How Identity Has Influenced an Institutional Account Manager at Coinbase's Career
Mike's humanities background proved unconventional for a finance career, yet Mike successfully leveraged "free materials online" and "picking people's brains" to gain expertise, supplementing this with an MBA. This demonstrates how resourcefulness and networking can compensate for a non-traditional academic path in the crypto and finance industries.
Finance, Cryptocurrency, Career Transition, Self-Education, Networking
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Mike Munyer
Institutional Account Manager
Coinbase
University of Maryland; 2012
UCLA MBA
English
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing), Technology
Sales and Client Management
Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. Mike's unconventional path from humanities to finance demonstrates that a law degree isn't essential for a successful career in the field.
2. He emphasizes leveraging online resources and actively engaging with colleagues to gain knowledge and skills, highlighting the importance of self-directed learning and networking.
3. His decision to pursue an MBA is presented as a valuable, but optional, step in bridging the gap between humanities and finance, suggesting alternative routes to career success in the industry for students without traditional finance backgrounds.
Transcript
As someone who studied law but did not go to law school, how has that impacted how you've navigated your career in crypto and finance?
I think studying humanities, like English, and then getting into finance is unconventional, but something you can absolutely do if you wanted to. It's basically just taking advantage of all the resources online.
There are a lot of great, free materials where you can learn. You can kind of get a full education if you're willing to just read a lot.
Also, take advantage of colleagues and pick people's brains. Even in a remote environment, you can ping colleagues all the time.
The two biggest ways I learned a lot were from coworkers around me and from reading. Ultimately, I did go to grad school and get my MBA, which I think is another helpful but optional way to bridge that gap from the humanities to finance or crypto.