This is not the first time I’ve attempted math prowess. One of the first jobs I had after college was being an accountant. I decided to enroll in an accounting/bookkeeping training program and got a job doing the books for a hotel chain. Why I decided to work in a field that I have never been good at is kind of strange. I guess I thought I could take a weakness and make it my strength. I did something similar back in high school when I joined Toastmasters to conquer my giant fear of public speaking. It sort of worked.
Anyway, even though I had to re-take Accounting in college after I failed it the first time, I thought I’d transform myself into some kind of number crunching superstar who could converse in the language of business and money by completing this training program.
I actually ended up doing pretty well in the training program. That’s not really surprising though as I am pretty good at the school thing (see my first post on how I game the system).
But aside from being a savvy student, I understood accounting (debits & credits) as well as how to use Quickbooks bookkeeping software. The training program trained me well. I even tacked the above picture above my desk- proudly displaying The Hand of Accounting- which was a cute way to remember debits and credits- that I learned in school. My mom actually drew this picture for me so it was special.
I worked diligently doing accounting for just shy of a year. I had to learn the ropes of the jobs fast. The manager would call me into her office periodically to show me how to do something and I would feverishly scribble down notes while she talked because she really didn’t want to have to repeat herself and go over it again.
The very first thing she showed me was how to reconcile the hotel petty cash account in a Google docs spreadsheet. Pretty simple. Pretty straightforward. You just have to make sure the numbers balance. Easy peasy.
So I kept on truckin’ as an accountant and did tasks such as monitoring various income accounts like Deposits Pending Cash and Credit Cards. I also processed bi-weekly payroll for 4 hotel properties and did cancellation report audits and bank reconciliations.
One day I get called into the manager’s office and she sits me down. “Heather, I did an audit and your petty cash does not balance. I’m sorry but this is very basic and it’s the first thing I ever showed you.” She had to let me go. Over a math error. She did tell me that she appreciated my attitude and work ethic but that accounting probably was not a good fit for me. I think she was probably right. Math was and is not my strong suit. I now consider getting fired from my accounting job a blessing in disguise because accounting probably wasn’t a good fit for me and I’ve since found other positions that appeal to my creative side.
However, just because I don’t have a “math job” doesn’t mean that I can’t improve my math skills. Math skills are needed to be successful in life and that is something I need to work on.
Diary of a Math Phobe 