Background - Part 1

I am going to try to get this blog going by starting with some background and then re-capping events on a more detailed basis from 1 January 2006.

A little about me: I graduated from college in 1997 with a BBA in Accounting and (MIS) Management Information Systems. I started out in a science but really did not have the aptitude for it and had tested well in math and accounting. I switched to accounting and then at the end of my third year in college realized that the highest compensation in the acccounting field as a graduate would be as an auditor for a Big 6 accounting firm (yes there were 6 then). I also did not have the best grades in the class - although I probably did get the concepts better than most of my fellow students - I missed alot of classes and did not do much in the way of homework. I was working 30 - 40 hours/week during that time. I added the MIS major as a way to differentiate myself from the competition (my fellow students). The year ahead of me there was one student who went the same route and was getting better job offers than anyone else in the class. I was the only student in my year that did it.

During my final year in college I worked at an internship for a technology consulting firm and received a job offer from them about 6 months before graduation. I was shopping around with accounting firms and other consulting firms for jobs as well. I had several job offers from both industries. At that time the average graduate with an accounting degree was getting offers from $30K to about $35K. The average MIS graduate was getting offers from about $32K to $36K. There were a couple of exceptions to this but most were in these ranges.

I ended up taking a job with the company I interned with for $36K my first year. It was more of a wait and see strategy. I was able to start working sooner (and earning my full salary and benefits) before graduation and it was local. I did not want to move but the higher paying jobs were mostly in Washington DC suburbs and Northern VA. I kept looking at other jobs and was working on a transfer within that company to a more "management consulting" oriented job. The reasons were 1. Higher Pay 2. Higher Profile work (that interested me more than technical work) and 3. Opportunities to travel 80 - 100% of the time.

Let me address the travel aspect of what I wanted in a job - and if you are about to get out of university and this even remotely appeals to you or you have the opportunity, read it - I will publish it in another post.