Accountant

Hello! My name is Allison, but everyone calls me Alli. I'm 36 years old and I live in Sydney, Australia. It has been 12 years since I work as an accountant in an Australian company. I'm quite satisfied working there, since I get paid fairly well and it's something I like to do. I chose to be an accountant given that I am extremely strong in maths and always loved money.

Today was a calm day compared to other times, though who dislikes smooth, relax work days? Not me, ha ha! Anyways, this morning, I had a two hour team meeting about finance, budget and other accounting stuff. We talked how the company went this past year compared to other years and we concluded that everything went more than better and that our budget went higher. Also, during the meeting we talked about how it went individually, what could be improved, and so on... Then, to make my day even better, I did the a report on the company's budget and finance and gave it to my boss. After, near the end of the day, I showed the new one how it worked here, because I'm experienced. Like a course, we could say. Showed him how the paperwork was done, how the new computers work (network), and everything that was needed. With this, my day ended and went back home!  

Couple of advice for future accountants; they should be number and people smart, due to the fact that accountants work with numbers (money/math/etc) and clients/individuals/colleagues. This leads to important needed skills, such as mathematical, analyzing, communication and listening skills.

Being an accountant might seem an easy job but it is not. Some days are really stressful and not reposing at all. Yet, before reaching the peak, you have to go to school eventually. I did five years to complete and earn my bachelor degree in finance and my master level degree. I was not obliged to complete my master degree but it looked better in my handout, and this way, I had a better chance to obtain a job versus someone who had not their master.

Career Counselor

Hey! My name is Maggie and I am 28 years old. I work  at the Rosewood High School in Pennsylvania as a career counselor. It has been 4 years since I work at R.H.S and I really appreciate working there with the students. At the beginning, I never thought I would have wanted to become a career counselor. At first, I wanted to be an astronaut, for whatever reasons. Yet, when I was in high school, one day I went to see the school career counselor. We talked about my skills, my grades and about my interests. He proposed me few jobs, but they did not catch my interest one bit. After meeting few times, I realized that I wanted to be like him one day. I wanted to help others decide what they wanted to do as their jobs. For them not to be stuck and not knowing what they want to do like I was stuck in high school. Also, I wanted to help others in their problems. And now here I am as a career counselor.    

You might think that this job is a smooth relax one, but you are greatly mistaking. For instance, today during lunch break when I was eating, this kid came to me. He told me he was failing at school and that nothing in his life went well. As a career counselor, I tried to comfort this student, but in these sort of situation, the best way to help the student is to listen to what they have to say, which I did. I learned that his parents were alcoholic and that his older sister was in detox. Since my 4 years in R.H.S, numerous cases like this happened, sometimes even worse. Career counselors deal with all sorts of problems and situations. However, at the end of school, this other student came to me asking what job would she be best at. See? As a career counselor, ordinary problems as helping one know what they want to do in the future is one of the most common situation dealt with, but anything can happen.

As a career counselor, you must be people smart. It is really important that you know how to interact with others correctly, due to the fact that you will have to communicate and interact with others 99% of the time. Also, with this, you have to have excellent communication skills and be compassionate since you work with students that might be more fragile or in different situations than others. In addition, one of the most important skills is that you must have listening skills. It is extremely crucial that career counselors listen to their clients or students attentively. People like it when they can  talk about themselves and their problems without being judged. It makes them more comfortable and means they trust you. This exactly leads you to not judge the students. The students should always feel safe, welcomed, not judged, and comfortable when speaking with a career counselor. However, before becoming a licensed counselor, you must achieve and gain your bachelor and master degree which will take you approximately 5 years. Yet, it took me 6 years since the first year I took it in two years. Though it doesn't really matters since 4, 5 or 6 six years at school will still lead you at becoming a career counselor.  

Architect

Hello dear internodes! My name is Alexander, but everyone calls me Alex, which I do prefer too. I am only 27 years old and I am presently working in the architecture department. It has only been 2 years since I work in one of California’s greatest architecture agencies. I am quite proud of myself due to the fact that the Cali Architect Design & Co has asked me to work for them. With this, evidently, I had to move from Iowa to California. Yet, I do not really mind, for I work in something I am passionate at. It is really simple, I have always liked drawing and the construction and design of houses/buildings as well as it has always fascinated me. That is why it is my dream job. Also, since I was 12 years old, I drew dream houses in my spare time.

Enough talking about me. Let’s talk about the job. Well before becoming an architect, you have to go to school evidently. After high school and college, you have the choice to go do your bachelor of architecture or your master of agriculture, which I have completed my master. It took me 5 years to complete my master. So, for some advice, if you want to become an architect, consider it takes a lot of time before becoming one, so make sure it is what you really want to do. Also the fact that it is expensive. To continue, I dedicated my entire time for my studies. I had no time for parties or whatsoever. Yet, it did not affect me one bit, I was fairly content to say. Anyways, just to let you know, for me to have succeeded, I had to be extremely good in math and physics. This mean I had to be number smart. Still now, I also have to be people smart, due to the fact that I interact and work with others, for instance constructors. In addition, as an architect, I have to gain skills such as mathematical skills eventually, reasoning skills, artistic skills as well as creative skills.

Today, it has been an ordinary day like others. This morning, I finished one project which I am extremely proud of. It was a really long and pressuring project, however, with my team, we managed to work through it. After completing few paper works and signing, I met with my new clients and signed a contract to build their house. They were really nice individuals and I am looking forward to continue working on their house. So today we met to know what they wanted in general and showed me plans of their house plot, where they want to build their house. Tomorrow, I will meet them again, though to discus about preferences of what their house will look, etc. Also, this afternoon, I continued working on another contract I had. Though this project I am doing it with other architects because it is a long term project which will last few years.   

To conclude, you have seen a little bit of what I am doing as an architect and I hope it has interested you.