My Career

It’s funny how things work out isn’t it? The way one decision leads to a series of new paths, more decisions, more paths and the next thing you know you’re standing somewhere and you’re not quite sure when it happened or how you ended up getting there. It’s one of the best things about life and it’s something I have begun to embrace in the past year. The act of not planning ahead of the next year or even six months or next week. I’m referring to this in a more general sense rather than a serious one. I’m still getting ready to plan out my 401k and retirement plans with my first real paycheck because I don’t want to be living in a box when I’m seventy but as far as planning where I’ll be living in five years or what job I’ll be in, that’s up for grabs.

That being said, I’m currently very pleased to have the outline of a plan for my next step, that step being the rather steep one of entering the real world as an adult. College isn’t the real world, academia is far from anything real and that’s why so many people stay in it for an extended period of time. I love learning, I love school, and I certainly plan on getting my masters, at the very least, in the future but for the love of God I’m ready to move on to the real world. That’s what brings me to the purpose of this post. Yesterday, after a month of strenuous recruiting events, applications and interviews taking me all the way up to San Francisco, I was offered a position as an assurance associate with the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers starting next fall. There’s probably some sort of rule against me publishing this information but right now I’m just too excited to care!

(Nr. Fisherman's Wharf)

I just got back from spending approximately 24 hours up in San Fran, my first real business trip. I hopped on a plan straight out of my managerial midterm and made it to the city by 2pm where I made my way to the Argonaut Hotel near fisherman’s wharf. I took advantage of the location and walked to pier 39 before getting ready for the pre-interview dinner. I met with two current associates who took me to dinner at a swanky restaurant called Chaya on the Embarcadero near the office in the financial district. I walked the mile and a half down Columbus Avenue through North Beach and knew I could live here; there are so many cafes, restaurants and taverns that I had to work very hard in order to pass without peeking my head in or asking for a table. Dinner was great and the company was relaxed and informative, exactly what they’re going for. I had roasted duck; salad and we all split two desserts. I got back to the hotel in time to catch Grey’s Anatomy and tell my parents about dinner briefly before gathering my things together so I wouldn’t be rushed in the morning. The bed was ridiculously comfortable; too bad I didn’t get to enjoy it longer!

(The Sealions of Pier 39)

In the morning I met up with two other Santa Barbara guys in the elevator, which was nice because then I wasn’t going to the office alone. We caught a cab together and made our way to the financial district to the PwC reception on the 20^th floor. The rest of the interviewees were from out of state, which surprised us as we expected other UC people, LA or Berkeley. One of the more charismatic partners gave us a talk about his experiences, we heard about the different industries and opportunities available then about benefits and what it’s like to be a first year associate before being met by our “buddies.” My buddy was Nathan, a first year form Oregon who gave me a quick office tour before escorting me to my three interviews. The important part of the day went by like a flash and by the end of the three half hour interviews I felt like I couldn’t say another word about myself. After that it was time for lunch. Two associates, one of the SB guys and I went together to a Mediterranean restaurant which I think I liked better than the place we went to dinner. The atmosphere was great and there were lots of other people in business suits, it felt very odd to be one of them. During lunch Nathan and Michele, the other associate, told us about life in the office, living in SF, what to expect on the CPA exam and about other benefits. After lunch we returned to the office to pick up our bags and that was that, adios! It went by so fast I wasn’t even sure I really went through the whole process.

Since I had a couple of hours before I needed to head to the airport I settled myself at one of several Starbuck’s on Clay street where I attempted to read a book but couldn’t for the life of me concentrate on the words on the page. I was too fidgety to stay in one place so I reluctantly hauled my bag onto my shoulder and made my way towards the Bay. I passed a cubic fountain/sculpture that I soon realized was the very same place I had played with my friends over a decade ago on our 5^th grade trip to the city. It was absolutely surreal to be walking by it now, wearing my business suit, all grown up. I took some picture of the Bay Bridge walked through the marketplace and then decided it was time to get a cab, didn’t want to get stuck in Friday rush hour.

(3 Embarcadero Center, PwC's office in the Financial District)

Once I made it to the airport I had to make it through a couple of false alarm phone calls before getting the one call that I had been anxiously awaiting. The partner I had interviewed called and after several seconds worth of words that seemed like an eternity she uttered the offer of which I had imagined hundreds of time, “we would like to offer you a position with our firm.” Oh hallelujah, praise Jesus and all those saints! I can’t remember the last time I felt so light hearted. I called mom, then dad at work, grandma and grandpa, my friend Anne who I had been talking to a few minutes earlier. Then I naturally found myself at the terminal bar where I ordered a very large beer in celebration at which point I told the bartender and my fellow bar patrons about my immense happiness, I was too happy to care how odd I probably seemed. It’s still a bit unreal.

So now I’m back in Santa Barbara but I feel different, I have an inner confidence and my heart swells with pride at random times, not in any cocky self-indulgent way just a solid contentment. I’ve been looking at apartment listings online, checking out business clothes online and thinking of all the cool things there are to do in San Francisco. To put it simply, I’m elated and I don’t think the feeling will be going away anytime soon, it’s absolutely wonderful. I’ll leave it there for now but I’m bound to have many adventures to come in the future so I shall leave space for them now. Thanks for reading and thank you for everyone’s support as I’ve gone through this recruiting process!

(The Bay Bridge)