Career Path of a Compliance and Operational Risk Vice President at a Large Bank
Initially a political science major considering law, Karin's career path took an unexpected turn after a retail internship at Target proved unsuitable. A post-9/11 opportunity in banking, leveraging their political science background to interpret new anti-money laundering regulations, launched their career into compliance and operational risk, ultimately leading to their current VP role at a large bank.
Career Exploration, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management, Career Pivoting, Financial Services
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Karin Lin
VP, Compliance and Operational Risk
Large Bank
UC Berkeley, 2005
UCLA - Anderson School of Business / MBA
Political Science, American Studies
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing)
Finance
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Immigrant, Worked 20+ Hours in School, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Initially pursued a political science degree, considering law as a career path.
2. Interned at Target, gaining retail experience before finding a better fit in banking.
3. Transitioned into compliance and operational risk after 9/11 due to new financial regulations, leveraging her political science background in interpreting and implementing those rules.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Did you have any internships or jobs before your current role?
Yes, of course. Initially, as a political science major at UC Berkeley, I thought it might be more appropriate for me to become an attorney. While I was at school, I was part of the Political Science Student Association and interned with rental assistance nonprofits near UC Berkeley.
I wasn't sure if that was what I wanted to do. During the summer of my second year, I interned at Target. A lot of my friends were looking to go into retail management, which seemed popular because Target had a great management training program at the time.
I tried it and realized it might be a fit for some people, but it wasn't an exact fit for me. So, I came back to my political science degree and then considered going into banking for underwriting. I was crunching numbers for underwriting.
Through that, after 9/11, there were a lot of brand new rules and regulations about money laundering. Someone in that field asked me if I, as a political science major, would want to come over to their department, which was all about reading regulations and developing a program. That's how I got started.