Career Path of a Financial Analyst at Berkeley Lab
Calvin's career path, beginning with a double major in business economics and communication studies at UCLA, involved diverse experiences including "a few different internships and odd jobs," followed by temporary work and roles as an airport consultant and a project controller consultant for Deloitte. These experiences ultimately led to Calvin's current fulfilling position as a financial analyst at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, a role where the prior jobs provided valuable learning and growth.
Career Exploration, Job Search, Career Development, Project Management, Communication
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Calvin Lau
Financial Analyst
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab)
UCLA 2012
N/A
Business Management & Admin
Energy & Utilities, Government & Public Sector
Finance
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, LGBTQ
Video Highlights
1. Calvin's career path demonstrates that diverse experiences, even seemingly unrelated ones (like being a copy editor or marketing intern), can contribute to career growth. He transitioned from various roles in consulting to his current position as a financial analyst at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
2. His experience at Deloitte as a project controller consultant highlights the value of challenging, high-pressure roles in professional development, offering significant learning opportunities despite their demanding nature.
3. Calvin's journey emphasizes the possibility of transitioning from seemingly unrelated college majors (Business Economics and Communications) into a specialized field like financial analysis, showcasing adaptability and the capacity to connect disparate skills to a career path.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path? Please start with your experiences in college, and then tell me about any internships or jobs you had before your current role.
Chuck: I started at UCLA, where I double-majored in business economics and communication studies. I had a few different internships and odd jobs in college.
They weren't directly related to my current career path, but they were fun experiences. I worked as a copy editor for the school paper and did some marketing internships, just to see what was out there.
After graduating, I was employed, but it wasn't the best time. I did some temp work through staffing agencies for about two years.
Then, I landed my first full-time position as an Airport consultant for a small consultancy. That was a really interesting and fun job, but a little niche, which made it difficult to grow. That's another reason I left.
After that, I was a Project Controller Consultant for Deloitte. That was a great experience; I learned a lot. They work you hard, but you do learn a lot. I was there for about three years, and I'm happy to be done with that part of my life.
Now, I'm in my current position as a Financial Analyst for Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. It's a national research lab, operated by UC, so I'm a UC employee. I've been there about three and a half years now and am quite happy where I am.
A lot of my previous jobs have helped me learn and grow into the position I'm in now.