Tara Krauth shadowed Mary Farinella, an accounting associate at AON, to learn about a career in business. She concluded that accounting remained an appealing career path for her due to her interest and strength in math. While month-end periods were stressful, Mary said prioritizing tasks was the best way to manage the workload. Mary advised Tara to pursue a college degree no matter her career choice to keep career options open in different economies. Tara characterized Mary as goal-oriented and independent, traits she believed helped Mary succeed in her work.

1. Tara Krauth<br />Mary Farinella : Accounting Associate , AON<br />Job Shadow Evaluation<br />Hours : 8:30 am – 2:45 pm<br />For my job shadow, I contacted multiple hospitals and people to attempt to shadow an architect or an ophthalmologist. Either the holders of these titles were busy, or incapable of being shadowed by a student with no degree or internship. Those two jobs being on my top two lists for career paths, I had to route to my third choice in business. I have always been interested in accounting and marketing due to the fact that my mother is a very successful accountant. Through her, I found a women named Mary who was able to be shadowed so I could experience a day in the business world at AON. At the end of the day, I concluded that accounting and being in the business world of numbers would definitely remain on my list of career paths; it does not involve much schooling to get into a great company, it is mainly about the people you know and how good you truly are. <br />Shadowing a job that falls under the business and administration career cluster, I learned a lot and would say it was a positive experience overall. Shadowing an accountant, there were not many issues or concerns that were very eye popping. Mary told me that she dislikes “month-ends” at work because it is a time where everyone is stressed and work is on overload for some time to make sure everything is processed and sent out before the next month. Attempting to solve this problem, there were no solutions rather than just prioritizing time and trying to get certain tasks done quicker than waiting till the last moment. Noticing the minuscular problem in this job, I know there are multiple problems in every single career chosen.<br />This profession is definitely in a path that interests me. It is not my first choice, but if the medical field path fails or architecture fails, I would most likely fall back onto business. This is because I am strong at math and working with numbers, also I can work independently and be very detail oriented to get tasks done as soon as possible. Shadowing Mary put a positive aspect onto the choice of business, and leaned me towards it even more.<br />The way I networked to get this job shadow was through my mother. She is higher on the branch inside the building and company, but I wanted to shadow someone not as high to see what an average businessperson was dealing with daily. Shadowing Mary, I met tons of people ranging from CEO to marketing specialists for AON, to IT managers, and regular accountants in cubicles. These different individuals that I spoke to helped me realize what type of jobs I can get into and what type of schooling is required for each. <br />Bringing up the topic of schooling, my mentor gave me the advice to make sure I get a degree in college no matter what. To get to her position, Mary did not go to college; she got offered the job right outside of high school to be a senior underwriter in AON’s business. The only thing she said she regrets was not going to school because if she loses her job in this economy, she does not know if she will be hired anywhere else because of competition amongst others. She knew she wanted to work with numbers in her career, which landed her up to where she is now.<br />The top two traits I would characterize my mentor to be, would be goal-oriented and independent. Mary being goal-oriented allows her to complete tasks before the due date, and reach for certain goals she strives for. One piece of advice Mary gave me was to stay with my goals and never let them go because they will get you to where you want to be in life. Having that mind set, I believe she is very goal-oriented and sticks to her job because she has certain goals she wants to achieve. Another characteristic to describe my mentor, Mary, is independent. This word describes her weekly life at her job. Yes, some things she has to be dependent on, but working in a cubicle all day and completing certain tasks on her own with minimal questions, requires independency. Without it, she would not be able to work the job she does. <br />The part of this career that I would find most enjoyable and fun would be using a computer to do all the calculations and math, and or having good conversations amongst co-workers. I believe it is important to communicate well in one’s business and make sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to be, so the work does not pile on and on in an unfair way. Also, communicating is a plus because it allows that atmosphere of work to not be bad and so one can go to work on a positive note, rather than a negative.<br />The least appealing aspect of this career part would have to be the repetitive work inside a cubicle. Yes, every job is the same thing over and over again, but some things with numbers and math in the accountant world would get boring.<br />Shadowing in the business world, I realized and learned that even working in a little cubical for months and maybe years, is not as bad as it seems. If one sets there mind to what they want to do, and sets goals to get somewhere in life and become successful and happy, you can do it no matter what. I can apply these lessons into life by realizing what my backup plans in my future could be and what jobs I could fall back on. Yes, I might want to have more physical involvement such as drawing out a design or working in a doctor’s office, but working in business and being on the phone is not as bad as people make it. <br />Overall, I truly enjoyed shadowing Mary at AON. I believe that I learned a lot about accounting itself and about the business, but also what it is like to work everyday in that type of style. <br />Thank you email in need of approval :<br />Dear Mary,DATE<br />I just want to thank you so much on allowing me to job shadow you on the past Friday. Throughout the day, I experienced a lot of involvement that led me to decide on what type of career path I might follow. Also, I greatly appreciate the advice you gave me about life and how to strive for goals. I hope to see you sometime soon, thanks again!<br />Sincerely,<br />Tara Krauth<br />