I Have A Liberal Arts Degree And I Work For A FinTech Company

I Have A Liberal Arts Degree And I Work For A FinTech CompanyI Have A Liberal Arts Degree And Now I Work For A FinTech Company (And Totally Love It)At some point in your life, youve probablyheard that you should pursue your passion as a career, which likely factoredinto your decision when you were selecting your major as a first-year collegestudent.Through your internship search, youve probably seen a lot of job descriptions that call for a strict list of related majors. Thats one of the many ways BlackRocka financial technology (FinTech) and asset management leaderstands out from other companies. BlackRock values diversity of thought and actively recruits people from a range of hintergrundsespecially those that arent business majors.To get a better sense of why and how BlackRockdoes this, we spoke to some of their employees with liberal arts degrees who areat different stages of their careers. At BlackRock, Liberal Arts Skills Really Come In HandyTyler uses his Art History degree to approach data visualization and storytelling in new ways.Tyler is a recent klasse whose job is tocommunicate possible volatility, risk factors, and other market themes toPortfolio Managerssomething his double-major prepared him for.Being able to tell a story in a succinct,articulate way is key to being successful in the role. In doing so, datavisualization is of paramount importance. Art History prepared me to linearlynarrate market trends, as well as articulate that story with customizedvisuals, Tyler says.BlackRocks interest in having diversity ofthought also stems from their global presence. Liz is an analyst who helpsclients understand how BlackRock products fit into their financial objectives.She found that her academic background in foreign languages has helped her andher gruppe engage more with colleagues and clients abroad.My educational background has significantlyimproved connectivity across our global gruppes. Speaking to someone in theirnative language drastically incre ases engagement, and Ive found an increasedlevel of interaction from our abverkauf team in regions that speak Spanish andItalian ever since Ive joined the team, Liz explains. Having a globalmindset and background, be it educational or cultural, will always add value toa team in a global, collaborative company like BlackRock.Liz uses her language skills to facilitate global collaboration.There are other lessons that are just as valuable. Just ask Alan Mason. Hes a Managing Director who holds multiple degrees in music and ethnomusicology. Over the course of his 25-year career in investments, Alans found that the same skills that served him in pursuit of his PhD translated well to innovative finance environments like BlackRock.I leveraged my academic abilities toorganize, communicate and deliver projects in the world of asset management,Alan says, adding that many of the best managers at BlackRock learn importantleadership skills from their liberal arts studies. Humanities disciplinesb roadly prepare leaders to recognize patterns, tell stories and communicateclearly. These perspectives help managers lead and influence internal andexternal parties.These traits have certainly served him wellHe started with a two-day temp job and worked his way to a senior leadershipposition as a Managing Director, one of the highest attainable ranks atBlackRock. Of course, his experience with playing musichelped, in addition to his academic background in it Music teaches thediscipline of setting small goals, then practicing hard, seeking feedback, andultimately performing at a higher level. As someone who takes pride inexecuting many things in a reliable way, I lead my teams by example to pushthemselves to do the same thing.Why BlackRock Pursues Liberal Arts Talent (And How It Pays Off)How does a company challenge the status quo?How does a company leapfrog from where it is to the future of what it could be?Those are questions that Tiffany Perkins-Munn, a global decision sciences lea der on BlackRocks marketing team with a background in psychology, Spanish, and applied statistics, asks herself. A company can only do this by examining a problem from many different angles and perspectives to uncover new approaches and discover new opportunities.Tiffanys background in psychology, Spanish, and applied statistics has helped BlackRocks Decision Sciences team excel for their clients.BlackRocks commitment to innovation and theirwide array of products and services have always been their competitive edge,and this drives the companys strategy of recruiting and fostering a diverseslate of perspectives. This approach has helped them become the largest asset management company in the world (amongother achievements).Tyler saw firsthand how his background andskillset added a unique perspective last year when he attended a global meetingfor his Risk Quantitative Analysis team and presented a new take on acomplex data visualization. I came up with a creative way of visualizingth e data called a violin plot. It is similar to a pckchen-and-whisker plot, butadds density on the x-axis, which helps identify clustering, Tyler says.His approach to that problem earned him thepraise of the Chief Risk Officer (who named the new plots after Tyler) andserves as a prime example of how BlackRock truly embraces diversity of thought.We couldve spent the last three weeksbuilding the most complex analysis, but if we cant articulate it in laymans terms,our work wouldve been a waste Art History has been a tremendous help instorytelling with data, Tyler adds.The recognition of and emphasis on uniqueapproaches to problem-solving isnt just another strategy for the company,either. Its a necessity. We cannot afford to have group thinkbecause we are trying to invent new ways of doing things and understand achanging world for our clients, explains Alan, whos personally responsiblefor a team of over sixty. Diverse academic backgrounds help foster divergentthinking.Impressed with Black Rocks wide array ofopportunities for liberal arts majors?The team at BlackRock also gave us some tips for using your liberal artsdegree to your advantage, both in the job search and on the job.How To Turn Your Liberal Arts Degree Into An Advantage In The FinTech WorldUse your background as an asset, Liz says. FinTech companies are increasingly aware of the many benefits that having a diverse team can offer, and the diversity of educational background is a big component to achieve success.The very reason that liberal arts majors might not consider FinTech rolesbecause theyre afraid that their lack of formal finance education disqualifies themis why they should pursue them, Liz says. Dont shy away from FinTech roles, because more likely than not, theyre looking for someone like you to add a fresh and new perspective to their team, she says.Do your research using broad search terms so that you can learn aboutopportunities across many different functions or departments within financial services, how they are differently specified, and any special skills orknowledge you may need for a specific function, Liz says.Tiffany can attest that employees with diversity of thought allow forexamination from every angle, which equals new approaches, new opportunities,creative problem solving, thinking outside the box and more innovation.There is an opportunity for everyone atBlackRock and the company values people with different backgrounds andperspectives. Want to learn more about building a FinTechfuture with a liberal arts degree? Visit BlackRock on WayUp