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- Name: Mya M.
- Year Of Graduation: 2023
- College/University: Arizona State University
- Major: English
1. What do you do for a living? Can you share what a typical day at work looks like?
I work in finance as a licensed stock broker for Charles Schwab Corporation, the country’s number-one brokerage firm. Schwab offers its clients a variety of products and services, including banking, commercial banking, investment, and other related services—like consulting and wealth management advice—for everyday customers and institutions. I include that information because I had yet to learn what Schwab did as a company before I began the search for a career after college!
My typical work day begins at 7:00 am. and ends at 5:30 pm. During those hours, I accept client calls and assist them with various endeavors. Calls can range from the mundane (helping with password resets) to the intriguing (placing multi-thousand-dollar trades on their behalf.) You never know what you’ll get that day, which is exciting. Helping people manage their assets comes with a lot of risk, especially when you’re moving money around for them. It can be nerve-wracking to think about making a mistake. However, I work on a team with a group of other brokers under the management of our team leader, and everyone is there to help each other navigate the day and provide clients with the best experience possible.
Mya’s typical work day looks
2. Can you tell me about your job search experience after graduation?
My job has almost nothing to do with my degree. I attended Arizona State University on a scholarship for four years. I obtained my BA in English, hoping to teach someday, but my feelings toward that changed over time. Of course, with a degree as versatile as English, there have been many transferable skills from my studies that help me at work. The job listing for the position I currently hold mentioned that they would prefer candidates to have a four-year degree because of those transferable skills. I saw this often in my search for a job after college.
I graduated from ASU in December 2023 and began looking for employment opportunities that same month. With the standards I always hold myself to, I felt discouraged not hearing back from anywhere after I hit the one-month mark of sending applications and cover letters to anywhere that sounded interesting. It stressed me out that I did not have a defined plan and was likely “not going to use my degree” after all those years. During that time, I prayed that Jesus would open the right door that needed to be opened, and He was faithful. By the end of January, I had a preliminary and subsequent in-person interview with two of the hiring managers of the location I currently work at. The interview process was extensive but incredibly streamlined. It felt right, and I was offered the job two days following the Friday I had the interview on campus.
3. Why did you choose your undergrad major? Would you still pick this major now if you could return in time?
As I mentioned previously, I chose to study English because I had this idea of wanting to teach and because it’s been my area of interest for as long as I can remember. I excelled in reading and writing in school and enjoyed it very much. When selecting a major, I knew I would need to choose something that lit a fire in my heart – that way, the assignments would feel less like work and more like a challenge to explore new subjects through a medium I already appreciated. I would not go back in time to switch out what I studied. However, If I could go back in time while keeping my current degree, I would additionally study Sociology.
4. If I asked you three years ago, what would you think you’d be doing right now (in life/career)?
If you posed that question to me three years ago, I think I would have done anything to avoid answering it. It always scared me to consider where I saw myself in a couple of years as a full-time college student and part-time barista living under the same roof as my parents. At that time, it felt like the world was crouching at my doorstep, readying to push me into uncharted territory – but at the same time, I had this strange sense that nothing would or could ever truly change that much. There was so much unnecessary stress revolving around what I would do for a “real” job, but now that I’m settling into everything that was once unknown and unusual, I don’t feel afraid. This part of my life has tremendously increased my faith that God has plans for me.
5. What’s your biggest struggle right now?
My biggest struggle currently is finding a groove/comfortability in my job. I had to pass multiple FINRA/NASAA exams to get to where I am, and the training program for this role was six months long. I’m just now being introduced to the layout of a typical day. It’s overwhelming how much knowledge there is to acquire, whether concerning tax implications and retirement accounts, trading securities, options contracts, etc. I try to comfort myself by being reminded that everything will come to me in time. I know I can master what’s in my wheelhouse for this role, but I am not patient enough with myself for not knowing everything immediately.
6. If money was not a factor, what would you be working on or spending more time on?
If money (and energy levels) were not a factor, I would dedicate more time to making art of various mediums. I want to try my hand at pottery and there are abandoned art projects I’d like to revisit. I’m trying to teach myself how to crochet, and I’ve begun learning how to linocut. Learning to do either well enough to sell something I created would be cool. I’ve done some unpaid/volunteer commission pieces, which were fun and challenging, but making extra income from my art would be a massive and memorable accomplishment.
7. If we traveled three years into the future of your life, what would you hope we’d see?
If we were to travel three years into my life’s future, I would hope to see my parents happily enjoying each other’s company, my brother graduating from college, and my sister content with her work and personal life. I would want to see myself abounding in my faith and career. The ultimate goal for me is to move around within the company and end up on a team that helps new hires prepare for the role I’m currently in. The individuals who supported me throughout the training made this transition super comfortable. If I could do that for someone else and encourage them that they can do it too, I would feel fulfilled.
8. What’s the biggest lesson or piece of advice you wish you’d known earlier?
There are some things you know to be accurate, but you won’t believe them as applying to your own life until you’ve had to put it into practice. Here are a couple of things I wish I had faith in earlier on:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Matthew 6:25-27.
“Even if you’re not religious or spiritual, you must admit that worrying and allowing comparison to be the thief of your joy will never serve you. Rest in knowing that what is meant for you in this life is rightfully yours. No one will take it from you– not even yourself by somehow ‘missing an opportunity.’ In other words, ‘Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.’” – Allen Saunders.
Connect With Mya:
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