Welcome
Welcome to Career Out West, a site dedicated solely to obtaining a financial career in Arizona or Texas.
I believe that success doesn’t come to you, you go get it, and that’s what this site is about.
On the tabs above, you can find a link to my resume, my contact information, a blog updating the progress of this site and more personal information on me. I would greatly appreciate you sending this site along to anyone and everyone you know.
If you have any advice on how I can make this site more effective (or for my career hunt in general) please email me at careeroutwest@gmail.com.
Thanks for stopping by!
Who I Am
I am a 25 year old Accountant at a Fortune 500 company in the Columbus, Ohio area. I am engaged to be married next June and we are looking to move to Arizona or Texas shortly before or after that time.
I have a Bachelors degree in Accounting from Kent State University and am passionate about anything personal finance related. I love reading, writing and talking about personal finance (you can find my personal finance website here), and want to find a career that allows me to use my interests and skills to do a job I truly enjoy.
How I Can Help Your Company
My Bachelors degree in Accounting from Kent State University has provided me with an education in not only accounting, but finance and the business world as a whole. I am currently two courses away from qualifying to sit for the CPA exam and am willing to pursue further education in order to obtain my CFP license.
On top of my education, I have extensive accounting experience. I am currently an Accountant at a Fortune 500 company where I am responsible for over $20,000,000 in monthly revenue. My job duties include making monthly journal entries, closing the books at the end of each month and monitoring the gross margin and looking for areas to improve it.
I also have entrepreneurial experience as the co-owner of a real estate investment company, Pinnacle Properties and Development, LLC. Since helping found the company in 2006, I have assisted in acquiring over $500,000 in rental properties and over 10 single family houses that were immediately flipped for profit. Although the current housing crisis has put a hold on the flipping side of our business, it has also been a huge boost to the rental side and we plan to acquire several more properties in the next year.
Along with my education and work experience, I also have very strong oral and written communication skills. I was able to develop these skills while working with a pharmaceutical company in college where I interacted with Doctors and Pharmacists all day, both on the phone and through email. My job was to balance the needs of patients, doctors, pharmacists and insurance companies. Anyone who has ever had to deal with the health insurance industry can imagine how difficult that balancing act was. As a result of that experience, I feel I am exceptional at dealing with people at any level, even in difficult situations.
I am extremely competitive and have a strong desire to succeed at anything I do. I learn quickly, work well with others and while I am a natural leader, I also believe in “paying my dues” in a new career and am willing to fill a role and work my way up to a position of leadership.
I feel my education, work experience, interests and skills make me an excellent fit in some type of financial advisor role. But I am also willing to listen to other opportunities that you feel may be a fit for me. If you feel my qualifications would be a good fit with your company, please email me at careeroutwest@gmail.com.
What I Am Looking For
I am looking for a career in the Arizona/Texas area that will allow me to use my passions and abilities to assist others with their finances. Whether it is in the area of retirement, taxes, investing or a combination of all of the above, I would like a career that allows me to work with people on a one on one basis in order to improve their financial situations.
But most of all, I want a career that I enjoy. I want to wake up excited to go to work every day. I don’t want to spend all weekend dreading Monday morning. I’m interested in any and all opportunities that can fill that requirement.
Why Arizona Or Texas
I’m sure a big (and fair) question many people will have about this whole thing is why would I give up a great job in this economy to move 2,000 miles away. Well, if you have ever been to Ohio in November-March, you understand!
But on top of the weather issues, I am getting married next June and my fiance and I would like to start our lives out West. Partly because my fiance is getting her degree in teaching (there are many more teaching opportunities in Arizona than in Ohio) and partly because we just want the adventure of moving to a beautiful area while we are still young enough to do it without significantly uprooting our lives.
Although I would prefer the Arizona/Texas area, I am also open to hearing about opportunities in other areas. My only requirement is that it must be a warm weather state!
How You Can Help
There is one simple way to help me succeed with this site, just pass it along. Tweet it, facebook it, digg it and email it to anyone you know. Even if they do not live in my target area or are not in the financial field, they may know someone who is.
I sincerely appreciate any and all help!