Podcast for High School Students

Introduction. Hey guys! My name is Maria Gabriela. Im a student here at the University of Michigan Dearborn. I know youre all in high school !robably busy with turning in college in a!!lications thinking about where you want to go and will be making life" changing decisions soon. Im a #unior in college and now looking back to when I was in high school I wish I had someone to tell me everything I know today! $o Im sure some of you know what you want to ma#or in. %nd maybe some of you are unsure of what you want to go into or dont know e&actly what !rofession you want to have for the rest of your life but thats okay! 'ou still have a lot of time to decide. (hen !icking a ma#or its su!er im!ortant you distinguish your hobbies from your career. Go into something you like something you are good at something that you find interesting and something that could really see yourself doing five days a week. It is also im!ortant to know what ty!e of environment you like to work in such as an office setting or maybe you like to work outdoors. )nce you graduate and get into the industry you can network make connections and maybe even !ursue other career o!tions. Careers in the Business Field. Im going to be talking about the business industry and going over some im!ortant facts such as salaries #ob outlooks and what a ty!ical day would entitle in this !rofession. $o there are a lot of !rofessions that are business related. Im #ust going to talk about one that I !articularly find interesting and think is a really awesome career o!tion* financial or management analyst or consultant. +asically youre the one who takes the numbers analy,es them and gives a com!any financial suggestions on decision"making. Its a really im!ortant #ob and com!anies definitely are willing to !ay a lot to get a good solution that will generate !rofit. Salaries, Job Outlook, and Work Environment. $o to start off lets first look at the salary. -he yearly salary of a financial consultant is ./0 122. +y the way financial and managerial can be interchanged as well as consultant and analyst. $o when I say financial analyst or financial consultant that is the same thing as a managerial consultant or a managerial analyst. $o ne&t is the #ob outlook in terms of growth. -his is im!ortant because if the #ob outlook has slow or maybe even negative growth that means there are not or will not be many #ob o!!ortunities in the future so it will be harder to find a #ob. $o the #ob outlook for the ne&t 0 years for a managerial analyst has a growth of 345 which is !retty high com!ared to average #ob outlooks. $o I know when I graduate in 6 years there will be a big market with a lot of #ob o!!ortunities. -he working environment is obviously inside usually in an office. +ut there are a lot of meetings social interaction

and team focus. $o dont worry you wont be stuck sitting alone in an office all day. I !ersonally am really social so I need a #ob where I am constantly busy and interacting with !eo!le. -he actual work of a financial analyst is !ro#ecting !rofitability for a com!any. Its evaluating if a decision will bring in revenue or if it will lose the com!any money. Its #ust weighing out the !ros and cons. )bviously we cannot !redict the future but we can definitely make an educated guess based on research strategic !lanning and a good understanding of the market. Its im!ortant to be outs!oken and take on the leadershi! role when working in grou!s. -his #ob definitely consists of being confident with your decisions and being able to !resent them to high e&ecutives in an organi,ed way that is also easy to understand. 'oure the one who is ultimately giving com!anies a recommendation on whether or not they should invest. 'ou will not always make the right decision because again the future is un!redictable but as long as you basing your recommendations on logics facts and strategy you will be successful in this career. Education. In order to !ursue this s!ecific career or any business career for that matter you have to have a +achelors Degree. Its not re7uired that you get a Masters Degree but it definitely is a resume booster and gives you a com!etitive advantage when a!!lying for #obs. In managerial8financial consulting you are re7uired to have a certification in Management 9onsultation :9M9;. Closing Remarks. %gain if you are unsure of what you want your ma#or to be when going youre into college #ust take a diverse set of classes the first semester and see which one you like best. Make sure youre aware of your strengths and the sub#ects you like. (hen you figure that out its easier to know what direction you want to take in your career. $o if you guys have any 7uestions about anything at all I am more than ha!!y to hel!. <ot too long ago I was where you guys are now so I understand what you are all going through. My email is mggon,al=umich.edu so feel free to email me with any 7uestions concerns or comments! -hanks for listening.