thinking on your feet Excellent customer service Being able to hide your emotions/stresses to look put together in front of attendees—it can be a mess behind the scenes but the attendees need to think everything is running smoothly. Aggressiveness in negotiating Attention to detail Organization Excellent communication skills

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

If you want to do something that is unique and challenging, this is a great field. The benefits and perks FAR outweigh the stresses.

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 Kali's site here. Want to read later? Pin me -->

Business Analyst

Tina P. "Business Analyst is a relatively new career path, and the scope of the job varies widely across different industries. As a Business Analyst in the technology sector, I help our tech team (developers and test analysts) build the right product. I'm essentially the 'middle man' between the tech team and the rest of the business. I often consult our product manager, sales team, and other business stakeholders to gather requirements, and then share them with the tech team. If any technical issues come up, I translate that to the business stakeholders in a way that they can easily understand."

Education

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Required License(s) None

Required Degree(s) None, but it would significantly help if you had a university degree (e.g., Bachelor of Arts) related to IT, business, or finance.

Importance of GPA somewhat important

Tina's Highest Degree: Bachelor's Degree (Bachelor of Arts)
Tina's College Major: Psychology and Criminology.
Tina's College GPA: We don't have GPA in New Zealand.

Salary

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NZD $50,000 - $100,000+ (about $36,000 - $73,000+).
Salary varies depending on your experience and which sector you're working in.

Getting the Job

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How did you get your job?

After graduating from university, I started my career as a Data Analyst. I didn't realize that a job like Business Analyst actually existed until I started full-time working and was researching for career development options. In my second job as a data/reporting analyst, I asked my manager for more work experience related to business analysis and was fortunate that he was supportive of this. I also started getting mentored by a Senior Business Analyst in our company. All that experience helped me land my first official role as a Business Analyst.

How important was networking to landing your position?

I didn't need any external network to land my first Business Analyst job. But I definitely couldn't have received the work experience I needed without my manager and mentor's support. If you're interested in working as a Business Analyst, I highly recommend that you approach your manager to ask for more work experience related to business analysis. Business Analyst skills are transferable, and you could gain experiences in so many different ways. If this isn't possible, then at least seek out an experienced Business Analyst, either within your company or outside, and ask them if they could mentor you. Many Business Analysts would be more than happy to help!

Life on the Job

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

The beauty of working as Business Analyst is that your work varies a lot so you'll hardly ever be bored! A typical day for me is to start the day with a 'stand-up' meeting where each person from the tech team quickly shares what they've achieved yesterday, what they plan to work on today, and any impediment that's blocking their work. After then, my tasks vary. I might: Follow up with my product manager to clarify some requirements, Hassle our web designer for design mock-ups we need for upcoming work, Brainstorm with the tech team for solutions, Help the UX team to test our latest designs with external users, Tidy up business documentations, Facilitate a workshop to kick-off a new project, and the list goes on!

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

It's relatively close. You'll find that most Business Analyst job descriptions ask for you to elicit, analyze, and document requirements. And this is exactly what you do. But, HOW you do that can differ greatly between industries and companies.

Does being a woman affect any aspect of your career?

Aside from the usual gender inequality that happens everywhere else, being a woman hasn't affected me much as a Business Analyst. There's usually a good mixture of women and men among the Business Analysts, and I've always found great support from all my Business Analyst peers. The only thing I'd note is that as a Business Analyst, I'm often in meetings full of men and no other women. This could be because of the industries I've been in (i.e., technology, banking, energy), and the fact that I'm often in meetings with the management team that's usually dominated by males. In situations like that, I'm assertive and try to contribute as much as I can. I often forget about the gender ratio when I'm just being myself and my coworkers react to my personality and not my gender.

What is the best thing about your job?

Being able to connect and establish relationships with lots of different people across the business. And not having to do the same type of work every day.

What is the worst thing about your job?

My workload as a Business Analyst is usually not consistent. It's dependent on how many projects I'm involved in, and which stage the projects are at. Some days I have a million different tasks to do and close to having a meltdown. Other days I'm going insane with boredom and begging my manager for more work.

How demanding is your job?

The job can be mentally draining when I'm receiving conflicting requirements from different people; I try to manage relationships to keep everyone happy but nail down the final decision without wasting too much time. Fortunately, these don't happen too often!

Do you have any advancement opportunities?

Yes, since being a Business Analyst gives you so many transferable skills, there are so many career opportunities from here. But that's a problem in itself; there are too many options and many Business Analysts are not sure what they should move onto. The most common progression I've seen in Business Analysts I know are to either: Stay as a Business Analyst, and lead and mentor other Business Analysts, Become a project/product/delivery manager, or Become a Scrum Master or Agile coach. Those are only some examples of what a Business Analyst could move onto. For me, I flipped between wanting to move into project manager or business consultant roles. But now, I'm looking into product manager roles. I'd like to get involved in more strategic work. Outside of work, I love to blog and am planning to start my own business in web content consultancy soon.

Advice for You

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

The most important thing you need as a successful Business Analyst is good communication skills. Once, I heard in a Business Analysts seminar that 80% of failed projects are due to misunderstood or missed requirements. Without good communication skills, it's impossible to nail down requirements effectively.

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

Try to gain any work experience in: Interviewing stakeholders (i.e., anyone who cares about or will use the final product/solution) and eliciting requirements from them; Documenting and managing the requirements; Using the documents to either build the product/solution yourself, or share it with someone else who will build it (preferable); and Facilitating meetings and workshops. All of the above tasks will provide you with work experience for your future Business Analyst job. It'll also serve as a taster to see whether you'd even want to get into a Business Analyst career.

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

Yes, definitely! I love my job as a Business Analyst, and I wouldn't change anything.

Follow Up

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

Transfer Evaluation Coordinator (Student Affairs Professional)

Kayla W. "As a student affairs professional, I help students be successful and to ultimately obtain a degree. My goal is to help students at my university to have a well-rounded college experience and to leave the university with a degree and the knowledge and experiences they need to be successful human beings. More specifically, as a Transfer Evaluation Coordinator, I work with students who have earned college coursework and credit to determine which course credit equivalents that they will receive credit for at my specific university."

Education

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Required License(s) None

Required Degree(s) Bachelor's degree (in any field) is required for my specific position, but other positions in Student Affairs may only require a high school diploma.

Importance of GPA somewhat important

Kayla's Highest Degree: Bachelor's degree (Bachelor of Science)
Kayla's College Major: Mass Communications with a focus on Public Relations, and a minor in Marketing.
Kayla's College GPA Range: 3.1-3.5

Salary

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$30,000-$50,000
can vary depending on location or institution

Getting the Job

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How did you get your job?

As a student, I worked as an orientation leader (orienting incoming freshman to campus and the world of college, etc.), as well as an ambassador for the Admissions department. I gained experience by volunteering as an undergraduate.

How important was networking to landing your position?

Networking is huge in the world of higher education. I didn't specifically know anyone in the department I now work in, but I went to the institution as an undergraduate student and I think that helped.

Life on the Job

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

Typically, I work Monday through Friday 8-5, but have to work about 3 Saturdays and 3 Sundays each year for special events (e.g., graduations, preview days, orientations). In my specific position, I sit at a desk most of the day doing evaluation of transcripts/data entry, answering emails. I see students from time-to-time. Working in this position is very behind the scenes in the world of higher ed.

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

I would say that my position matches up about 99% with the job description that was posted when I was hired.

Does being a woman affect any aspect of your career?

Honestly, there are more women in the field of Student Affairs than there are men. If anything, I believe it may help to be a woman in Student Affairs. However, diversity is a huge part of the higher education world and people of all ethnicities, races, genders, etc. are accepted!

What is the best thing about your job?

I get to help students to find, understand, and develop their dreams. Working in higher education is rewarding and something I am incredibly passionate about.

What is the worst thing about your job?

There are a ton of policies that sometimes upset the student and their families. These policies are not meant to hinder, but it sometimes feels like they do.

How demanding is your job?

The institution that I work at is growing very rapidly, which means that more and more students are attending, but we still have the same amount of people in our office. It can be a large workload that seems to never end, and it can also be very tedious work. However, thinking about how much it helps the student to become who they want and need to be makes it all worth it.

Do you have any advancement opportunities?

YES! I work in the Registrar's Office, but this position can be housed in Admissions at other institutions. I could move up from my position to my supervisor's position, which is the head of the Transfer area. Above the Transfer area manager is the Registrar. Also, working in Student Affairs, it is often that people may move from area to area on a campus, this includes stepping up into higher roles, such as Area Directors or VP or AVPs of divisions. I plan on staying in the field of Student Affairs for the rest of my life, and would love to become an Area Director at some point.

Advice for You

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

It is very important to have a passion for the student. Fun, bubbly personalities and being a people person is important. Anyone looking to work in higher education should be able to follow policies and procedures, be a hard-worker, optimistic, and have a great eye for detail and accuracy.

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

BE YOURSELF! As mentioned before, diversity is something that every institution is looking for. Don't try to fit into some kind of peg.

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

ABSOLUTELY! I'm actually going back to school to earn my Master's in the field.

Follow Up

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

Junior High History Teacher

Kathleen N. "I teach 8th graders in the State of Texas everything they need to know about US History, from our colonization to the time period known as Reconstruction, after the Civil War."

Education

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Required License(s) You must have a  teaching certificate in the area you wish to teacher (e.g., to teach History, you must take the History exam, to teach English, the English exam).

Required Degree(s) Bachelor's degree

Importance of GPA somewhat important

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

You must obtain a certain number of professional development hours in order to keep your teaching certificate active.

Kathleen's Highest Degree: Bachelor's degree
Kathleen's College Major: Bachelor's of Liberal Arts in History with a Teaching Certificate in a Single Field and a minor in English
Kathleen's College GPA: 3.6-3.9

Salary

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It completely depends on the state you live in. 

I started my teaching career in Florida and the salary was only about $32,000 a year. But in the state of Texas, the salary jumps to about $50,000 a year. It all depends on the state and school district you work for.

Getting the Job

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How did you get your job?

I knew a person working in the district I wanted to be in. She talked to the principal of her school and then after I applied, I was called and asked to come in for an interview. It does help to know someone in the district you want to work for, but you don't necessarily have to know someone. I know plenty of teachers who have gotten jobs simply based on their qualifications, resumes, and references.  That is how I obtained my very first teaching job in Florida.

How important was networking to landing your position?

Fairly important, but not essential. If you want to move up at all in eduction, that is when who know matters more.

Life on the Job

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

A typical day starts at about 6:00. I'm at school between 7:00 and 7:10 am. Students start coming into my classroom at around 7:30. I go through 2 periods teaching the same thing with a slightly modified lesson because the level of students is different in my first two classes of the day. Third period is my planning period. I usually use it to grade papers, make copies, lesson plan, or plan with the others on my team. Periods 4, 5, and 7 are the same as periods 1 and 2. Period 6 is a little different because I go down to the gym and help out with our athletics period since I am a coach at the school. (I coach 8th grade volleyball and 7th grade girls basketball. It keeps me pretty busy during the Fall and Winter but I love it.) I round out the day with 8th period advisory. Once the school day is officially over, it's on to more grading, calling parents, inputting grades, going to faculty meetings, helping out with the school's History club, or tutoring students who need the extra help. As teachers, we put in so much extra work that it's often I'm not home until 5:30 or 6:00 in the evening.

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

Pretty much exactly. (Although the extra hours can catch up to after a while.)

Does being a woman affect any aspect of your career?

I think at times it does. But I do work in a female-dominated field. Plus most students are used to having females as their teacher rather than males.

What is the best thing about your job?

Getting to talk about history all day long is great! I love history and I love passing on my love of history to my students. And even though there are days when they drive me absolutely insane, I do love my students. It's fun seeing them mature and grow from the beginning of the year to the end.

What is the worst thing about your job?

Dealing with difficult students and parents, and state standards. They are the worst!

How demanding is your job?

My job isn't too tough physically. (I usually make my students do the heavy lifting!) Mentally it can be exhausting. You cannot be a shy or timid person (especially with middle school students) because they will eat you up and spit you out.

Do you have any advancement opportunities?

Yes there are. You can become an Instructional Coach, which gets you out of the classroom but still working with your chosen subject area, a Vice- Principal, Principal, or you can move up and work for the districts Central Office. I'm not sure if I want to take those next steps or not. I may be interested in becoming an Instructional Coach at some point, but as of now I have no desire to be a Vice-Principal or Principal.

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 must be organized, able to multi-task, patient (SO PATIENT), caring, understanding, stern, open, firm,

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

Teaching is not a walk in the park, like some people seem to think. Yes we get holidays off and long summers, but we work very hard during the school year and get very little credit for that work. You have to really enjoy working with kids, adolescents, and teenagers to be able to survive the education, and you have to have a pretty thick skin. Kids today can be brutal. So don't go in thinking this is going to be easy. It will be hard but at the end of the day will be very rewarding!

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

I think so. There are times when I think about what else I could have done with my History degree. But I enjoy teaching history, I enjoy working with young people, and I enjoy the people I get to work with.

Follow Up

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

Business Transformation Consultant

Jasmin C. "I help companies with their business transformations with IT enabled change. Essentially that means that when a huge company needs to change their business, implement a new system, or bring in some new technology, I help them get the most out of the technology so the business is ready for it. My job involves working closely with business users and tech teams by being the one in middle!"

Education

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Required License(s) Bachelor's degree

Required Degree(s) No, but I have a diploma in business analysis (which is very useful) and am a member of the British Computer Society.

Importance of GPA somewhat important

Jasmin's Highest Degree: Jasmin went to school in New Zealand
Jasmin's College Major: Biology specializing in Genetics

Salary

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[Note from Nicole]: According to Glassdoor, the national average salary for a Business Transformation Consultant is $62,682.

Getting the Job

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How did you get your job?

A degree which focused on critical thinking, a passion for technology, experience working in teams, and people skills!

How important was networking to landing your position?

Not at all. I applied for a graduate scheme.

Life on the Job

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

As I'm a consultant, every day is hugely different. One day I can be working from home, designing a new business process, the next I can be wandering around a manufacturing warehouse, following an engineer around to see what they do, the next meeting senior execs to present findings. That is what I love about it—you will never get bored! It does involve working with a huge range of people, finding out about what they do, redesigning processes, developing change strategies, and helping implement them!

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

I would say there isn't a typical job description! Every role is so different, the main thing is being really adaptable and willing to learn. It is a huge learning curve on each project but it's just about getting stuck in.

Does being a woman affect any aspect of your career?

Being in tech, it is a hugely male-dominated industry. Being a women doesn't really affect me day to day, other than mainly being around a lot of male colleagues. I do wish more women thought about tech as an option though. There are so many jobs in tech which don't require a technical degree or sitting and coding—yes, I do quite a bit of tech work, but all that I've picked up since I joined.

What is the best thing about your job?

The variety—every day is different and interesting. There is a huge opportunity to gain experience in a huge amount of things and progress.

What is the worst thing about your job?

Travel and hours—as I'm a consultant, I'm expected to travel to clients at least for 3 days of the week which can lead to a lot of time on the road (another reason why there are less women in my industry). When work is busy, it can be very demanding on time but it usually balances out over time with the project.

How demanding is your job?

Hours can be tough sometimes but it does tend to balance out—you have some really busy times where you'll be working all evening, and then some quieter times. The travel can take a lot of time, but I balance it with working from home too. It can definitely be mentally tough as you are thrown into a totally new situation every 3-12 months, which takes a bit of getting used to!

Do you have any advancement opportunities?

Yes, you can work up the consulting grades to vice-president. I'm working on it!

Advice for You

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

People skills—the ability to communicate and form meaningful relationships—is definitely the most important. Following that is the ability to absorb and process a lot of information about a business and present it logically, with a tiny bit of tech knowledge in there too.

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

I think most people don't think of this career, but I really encourage you to even if you don't have a tech degree—we take people from any degree background! You will need a good degree result/ GPA though, and some experience is great (I did a year at a healthcare company, and that helped in building up my communication and people skills).

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

I think so! It can be tough in some aspects but it is really rewarding and interesting work.

Follow Up

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