Show Me the Money!
America controls its own destiny. The forefathers came over from Europe for independence from their former home countries. They started small, colonizing just 13 different territories in the new land. As more people began to join the movement, the land developed even further. Through organization, analysis, interpretation, and a determination to work together, the vast, barren land has transformed into a world superpower in a relatively short timespan of about 300 years. The population rose from a mere couple hundred Native American tribes to a whopping 312 million (U.S. department of Commerce). 39 of the best educated, most respected men of their time met in Philadelphia in 1787 and wrote a plan for a government that worked seemingly perfect for them (National Archives and Records Association). Since then, the U.S. constitution has been amended 27 times to accommodate the new situation at hand (Constitution Accountability Center). The point is America has been changing ever since it was first discovered, and it is never going to stop. Nowadays, the economy is experiencing one of its biggest deficits since the great depression, and it continues to move in the wrong direction. This phase brings about countless questions. What will happen to the value of the U.S. dollar? How can a country pay back a debt of 15 trillion dollars and growing (U.S. National Debt Clock)? How much longer will our parents have their jobs so that they can afford to provide the necessities of life? How can a college student invest 4 years of their time into a major for a profession that simply dissappears because of the state of the economy? Who would have the answers to all of these questions? A financial advisor would. Money will always be a part of the world, regardless of its value and quantity. As long as this is true, people will be looking for someone who can tell them the best way to spend and save their money. In order for me to be successful in my career as a financial advisor, I will need to be diligent and thorough in covering the following topics: education, certification, x-factor, opportunities for growth, emotional rewards, salary and benefits, challenges and how to meet them, and job availability. The foundation of my success as a financial advisor will be my education. I am currently attending Plymouth State University, which has one of the finest finance programs in the Northeast. There are certain classes that I must take in order to graduate no matter what major I choose to declare. These classes do not always pertain very well to the finance field, however the skills that I learn in them will be very useful to me during my career path. For instance, I am obligated to put a lot of time and effort into my composition class, as our final assignment involves figuring out what I must do in order to be successful in my career. I have also been taking a career exploration class. In doing this, I have gotten practice with interviewing and job networking that I will put to use when I am finally looking for a real job. I have created a “LinkedIn” profile that has helped me reach out to about 50 people and form new connections within the workplace. Obviously, not all of these connections will be useful, but I can never be too sure. Who knows, maybe the CEO of a landscaping company needs his finances taken care of. Although landscaping and finance do not go hand in hand, I have found myself a client because of the connections I made previously. For second semester, I have enrolled in courses that will begin to build the basis of knowledge I will need to be successful as a financial advisor. Financial Accounting will give me my first experience recording and reporting the results of operations and financial positions of companies. Business Computer Applications focuses on how business professionals use small computers in order to carry out their everyday responsibilities. Applied Calculus will provide me with important