Category: Academics

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Accounting/Finance Majors: CPA, CMA, CFP, CFA

If you are or considering becoming an accounting and/or finance major, you have probably heard a lot of acronyms thrown around in reference to different professional certifications (read: exams) that you can acquire. This article is aimed at breaking down some of the confusion and clarifying what each one is. This is the first step in deciding which one(s) may be for you.

  1. CPA- Certified Public Accountant. This is the flagship certification for those who want to actually be accountants. Professions include tax and audit, though the CPA is widely enough respected that many corporate lawyers, business consultants, tax attorneys, and personal financial planners have it as well. The CPA is quite difficult with four 4-hour exams which must be passed within 18 months of each other. Pass rates for each of these exams is between 40-60%, though Grove City College students tend to have much higher pass rates. The exam sections are audit, financial accounting and reporting, tax and regulation, and business environment and ethics. This is a very valuable certification, but you have to really want it. If you are considering or would like the option to take the CPA, look into your state’s CPA eligibility requirements for undergrad course work. Some states (such as CO) require you to have specific courses under your belt that the College does not include in graduation requirements.
  2. CMA- Certified Managerial Accountant. This is similar to the CPA, but with more of a managerial emphasis. This means that costing, cash flow, inventory, and those types of issues are more heavily emphasized. The CPA is incredibly broad, the CMA is less so. Professions are similar to those of CPAs; financial analyst, managerial accountant, corporate controller, financial manager, and many others.
  3. CFP- Certified Financial Planner. Usually, to use this certification you must also pass other financial licensing exams such as the Series 6 or Series 7. A CFP works with individuals and families to provide financial solutions to their problems and to grant them added security. A CFP works in a very personal role with their clients and has a lot of responsibility for giving them good recommendations. CFPs understand finance and financial products, are empathetic and caring, and have strong people skills.
  4. CFA- Chartered Financial Analyst. The CFA exam is sort of like the CPA of finance. There are several exams (called levels) which must all be passed. CFAs become experts in finance, and often work as asset or portfolio managers, financial managers, risk management experts, or consultants.

All of these paths provide excellent career opportunities, but you may fit one of them more than others. Spend some time reading about each one, finding out who you may know with a background in one of these areas, and considering your end goal to help you decide!

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Career Options for an English Major Part 2

Have you ever thought about being an English major but hesitated because of unknown future employment opportunities? You are not alone. My name is Laura Locher, and I am a senior English major with a Communication Studies minor. Welcome to Part 2 of the “Career Options for an English Major” series!

Part 1 focuses on the more well-known jobs of an English major – i.e., publishing, editing, author, etc. Part 2, however, focuses on more unconventional or not as well-known jobs like advertising, paralegal, insurance, etc.

Coming into school freshman year, I knew I wanted to study English, but I also knew I did not want to be a teacher. So, what were my other options? I am here to present to future English majors a variety of different career paths that may be unknown as you enter college. Enjoy Part 2!

Media/Marketing –

  1. Journalism: If you are someone who loves researching, writing, editing, proofreading, and organizing stories then journalism is for you.
  • Where journalists work: Journalists work for magazines, journals, newspapers, TV, etc. There are more opportunities to be a journalist than just in the political field. If you want invigorating work, jornalism may be for you.
  1. Event Management: Yes, English majors can be event managers! You do not need a degree in Communication Studies or event planning to be an event manager. With you reading, writing, and communication background from your English degree, planning, organizing, and promoting social events will come naturally.
  • Where event managers work: Event managers work for single clients, big corporations, small businesses, etc. Think of any brand or product you use. Now think of all of the events that have been put on to promote that product or brand? You can do that with an English degree.
  1. Advertising: An English degree can take you far in advertising. For example, I work for a company called FCB Health, NY as a freelance editor right now. Advertising agencies need people who can write, edit, and communicate not only effectively but also intentionally and creatively. For FCB, you could be an editor, copywriter, account manager, integrated production, and more.
  • Where advertisers work: English majors can work a lot of different jobs in advertising. You can edit, proofread, copywrite, manage accounts, run social media content, and so much more. Do not think you need to be a Marketing major to work for an advertisement agency – although that is not a bad route of course.

Communications –

  1. Paralegal: Paralegals are crucial for the success of lawyers. They draft documents, organize files, and so much more. Paralegals are also sometimes referred to as a legal assistant. Want to go into law without going to law school? Well now you can.
  • Where a paralegal works: Pick the law firm and you can find a paralegal job.
  1. Insurance: With an English degree, you can pursue writing insurance policies for any insurance company – i.e., GEICO, Allstate, Progressive, Nationwide, etc.
  • Where insurance writer’s work: Pick an insurance company. Apply for a job in insurance looking for positions labeled writer, technical journalist, technical writer, copywriter, etc.
  1. Human Resources (HR): HR is most known for tasks like training, communicating with clients, employees, and applicants, managing records, etc. With an English degree, you possess a great skill set to excel in HR. For example, “strong written and verbal communication skills, the ability to apply principles of rhetoric to persuasion and arguments, researching and assessment techniques, developing conclusions from research and evaluation, synthesis of ideas, and organization of material” (“Can I Get a Job in”).
  • Where HR people work: Any well-established company has human resources. HR is an indispensable part of a company. Try taking a look at advertising agencies, big corporations, office jobs, etc. It will be difficult to find a company without a HR team.

Do not limit yourself to a handful of jobs or turn away from the major completely because you are unaware of the multitude of jobs that await an English major. Being an English major enables you the opportunity to try many different fields, careers, and jobs that say a narrower major would not allow. There are options out there other than teaching or being an author.

 

 

 

Citation: “Can I Get a Job in Human Resources With Only an English Degree?” Human Resources Degrees, 2 Jan. 2014, www.humanresourcesmba.net/faq/can-i-get-a-job-in-human-resources-with-only-an-english-degree/#:~:text=Some%20of%20the%20common%20responsibilities,communications%2C%20negotiations%2C%20and%20organization.

 

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Career Options for an English Major Part 1

Have you ever thought about being an English major but hesitated because of unknown future employment opportunities? You are not alone. My name is Laura Locher, and I am a senior English major with a Communication Studies minor. Coming into school freshman year, I knew I wanted to study English, but I also knew I did not want to be a teacher. So, what were my other options? I am here to present to future English majors a variety of different career paths that may be unknown as you enter college. Part 1 will focus on the more well-known jobs of an English major – i.e., publishing, editing, author, etc. Part 2, however, will focus on more unconventional jobs like advertising, paralegal, insurance, etc.

Editing/Publishing –

  1. Proofreader: A proofreader is, as you can assume, someone who reads things closely with the intention of marking corrections in a proof. Proofreading is a very specific type of editing that entails looking for spelling, punctuation, and consistency errors.
  • Where proofreaders work: publishing houses (independent and corporate), magazines, newspapers, advertising agencies, etc.
  1. Copyeditor: Copyediting is even more of a tedious process than proofreading. Copyeditors not only proofread the copy (the text itself), but they also check sentences for good flow and structure. Copyeditors also fact check the text and offer rewrites to improve the piece.
  • Where copyeditors work: Copyeditors can work for magazines, publishing houses, freelance (for anyone who needs this service), the newspaper, advertising agencies, etc.
  1. Editorial acquisitions: An acquisitions editor is responsible for acquiring written projects said company needs. For example, I interned for an independent publishing house in NYC in 2019 as the editorial acquisitions associate. I met and communicated with authors and essayists who provided books and academic resources the company desired.
  • Where acquisition editors work: Acquisition editors work primarily at publishing houses or magazines.

Writing –

  1. Author: As most of you know already, the role of an author is to create original ideas via books, movies, magazine articles, poems, academic journals, etc.
  • Where authors work: Nowadays, authors self-publish on a variety of platforms. The most successful though, seemingly, have a contract with either an independent or corporate publishing house who does all of the behind the scenes work when creating, releasing, promoting, and selling an author’s work.
  1. Technical writer: The role of a technical writer is to communicate within a company extremely technical information in an accessible way. Do not underestimate the importance of this job path. The skill of technical writing has been on a steady decline over the last 5-7 years due to a rapid increase in technology doing everything for us. People’s ability to write well and communicate difficult ideas to another person is hard to come by. This is a much-needed job.
  • Where technical writer’s work: Primarily in scientific, engineering, computer, and big corporation settings. But do not stop here, technical writers are needed at a plethora of jobs.
  1. Essayist: A person who writes essays. Yes, you all know this. Being an essayist is a job, particularly in research fields of study so I wanted to share it with you. I would not necessarily recommend this job however it is a job for a reason.
  • Where essayists work: Research institutes, colleges and universities, for the government, etc.
  1. Poet: A person who writes poems. Again, a beautiful career for the few and far between who make it. But I still thought the poet should be acknowledged.

Where poets work: Poets are typically self-published unless an independent or major publishing house acquires them. You can also occasionally freelance for people seeking original poetry. Is becoming a poet the most secure job out there for an English major? No. But if that’s what you love to do then

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Big 4 Internships and the Pandemic Impact (Part 4 of 4)

This is part 4 of a 4 part post. If you already saw the part prior, go ahead and skip over the remainder of this introductory paragraph since it is the same as that in the others. During the summer of 2020, in the heat of the pandemic, I had a rare opportunity: I was part of Ernst & Young’s first fully virtual internship experience. This post is geared towards students looking at interning at the “Big 4” in the coming years, so this post is particularly suitable for current or prospective accounting majors. But, if you are not considering accounting, there is still something here for you.

4. The reality

In spring of 2020, I found out that my internship would be 100% remote. While I was disappointed, I was impressed with how well EY was able to adjust their plans in such a dramatic way on such short notice. The program was shortened by about three weeks and the start date shifted back by about a month. I was mailed a laptop (and everything that came with). Within the first day of the internship, thousands of new interns were up and running on EY’s remarkably advanced technological platforms. We were provided with training, broken down into groups, assigned mentors and peer-buddies (one of the greatest things about EY), and put on client-engagement teams. We were given a few weeks to work with our assigned client engagement teams, and then we were given a week to work through EY Badges to earn the Intern level badge. The final week of the internship had 8-10 interns from all service lines were paired with a coach to work through a real business problem for a client, and compete to see who could offer the best plan, slide deck, and presentation.

While the internship did not look the way I expected it to, being remote showed me an even clearer picture of how EY works. They were off knocked off kilter and navigating foreign territory, and while they could have canceled the internship or cut it down to merely the training portion, they proved that people matter and displayed the power of the organization to rally in hard times and unwaveringly meet objectives.

Disclaimer: I do not represent nor am I speaking on behalf of any of the Big 4; all information in this article is subject to change; the intent of this article and all following posts on the same subject is to help inform students, not to advise their career decisions.

 

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Big 4 Internships and the Pandemic Impact (Part 3 of 4)

This is part 3 of a 4 part post. If you already saw the part prior, go ahead and skip over the remainder of this introductory paragraph since it is the same as that in the others. During the summer of 2020, in the heat of the pandemic, I had a rare opportunity: I was part of Ernst & Young’s first fully virtual internship experience. Depending on how you look at it, this is either a scar in my past or a badge of accomplishment. I certainly view it as the latter, but I did not initially. This post is geared towards students looking at interning at the “Big 4” in the coming years, so this post is particularly suitable for current or prospective accounting majors. But, if you are not considering accounting, there is still something here for you.

I discussed previously what companies the “Big 4” are and what they do, and I covered why internships there are so significant. This post is aimed at relating my experience from the summer of 2020, and discussing how it was shaped by the pandemic.

3. My expectations

My relationship with Ernst & Young started long before my first day as an intern; I met a recruiter on campus for a mock interview, and knew from that meeting that EY was a place I wanted to work and grow. As I progressed through the application and interview process, everyone that I spoke to or exchanged emails with further affirmed my decision. When I applied, interviewed, and accepted my offer (all before Easter in 2019), no one knew how the world would change over the coming year. I went into this expecting to be sitting in a recently remodeled office in one of Denver’s tallest buildings with a view of the city and the mountains. I expected intern activities after days in the office, and opportunities to visit client sites and really see a “day in the life of an auditor.” More importantly I expected to be challenged, pushed, taught, mentored, and exhausted.

Disclaimer: I do not represent nor am I speaking on behalf of any of the Big 4; all information in this article is subject to change; the intent of this article and all following posts on the same subject is to help inform students, not to advise their career decisions.

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Big 4 Internships and the Pandemic Impact (Part 2 of 4)

This is part 2 of a 4 part post. If you already saw the part prior, go ahead and skip over the remainder of this introductory paragraph since it is the same as that in the others. During the summer of 2020, in the heat of the pandemic, I had a rare opportunity: I was part of Ernst & Young’s first fully virtual internship experience. Depending on how you look at it, this is either a scar in my past or a badge of accomplishment. I certainly view it as the latter, but I did not initially. This post is geared towards students looking at interning at the “Big 4” in the coming years, so this post is particularly suitable for current or prospective accounting majors. But, if you are not considering accounting, there is still something here for you.

2. Internships

Big 4 internships are highly competitive because they are very valuable. You probably have heard jokes about fetching coffee and making copies; Big 4 internships leave students at times craving a simpler job description. Big 4 internships are significant because they are well respected both inside of and outside of the Big 4. They are well respected because they are consistently challenging. Much of the internship is spent in training – a training very similar to what you would receive if you were a new hire fresh out of college. This training is invaluable because it provides interns with the skills they will need in the next phase of the internship which is typically one or more different client engagements. While on client engagements, intern roles vary by team and by client and by intern, but it is safe to assume that you will be doing substantive work, safe to assume that you will get a taste of what the Big 4’s environment is like, and even safer to assume that you will learn a lot.

Disclaimer: I do not represent nor am I speaking on behalf of any of the Big 4; all information in this article is subject to change; the intent of this article and all following posts on the same subject is to help inform students, not to advise their career decisions.

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Big 4 Internships and the Pandemic Impact (Part 1 of 4)

During the summer of 2020, in the heat of the pandemic, I had a rare opportunity: I was part of Ernst & Young’s first fully virtual internship experience. Depending on how you look at it, this is either a scar in my past or a badge of accomplishment. I certainly view it as the latter, but I did not initially. This post is geared towards students looking at interning at the “Big 4” in the coming years, so this post is particularly suitable for current or prospective accounting majors. But, if you are not considering accounting, there is still something here for you.

1. What are the “Big 4”?

The “Big 4” is a term used to refer to the four largest global accounting firms in the world. The firms, in no particular order, are EY (Ernst & Young), KPMG (Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler), PWC (Price Waterhouse Coopers), and Delloite. While they differ in what portion of their business comes from which service line, they are known for high performance in three key areas: audit, tax, and consulting. Audit is also referred to as “assurance,” because the service line is geared towards assuring clients and users of clients’ financial statements that the statements are free from material misstatement. In other words, we make sure they did their accounting right. It is required by law that public companies get audited, and the largest ones rely on the Big 4. Consulting is pretty much what it sounds like – consultants are hired by clients to lend a set of fresh, expert eyes to business operations and decisions. For example, if a client is considering a new operational strategy, they may ask a team of Big 4 consultants to analyze, evaluate, and help make the decision. Tax is also fairly intuitive – public companies have to navigate a complex tax system whether they are US only, foreign, or multi-national; they also deal with often complex transactions (such as mergers or acquisitions) that have powerful tax implications. In short, successfully navigating the tax system requires expertise and planning, and the tax service line at Big 4 companies exists to provide that.

Disclaimer: I do not represent nor am I speaking on behalf of any of the Big 4; all information in this article is subject to change; the intent of this article and all following posts on the same subject is to help inform students, not to advise their career decisions.

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Grove City College Student Spotlight: Episode 4 – Tegan Truitt

Episode 4 – Tegan Truitt

Welcome to the Grove City College Student Spotlight, where we sit down with Grove City students and converse about their college experiences. On today’s episode, we sit down with Tegan Truitt. Tegan is a senior Economics and Philosophy major, the chaplain of the Adelphikos, the captain of the Ultimate Frisbee team, and co-captain of the debate team. We talk about his experience as a student in Oxford, why Grove City’s Economics program is different from other schools, fraternity life, evangelizing through Frisbee, and the story of his baptism at Grove City local church, Grace Anglican.

You can listen to this or other episodes at either of the links below on your streaming platform of choice.

Disclaimer:

This podcast is a student project and the views represented do not reflect those of Grove City College.

Listen to us online at our website

Click Here to listen to: Episode 4 – Tegan Truitt

Or check us out on Spotify

 

 

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Grove City Alumna: Julia

This fall, I had the opportunity to meet my boyfriend’s sister, Julia, who is also a Grove City College alumna. Julia attended Grove City College a couple of years ago and has now since has relocated to Arizona where she is enjoying life as a teacher. When I asked her about her time at Grove City College, she said that she could spend all day talking about how much she loved her college experience. Julia really loved the atmosphere of the College because she could tell there were a lot of hard-working people that surrounded her. Julia said that this only made her better because she is a competitive person and is always looking to be the best version of herself. Also, she was able to meet such great friends that she said she knows will be life-long friends. Unlike myself, Julia is an extroverted person and she had many friends in different groups on campus. Grove City College is unique because of the community of believers on campus. It is a special and refreshing place to spend your college years because the students and professors are so kind and loving. Julia spoke very highly of the campus and the community as a whole.

Currently, Julia is studying hard to get her Master’s degree in Education. It has been very busy for her because she has to take night classes for her MBA program. One thing that she emphasized is that the skills that she used at the College carried over into the real world and into her career. As a previous Grover, Julia still uses the skills that she had learned here and believes that she will continue to in the future. Julia seemed very wise and driven when she spoke with me and I think that Grove City College really helped her get to where she is today.

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Election Night 2020

Grove City College is such a special place for so many reasons, but one reason why I particularly find the college to be such a unique place is because of the students’ passion for politics. Many college students have little interest in politics – but not Grovers!

Being that Grove City College is a conservative Christian college, many students are Republican. Weeks before the election, students wore their “Trump gear” loud and proud. I have seen more MAGA red hats and “Trump 2020 T-shirts” on campus than anywhere else. Students here are passionate about what they believe and they are not afraid to show it. I find it so wonderful that students can express their beliefs and be supported by so many others.

Even though many Grove City students may be the minority for being Republicans (most college-aged students are liberal), we are not afraid to show it! Election night was on Tuesday and it was a pretty tense day around campus. Students did not know what to expect and were eager to see the results. In the Student Union, students gathered to watch both the presidential and vice-president debates. There was a great turnout for both events. Tuesday night, students gathered outside of the student union from 7 p.m. to midnight to watch the results of the presidential election come in. The election was projected onto a large white screen outside, chairs and heat lamps were set up, and there were plenty of snacks. Like I said, many students here are passionate about politics – so passionate that they are willing to sit outside in the cold to watch the election. This election was especially important for our country and it is really neat that students could gather together to watch the results. Obviously, we did not find out the results of the election that night, but I am really glad that I got to experience this election at Grove City College. I am so proud to attend a college where I can voice my opinion freely and where students are in such strong community with each other.

As a senior, election day 2020 is one day that I will always remember. It was so fun to watch the election with other students. Grove City College truly is a unique place and I feel so blessed that I am able to experience the values that many students share.