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What she does:
- Shannon McSorley has been with Coventry as an analyst for 6
months. The work she does on a daily basis involves "crunching numbers"
from life insurance illustrations that the company is considering for
purchase. She uses a model developed by Coventry to determine costs of
insurance for the different products, then determines how much they may
be able to offer for the policy. She recently started working
with the
sales team to convey purchase offers to her clients, and hopes to
eventually move into the management team. She says, "I got hired
because of my Math and technology background, and, I think, my overall
business savvy gained from four years of experience in different
sectors
(software & teaching)". Many analysts in her department joined the
company right out of college, so no prerequisite job was necessary to
hold the position.
Math on the Job:
- Shannon spent two years as a high school math teacher in Teach
for America (see the "background" paragraph below.) She finds
that she calls
on the Math and teaching skills she used when she was a teacher, even
more than on the higher math she gained as a math major. She says,
"I have to use things like percentages, basic
algebra algorithms, and competency with formulas in excel to work with
the insurance illustrations. I think my company looks to hire Math
majors particularly for this job because they know we're of a certain
breed - we're detail-oriented, analytical, problem-solving, and we like
a challenge! These are all key things necessary to do my job
successfully."
- Skills that come up daily in her job include the ability to understand algebraic formulas (from the simple to the complex), percentages, interest rates, and compound interest. Financial analysts work on projects with many other people, and so they need to be team-workers who can write well and give clear oral presentations. Shannon says, "I think my project-management skills from my computer days (first 2 years out of college) helped me sharpen my organization skills, and sense of urgency, that are required for this job. Being a teacher added to the organizational piece, but also increased my ability to self-manage, problem-solve, and be creative!"
Shannon's background:
- Shannon graduated from Franklin & Marshall College in 2000
with a Math Major and a Computer Science Minor. She then attended
University of St. Thomas, working towards a Masters of Education,
January 2003-January 2004, and is currently
enrolled in Capella University: she expects to get her MBA in January
2007.
- After graduating from F&M and spending two years working
in a corporate setting, Shannon joined Teach for America. She
describes her reasons this way: "I found myself growing
disenchanted with all of the long hours at the office, knowing that the
only impact I was having was on someone else's bottom line. I've
always enjoyed tutoring high school kids, and realized that I was
looking forward to my 2-3 hours a week with my tutorees much more than
my 50 hours at the office, and thought it was time for a change."
- She chose to apply for Teach for America because she knew the
organization was well established and would provide her with the
training and support she would need to make the transition into
teaching. She was placed as an Algebra/Geometry teacher at Reagan
High School in Houston, TX, got certified to teach high school math,
took some classes towards her Masters of Education, and "worked harder
than I ever thought possible. I learned first-hand about the
disparities of access to an equal education, and I learned a lot about
myself in the process. Overall, those 2 years in the classroom
actually prepared me to re-enter the business world. Once you've
stood at the front of classroom of thirty 14-year-olds and have
successfully taught them how to graph a line or solve an equation, you
pretty much see every other challenge in life as just another lesson to
be conquered." You can find out more about Teach For America at http://www.teachforamerica.org.
Advice for students:
- "My advice would be two-fold: First, if you know you're good at
math already, and think being a major would be challenging and unique,
go for it! It will keep your brain sharp, and will open the door
to a lot of great opportunities, because it proves you're willing to
take challenges and are analytical, two things that will make you a
good candidate for any job.
"My 2nd piece of advice is don't think that by being a math major, you're limiting your learning/job opportunities. I was lucky, and attended a liberal arts college, that put as much emphasis on 'core courses' as your 'major courses'. I like being a math-person, but also being able to quote Shakespearre or analyze Freud. Being a Math major is just one facet of your college life and career life - it's what you can do with it (in my case, programming, teaching, and finance) that gives you the varied experience and added adventure!"