Part 2 is about synthesizing research, applying it to your life, and writing your findings in a well-formed draft. Use your notes, research, and the directives in Paragraphs 1-8 to write your draft of

Unexpected Journey

Insurance risk management is not the first thing that comes to mind when you are a child and are asked what you want to grow up to be. Yet, years later, here I am. The following is the unexpected journey that led me to seek a bachelor’s in insurance risk management. When I was eighteen years old, my friend was going to apply for a job at an insurance company and invited me to accompany her. The employee providing my friend with an application looked at me and stated, “You should also apply, we are always searching for good-looking young people”. I blushed and began to laugh nervously. My friend nudged me and said, “You should apply to see what happens”. A couple of weeks later, I was called for an interview and my friend was not. After the interview, I was offered a job as a customer service representative. From the beginning of training I hit the ground running and immersed myself in learning as much as I could. During my orientation, I was advised employees were required to obtain an insurance license to sell auto insurance in the state of Texas. I needed to acquire the license before I completed my first ninety days of employment or I would be terminated. Two months after self-study for the state exam, I was scheduled for the test. The morning of my exam, my co-workers advised me the exam was difficult and there was a slim chance I would pass on my first attempt. I walked into the testing center nervous, not knowing what to expect. After I completed my test, I walked outside to the representative that worked at the testing facility. She looked at me and stated, “Shouldn’t you look a little more excited? You passed your test!”. I smiled shyly and walked out feeling an immense sense of pride. This was the first of many accomplishments in my career. While working and learning through hands on experience, I began to enjoy my job. I fell in love with building relationships with customers and co-workers. As the years passed, I continued to learn, and grow in my career. Seven and a half years ago, I was looking to expand my horizons. I decided to leave my managing sales position to begin working as an underwriter. After two years in the underwriting department, I was promoted to a supervisor position. After two years of being a supervisor, I was promoted to the underwriting risk manager position. I was the first risk manager the company had; therefore, I felt a huge sense of responsibility. Being a risk manager allowed me to be the leader of the auditing and risk auditing teams. I was involved in the process of creating metrics, curating programs to audit, and inventing ways to automate processes in our system. I became involved in improving protocols and finding ways to reduce risk. This opportunity led me to gain experience in areas that directly correlate with my degree. It also provided a window into a new chapter in my career. The following paragraphs illustrate why I believe I will excel in this career and what steps I will take to be successful.

I believe we all have characteristics and aptitudes that help us excel in life, both personally and professionally. Through the Clifton Strength Assessment, I learned my top five strengths. I discovered I am a learner, someone with a great desire to learn and improve. This is essential in the role of a risk manager, as one of the main duties is to stay up to date with compliance information and laws. Insurance is ever changing, which requires you to evolve and expand your knowledge. The second strength is restorative, someone who is competent in problem resolution. The concept of a risk manager is to not only avoid risk but also help resolve issues that arise in the current processes or protocols. The third strength is achiever, someone who takes immense satisfaction in being busy and productive. This attribute shows that I am a hard worker and am willing to go the extra mile without being asked to. The fourth strength is responsibility, someone who is honest and loyal. From experience, this is one of the main qualities an employer searches for when hiring. The last strength is input, someone who gathers information to figure out how things work. This reiterates my need to figure out how things function for improvement. These strengths are some traits I feel will aid me in transcending in the field of risk management.

As I delved further into what a risk manager is and the requirements, I came across insightful information. A risk manager is tasked to pair with different department heads to discuss and execute economic planning and prevent loss. The required education for this role is a bachelor’s degree along with five years of experience. The outlook of job growth is incredible. The expected job growth is fifteen percent from 2019-2029, which is higher than the national average. The skills needed to be a risk manager is efficiency when computing figures and transmitting accurate information. In addition, prioritizing, dissecting data, and being meticulous. The annual median salary for a risk manager is $125,600 for the financial and insurance sectors. My financial strategy is to invest in my education now to avoid future financial strain. This means I will pay for college out of my own pocket. I plan to secure my bachelor’s degree and keep my insurance license up to date with the required continuing education. Due to this information, I believe I am making the correct choice in choosing this career as it is something I like to do and something that shows growth within the next years nationally.

While I searched for local information regarding risk management, the information I found was just as promising as the national level. The job openings for risk managers are 1,117. There is projected growth locally like there is nationally from 2019-2029. The duties of a risk manager are the same duties as they are nationally. Most of the core information seems to be identical. Two of the main differences are the median salary and the education requirements. The median salary is $87,728 versus the national median salary of $125,600. Locally, there does not seem to be sufficient information of what education is required by employers. I was able to find additional information stating nationally 90% of risk managers obtain a bachelor’s degree and only 10% obtained a master’s degree. When researching this information, it solidified my plans to acquire a master’s degree to set me apart. The local information echoed the statistics of the national information, the need for risk managers is on the rise.

Although our lifestyle changes throughout the stages of our lives, I believe it is a key ingredient to our happiness. The salary I will need to earn to maintain my desired lifestyle is $60,555. The lifestyle I want to live after college mirrors my current lifestyle. I enjoy going on vacations, concerts, and adventures. The main difference is that I want to purchase a home in the future. Currently, I live with my parents. I pay all utilities and assist my parents with other expenses as they no longer work. My career’s annual salary will be more than the amount needed for my lifestyle. I plan to invest the additional income in purchasing homes and condominiums for vacation rentals. I am planning to invest in these vacation rentals for extra income to give me the ability to retire before the age of sixty-five. As important as your lifestyle is to your happiness, it is equally important to be realistic with yourself and reassess to live within your means.

Continuing the theme of lifestyles, I explored what the differences are for the cost of living in three cities compared to Houston. The three cities are as follows: Austin $63,187, San Antonio $56,500, and McAllen $47,250. The cost of living in San Antonio and McAllen are both lower than Houston in five categories. The cost of living in Austin are higher in three categories and lower in two categories. In Austin, housing, health care, and groceries are higher than Houston. However, utilities and transportation are less than Houston. The overall cost of living in Austin is still higher than Houston. The highest percent differences are as follows. San Antonio’s utilities are 18% less than Houston. Austin’s housing cost is 19% more than Houston. McAllen’s housing is 35% less than Houston. My career offers options that are and are not dependent on location. My goal is to work for a company that has the flexibility to work from home. I have considered living outside of the United States; however, the tool only uses cities in the United States. If I can find a company that allows me to work remotely, I will travel the first two years. The first six months I plan to travel the United States. I plan to use Airbnb to stay for a month or less in the United States then Mexico, Canada, Europe, and South America. I understand I will have to find extremely reliable Wi-Fi, however there are devices that you can carry worldwide for Wi-Fi. After my analysis I would consider living in San Antonio once I return from my travels. The cost of living is slightly lower than Houston and the job salaries I have researched are comparable to Houston. I could invest the extra money from the lower cost of living in San Antonio into the vacation properties I want to buy without disruption to my lifestyle.

Life is not only about your wants and needs; it is also about helping others in your community. I have volunteered with St. Baldricks, which is an organization that gives to research for children’s cancer. As a team captain I helped raise over $11,000 for this cause. I participated in the Houston Aids walk to raise money. I have volunteered in the Houston Food Bank. This year my family and I will be sponsoring a soldier for Christmas for the Boots for Troops organization. Giving back has always been something that brings me happiness. The two organizations that I would be interested in helping are Volunteer Management for Internship Refugee Services (Non-Profit) and Administrative Volunteer for Tree of Life Hospice Plus Volunteer Program. I am interested in helping with refugee services because both of my parents were born in Mexico. Although they were not refugees, they were immigrants. They dealt with hardships and worked long hours for little pay. I am also interested in helping hospice facilities because I believe no one should be alne during their final days. This is a cause I have always felt connected to. Whenever I was in high school, I volunteered in a hospice facility. The experience made a significant impact on me. If I volunteer, not only will I be helping the organization, I will also strengthen my skills. I can become more efficient in my communication skills both verbal and written, excel in organization, and time management. These skills are all key to meeting the requirements of a risk manager. In addition, volunteering in non-profit organizations can help expand your current network. A non-profit organization can lead to many connections in and out of my field of choice. By nature, non-profit organizations reach across a diverse scope of people in different positions from several companies and organizations. These connections can lead to new opportunities and self-betterment. In the end, I hope, I will have leave a mark in the people’s lives I touched with my service.

To accomplish my goals, I will create a plan to help me stay on task until my goal is complete. My main goal is to complete a bachelor’s degree program in insurance risk management in four years or less. I plan to complete three courses every spring/fall semester along with two classes the first and second session of summer. The only caveat would be in my sophomore year, I will have to complete one course during winter break. Due to the current circumstances regarding the pandemic, I have been working from home. In my opinion, this was the perfect time to begin my goal. After the first year of college, I will have a steady routine and should be able to stay on schedule even if I physically go back to work. My plan is to graduate no later than the fall of 2024. The main challenge I will have is that I have a full-time job. It is normal for me to work more than forty hours a week. I am prepared to ask my employer to work less hours if work begins to interfere with my school responsibilities. To achieve my goal, I will not only have to create a plan, I would also create a back-up plan. I also intend to examine my progress and reassess my needs at the end of every quarter. If something needs to be adjusted, I will make those adjustments based on the assessment. I will not procrastinate and will continually take actions to complete each step in this unexpected journey.