Name: Kiyo
Career: Financial Analyst
Company Field: Health Care
Located In: New York City, New York
Grew Up In: Seattle, Washington
Graduated From: Skidmore College
Majored In: Economics and Business
Graduated In: 2012

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After College Lifestyles

 

Finance New York City Skidmore College

Kiyo does Financial Analysis for a Healthcare Company in New York City. Kiyo's job entails monitoring revenue cycle, analyzing financial statements, and mocking up business plans. Learn how Kiyo got into this field and tour is New York City apartment, which he shares with his girlfriend (also featured on this site: Valerie).

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Life of a College Grad Financial Analyst

I spend my day monitoring the revenue cycle for my physician groups, analyzing financial statements, mocking up business plans and performing ad hoc analyses. It requires an inquisitive nature, understanding of math and finance as well as a strong set of Excel skills.

How To Get Into The Field

In my senior year of college I took a healthcare economics class and went on to write my senior thesis on the subject. An alumnus of Skidmore, a senior executive at a leading medical center, came to campus to give a talk on healthcare and I used the opportunity to network with him. A few months out of school a position in his office opened up and I jumped on the opportunity.

What Do You Really Do?

I spend lots of my time working with Excel to turn thousands of data points into a coherent story. You also spend a fair amount of time writing emails to other departments and other people in your office trying to coordinate activities and investigate problems you notice. If you want to work in a position like mine, you have to enjoy math and Excel, and derive joy out of using numbers to tell a story.

Pros/Cons of Your Job

The culture of my office is really great. It is very collaborative and supportive. My position presents a lot of great challenges which keeps it interesting, however there are some aspects that are routine and can become monotonous.

The Life of a College Grad In New York City

What's it Like to Live Here?

The winters are cold and the summers are hot and muggy. You spend your day going through the city surrounded by people yet everyone is pretending that nobody else is there, which is a bit weird. The cost of living is high and if you are not fortunate to land a decent job you're going to end up eating lots of ramen. But, if you ever want something random and an off hour like Korean Latin fusion at 4 in the morning then this is the city where you will be able to find it.

How Did I End Up Here?

I ended up here because I went to school in upstate New York. From there NYC was the biggest opportunity because that is where I had developed my network. I had done an internship in NYC the summer before my senior year.

My Set-Up

I live in a one bedroom apartment with my girlfriend. We live in Astoria, Queens because it's so much more affordable than living in Manhattan. Our money goes a long way out here compared to friends who want to spend all their money living in Manhattan. The commute is probably only 10 minutes longer but we pay half of what we would to get a comparable apartment in many Manhattan neighborhoods.

Closing Advice

There's something to be said for the phrase "it's not what you know, it's who you know." Go out and meet people if you're looking for a job. There's networking events all the time, especially in big cities like New York. Whatever you decide you want to do, just go for it and make it happen. Nobody is going to hand it to you.

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