When I came to NYC, too many years ago, I had a little experience as a bookkeeper (very little), a good head for numbers, and a love of books. An accounting personnel agency sent me to interview at a small imprint of S&S. They couldn't pay much, but they made BOOKS. I was hooked.
I worked my way through an MBA while in that job, loving every minute, even though the books weren't exactly fun to read (securities industry texts, mostly). When I finished my MBA, and it was time to move on, I used Bert Davis to help me find the right niche. Once again, they couldn't pay much, but they made books I LIKED TO READ. And I would be involved in most parts of the process one way or another. I was hooked again.
I spent 8 years there, running their finance, accounting, and operations. That tended to include all the stuff that wasn't editorial, production or marketing. It was a blast in itself, and then there were the books.
Lessons I picked up along the way: --Don't expect a living wage, but do expect to enjoy living the life. --Look at what your boss and his/her boss are doing. Try to figure out why they're doing it that way, and what else might be going on outside your view. --Look at what allied departments are doing. Try to understand the whole process, and where the pieces fit together. Ask lots of questions.
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Getting to be an underpaid bean-counter
Date: 2006-04-25 02:55 pm (UTC)I worked my way through an MBA while in that job, loving every minute, even though the books weren't exactly fun to read (securities industry texts, mostly). When I finished my MBA, and it was time to move on, I used Bert Davis to help me find the right niche. Once again, they couldn't pay much, but they made books I LIKED TO READ. And I would be involved in most parts of the process one way or another. I was hooked again.
I spent 8 years there, running their finance, accounting, and operations. That tended to include all the stuff that wasn't editorial, production or marketing. It was a blast in itself, and then there were the books.
Lessons I picked up along the way:
--Don't expect a living wage, but do expect to enjoy living the life.
--Look at what your boss and his/her boss are doing. Try to figure out why they're doing it that way, and what else might be going on outside your view.
--Look at what allied departments are doing. Try to understand the whole process, and where the pieces fit together. Ask lots of questions.