Finance Careers Help You Follow The Money
By Kathie Hightower and Holly Scherer
Summer 2006
Doreen Griffith, a Navy wife of 16 years and seven moves, believes that the accounting profession is an outstanding career choice for military spouses.
She has the experience to back up that claim. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with a bachelor's degree in accounting and a specialty in taxation, she has managed to work as a tax professional performing tax planning and compliance for corporations and high net worth individuals. Despite changing companies with each military move - from Moss Adams LLP in Washington, D.C., to Anderson Hunt and Co. in Georgia to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Virginia and on to Grant Thornton LLP in Hawaii - Doreen recently was promoted to partner for Grant Thornton, the fifth-largest accounting firm in the U.S.
"It is very mobile and in high demand in today's economy," she says. "Every city in every state needs accountants. It is also a career that you can continue to progress in even with the demands of the military and moving."
Doreen points out one unmistakable challenge. "I do feel that with each move, either with a new job or a job transfer, I have had to prove myself to this new group of people," she says. And she has had to renew her CPA certification in each new state.
Although the financial career is considered particularly mobile for military spouses, it often requires a creative approach as you move. And as with other military spouse careers, it sometimes means taking one step back before moving forward.
Shelley D. Weaver is a Marine Corps spouse of 14 years and five moves. Among the four finance jobs she has held through the years: mortgage interviewer and processor with a bank in Arizona; member representative, collection officer and senior member consultant for credit unions in Maryland and California; and teller for a credit union in Japan.
Shelley points out, "Eventually, I always end up back in finance, but I've had to start over many times waiting for better positions to open up. Since I've never worked for the same company, I've had to accept whatever's available at a lower level than I'd like or am qualified for - just to get my foot in the door."
She credits networking as one of the best sources for jobs. She is excited that her family's next move is a return to Camp Pendleton, Calif., where one of her previous employers is located. "I've called the woman in human resources who remembers me from when I left the company. She's a military spouse, too. She'll keep me posted on jobs that may open when we transfer back."
Networking is key, explains Linda Beougher, an Army wife who worked in finance early in her married life. Upon arriving in Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., after a cross-country trip from Ft. Lee, Va., she found an exciting message waiting for her: A Kansas City bank wanted to interview her for an opening in investments. One week later, even before she received her family's household goods shipment, Linda began work. How did that happen?
"In my job in Richmond, I traded funds all over the United States," Linda says. "So I asked everyone with whom I traded if they might know someone in Kansas and specifically who I should talk to and who I should send my resume to." Networking resulted in the contact. Linda's follow-through led to her interview.
While networking is particularly effective in helping to generate warm leads rather than cold calls on prospective employers, other avenues add to your job search mix during moves.
Doreen found all of her positions through newspaper classifieds. "Most local newspapers are on the web," she says. "Look at them to get a feel for your type of position in the local economy." She also points out that professional associations - in her case, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) - often provide networking opportunities and job postings along with career education.
A number of free websites are targeted to help military spouses with job searches by specialty and location. The Military Spouse Career Center, at www.military.com/spouse, includes listings specifically for military spouses from more than 100 employers, such as Ann Taylor, Bell South and Procter and Gamble. At www.MilitarySpouseJobSearch.org, more than 20 large companies, including Lockheed Martin, Merck, Sprint and Dell, offer positions. At the Military Spouse Corporate Career Network, www.msccn.org, you will find job listings for firms from Boeing to Trammel Crow. At www.MilSpouse.org, you can search for jobs as well as information about specific career fields.
Focusing your education and career plan make it easier to target your job search with each move, network with peers in your industry and build your credentials. As more than one spouse points out, however, at certain times you might choose not to work in the field but to keep your skills and resume current through volunteering.
Stacy Miller, an Army spouse with an MBA degree concentrating in finance, says, "I have not been working for more than six years, but I've kept up my skills and my resume by volunteering as treasurer for this or auditor for that."
One of the finance career fields predicted to grow at a faster-than-average rate - 29 percent versus 19 percent for accountants and 15 percent for budget analysts between 2001 and 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics - is for financial analysts and personal financial advisors.
For military spouses, financial counseling opportunities recently have increased, thanks to the 2006 Defense Authorization Act. Military consumer protections contained in the new law require the military to provide both advice and comprehensive financial education for servicemembers and their families, thus boosting the need for financial counselors specific to the military world. Check out www.SaveandInvest.org for some of the great programs.
The National Military Family Association (NMFA) has partnered with the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education to provide 200 military spouses with the education necessary to enter the financial counseling field. Although all slots are filled for this year, the NMFA website (www.nmfa.org) lists several places in and out of the military community that may welcome Accredited Financial Counselors.
Russell E. Tate is a military retiree and current Navy spouse who works as a Financial Fitness Counselor for the Marine Corps Personal Financial Fitness Program in Iwakuni, Japan. It's his second financial job as a military spouse since he retired from active service. He says he entered this career path "just wanting to know more about personal finance."
In addition to the obvious satisfaction of helping others, it doesn't hurt that you gain a substantial education to help improve your own family's finances.
# # #
Military spouses Kathie Hightower and Holly Scherer are public speakers and co-authors of "Help! I'm a Military Spouse - I Want a Life Too: How to Craft a Life for YOU as You Move with the Military." For more information or to request a presentation at your community, go to www.militaryspousehelp.com or send a message to kathie@militaryspousehelp.com.