Business, marketing, and law

Careers and Colleges, Jan-Feb, 2005

--Jesse Nankin

ACCOUNTANT

KELVIN JOSEPH

AGE: 25

LOCATION: New York, NY

JOB: Certified public accountant (CPA) for Ernst & Young and Vice President of Samantashoes.com.

EDUCATION: Joseph has a bachelor's degree in public accounting from Pace University in New York City. Accountants typically must have a few years of work experience before earning the CPA designation.

SALARY: Accountants earn approximately $47,000 per year. Senior accountants may earn six figures.

ON THE JOB: "I always knew I wanted to be a business man. I thought wearing a suit and going to work was cool, and I knew accounting would help with various aspects of business ownership. A lot of CEOs start as CPAs. Accounting is really the language of business. As an auditor, my job is very flexible as long as I get the work done. Although some days I'm at the desk crunching numbers, other times I'm out of the office with a client, such as a major handbag company, doing an inventory count and verifying their financial information."

REWARDS: "Being an accountant lets you see inside companies and better understand how they work, and that has helped me start a business with my wife, called Samanta shoes.com. Starting a business is a dream come true and you have to always make time for your dreams."

CHALLLENGES: "You have to challenge yourself to be your best, live your life with passion, and make a difference. It's a misconception that complex math is used in accounting--if you know adding and subtracting you're set. People skills and time management are the most important."

MORE INFO: The American Institute for Certified Public Accountants, www.aicpa.org

LAWYER

STACEY GEURDS

AGE: 35

LOCATION: Trenton, NJ

JOB: Chief Prosecutor of the Domestic Violence Unit at the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office in Trenton, New Jersey.

EDUCATION: Lawyers typically complete three years of law school before taking the bar exam. Geurds attended Trenton State College (now the College of New Jersey) and then Seton Hall Law School. After law school, she clerked for a judge in New Jersey.

SALARY: The median annual salary for lawyers is $88,280. The starting salary for a prosecutor at time Mercy County Prosecutor's Office is $43,000.

ON THE JOB: Geurds loves her work and feels that it is a privilege to prosecute domestic violence cases. She is responsible for overseeing the unit, supervising the police departments in the county, and providing domestic violence training to police officers. She is in court almost every day for any number of reasons, including informing the court of progress on a case, reviewing bail if the defendant is in prison, and going to trial when an agreement cannot be reached between the state and a defendant. When not in court, Geurds might meet with victims of domestic violence or work with detectives and other APs to investigate charges and develop cases. "Every day is different," Geurds says. "I can never predict what my day will be like because we could have three emergencies or none. Domestic violence is an emotionally charged area of the law and the burnout rate is high. Finding a balance is key."