The universe is chaotic, and in my business of history and film, people like to impose the idea of cycles of history. Or they like to say we're condemned to repeat what we don't understand or don't remember, and that's just not true. The universe is really chaotic, and because human beings never get out of this alive, that is to say, we all die, we try to superimpose some narrative, in retrospect, on what's happened. Which makes history, biography, even our own telling of our stories suspect. I do remember standing in the living room, the tiny, threadbare, cockroach-ridden living room of this fifth-floor walk-up on West 25th Street in Chelsea, that hadn't yet become Chelsea, in Manhattan. And saying, no, I need to go some place. And I had friends who had gone to college in western Massachusetts, with me, Amherst or Hampshire College, and who had moved up to Southern New Hampshire and Southern Vermont. And that they were there, and they were forging their ways as weavers, and midwives, and booksellers, and natural food sellers. And why couldn't I also go and live, not so much off the grid, but under the grid. that is to say, where I could heat my house with wood, and not have that expense. Where I could live as I did in 79 and 80 and 81, for less than $225 a year, and make it, and then do something. And then all of a sudden, realized that I hadn't compromised the vision, so it feels very, very strong. I also know that in retrospect, it sounds like a really, really good story. A kind of declaration of principles, Charles Foster Kane tacking up the declaration of how he's gonna live with Joseph Cotton, at the beginning of the second act of Citizen Kane. But there was a sense that if I could escape the specific gravity of the place where everybody, including me, wanted to be, New York City, that that would actually be a good thing. Now, I have grown children in New York, I have an apartment in New York, I'm never too far away from it. And that's always been the case, I always have to do things related to my films there. But I live here, I'm rooted here, my children have grown up here, and my films have grown up here and that's made all the difference. 

I can't tell you how to become a filmmaker because each person's path is their own. I do advise periodically evaluating yourself to determine if filmmaking is what inly rejoices. It takes a courage to realize and admit that you don't have something to say and filmmaking isn't for you. Make sure you put effort into self-evaluation so you don't waste your life on a dream that isn't really yours. Whatever you're doing, you'll know you're making a right step if you feel a spark of authenticity.

My mother died of cancer when I was 11 years old. It was like a grenade had blown up in our emotional lives. But it also triggered circumstances for me to find my true passion. Tragedy can provide the catalyst and courage to go forward and do things.

While creating my first film, I was living in New York and thought I'd have to leave my dreams and get a better paying job. Instead, I moved to rural New Hampshire to live on nothing and finish the film. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.

Documentarian & Filmmaker

We won't support your film. You're too young to be a filmmaker.

Experience

Societal Pressures

Values

Finding Comfort Outside Of The Norm

So with the military, the first part of training is the physical part. They make sure you can run and carry the equipment, use the equipment properly. And once you complete that, you move on to the next phase, is where they teach you how to do your job. So the first five or six months of my time in the military after boot camp was around information security, technology, all that. So they teach you everything you need to know for your job within that time period. It opened up my eyes to things that I didn't consider before. And being a woman in the military was one of them. And again, a lot of stereotypes with that because it's a male dominated world. And you're expected to know how to shoot guns, and throw grenades, and fight people, and win wars. But my job as an information security specialist in the Army was to make sure that people were connected to the network to be able to do their jobs, to be able to communicate. And it's not exactly what everyone thinks is happening. But there are so many different fields, so many different opportunities, so many different paths that you can take. And I have nothing but great things to say about the military because they are very supportive. And it is a great opportunity for someone like me who didn't have the finances to go to college straight out of high school. So it was a great path that helped me realize what I wanted to do in life, but also gave me a paycheck while I figured things out. 

2016 NSF
Worked at SunTrust when interviewed

Check out schools that offer information security programs. Explore the classes they offer and try to decide if they seem like classes you'd be interested in. Not all programs are the same—some could be heavy in coding while others are heavy in business. It's important to try to evaluate if you want to pursue more on the technical side or the business side and then look into the schools with programs that align with your interests and values.

I came from a broken home in a struggling community that didn't really see its members go to college and succeed. It instilled a fear of failure in me, but I always used that as motivation to succeed.

I work in a field that is dominated by men. Society also portrays women in this field as awkward and undesirable, but I have first-hand knowledge that that is a myth. I strive to prove people wrong.

I didn't have the financial ability to afford college after high school. I ended up joining the military, which not only gave me a paycheck, but it also gave me the time to figure out what I wanted to do in life.

After becoming disabled in the military, I was honorably discharged and had to transition back into regular life. The transition took some time and could get difficult as I essentially learned how to be me again.

I suffer from a few disabilities and was honorably discharged from the military. One that still affects my current work life is migraines. I sometimes have to struggle through meetings with one. Fortunately, my work teams have all been accommodating.

Senior Cybersecurity Assurance Analyst

Information security is for men and all of the women who work in the field are nerdy and awkward.

Money & Financial Security

Opportunity

My Military Experience

So computer science is an incredibly broad field. And people that say I do computer science, there's just so much that you can do with that. And actually I started out as a math major here. And I got into computer science cuz for me, computer science is problem solving. You're given a tool belt, your tool belt is the software language, the programming language that you've learned, C++, Java, whatever the language is. And you have certain tools that you can use to solve a problem. Even something like Facebook started with a problem, how do we connect to everyone? How do we expand your social network and connect initially to other college students? And then the programming, the languages that you use, provide tools to solve that problem. And so you get to then look at it saying, okay, well, I know people want to become to be connected. We have this wonderful thing, the Internet. And people wanna be connected across it, and my space is not adequate. So what can we do to sort of solve this problem of Internet connection? And it doesn't need to be a problem that is die it, or urgent, or something that you might die if you don't solve. But just struggles that people have every day. Programming and apps and things like that are able to solve them. But you need to know how to use the right set of tools. And that will allow you to solve the problems and get a problem out there that people want and people will use. And people use to make their life more enjoyable or easier. Someone says, I need the layout of this chip done. You have a set of tools. How do you go about putting those two tools together? Putting those puzzle pieces together so that you actually have something that can produce that layout? And so I always say it's just sort of a tool belt and a knowledge of how to use those tools. But then it's applicable everywhere. Everyone needs a computer scientist, right? You have web development, you have bioengineering using it. There is information technology, social media. All of that is sort of at the core is computer science. And then there's more applied and there's all kinds of places you can go with it. It's wonderful. 

Say yes to all of the opportunities that are presented to you throughout your educational journey and use them to better your own experience. Taking on these opportunities will open more doors, widen your perspective, and give you the ability to help others. You can learn something from everyone you ever meet, so don't hesitate to ask others to share their passions with you so that you can learn from them.

I started out as just a math major in college but I was frustrated that theoretical math didn't give you literal results. I ended up picking up a second major in computer science, which provided that work-result relationship I was looking for.

Teaching can be very frustrating because you’ll get students who think they’re automatically entitled to a certain grade. I just try to focus on the idea that I’m helping others gain knowledge and experience, which is very gratifying.

When I'm developing (outside of lecturing), I use the mornings each day to check my emails and figure out what my focus should be that day. Then I spend a few hours programming and familiarizing myself with where I am in the code. I use lunch to talk to my peers about what we're all working on. Then I spend the afternoon and early evening buckling down on programming, testing codes, and coming up with solutions.

Lecturer

Everyone should pursue a proper higher education degree.

Talent

Computer Science Is About Problem Solving

I would describe computer science as the field of study of how computer technology can really enhance what we do manually today. It's a field of study that really can push sort of an understanding of why and how we do things. It's interesting that computer science just kind of really takes routines that we do today and is able to make them quicker. Is one aspect of it, but it actually helps us to analyze maybe why we do certain things today and how we might be able to do them better. That's the sort of analytics part I love about computer science. It gives us information that we wouldn't have necessarily thought about if we had to crunch things by hand. And so there's a certain amount of information analytics that comes from computer science that I think is a world that has yet to be tapped into. So nowadays, you hear terminology about big data. I think there's a lot still very much untapped and take a look at our behaviors as a society and to take a look at how we can do things. I see it as a way to provide solutions for the future of things that we get by with today. One of the things that we've been looking at on our set of boxes as of late is really assistive technology. And I love the way that computer science can enable making lives better for for those that may need help in areas whether it be assistive technology or it just helps improve the lives of everyone. 

Worked at DIRECTV when interviewed
2016 NSF

Every role in computer science is equally important, so don't feel like you have to just strive for the programming roles. Figure out what you're most passionate about within the computer science field and feel empowered to go down that path knowing that every role is important. Don't be afraid to go for the coordination, communication, testing, or other pivotal roles.

I started college as a pre-business major but was discouraged because I didn't feel a passion for it. I eventually switched my major to computer science because I loved the problem-solving nature of the subject.

Vice President of Software Engineering

Computer science is so structured and not creative.

The Definition Of Computer Science

My name is Tim Ryan. I'm the Chairman and Senior Partner at PwC. And I have been in that role for the last three years. I'm blessed to lead 55,000 people which is what we have here in the US. And over my career, I've seen things I had never dreamed of. And I actually grew up here in Boston. Neither one of my parents went to college. I have a brother and two sisters. And we were taught three basic things when we grew up. We were taught to work really hard no matter what we're doing. We were taught to be honest, and we were taught respect. We did not really focus on grades. I don't have a childhood memory of do well in school, or doing homework, and in fact, I have to really challenge myself to even to recall doing homework. I graduated at the middle of my class, literary in the middle. And I was lucky enough to go to Babson College which is in the suburbs here at Boston. And Babson is a business college and I went there simply because I had the most financial aid. My parents could not afford to send me to college. And it was simply the lowest price tag. It was that simple. I didn't know much about it, but I just knew I could afford it. I had no interest in accounting. I want to be an entrepreneur. I want to own my own business. I thought of a sandwich shop. I thought of some mortgage-type businesses. And I was very fortunate to have a professor and his name was Richard Bruno. He since long passed, but Richard Bruno saw that accounting was about people. And he saw that I love people, and so he begged me to try an accounting internship. And I owe him everything because from the day I walked through the doors here at PwC in 1988, it's all been about people. It's been about teaming and people and great experiences. But I would have never found my way had he not said, just give it a try. And the work is secondary. To me, it's the dynamic nature of people, problems, opportunities that you solve in teams, and that's why I'm here today. 

If you want to go into accounting, start at one of the larger accounting firms. They’re more diverse in disciplines and age, but there are also a lot of similarities between people, so it’s a lot easier to find people you can talk to, trust, and lean on for support and guidance.

I was the first in my family to complete college, so I didn’t really have any educational guidance at home. My parents taught us good values, but I had to really push myself to work hard at school because that wasn’t something we were taught at home.

I put so much pressure on myself to reach work milestones earlier than expected that I lost sight of things like my health and relationships. I realize now that reaching milestones earlier doesn’t matter if you’re sacrificing other important things.

U.S. Chair & Senior Partner

You have to stay competitive to stand out and be successful.

Support & Encouragement

Why I Chose Accounting

Public accountant is definitely still a little bit more stiff. But you got to keep in mind, it depends on the team you're on, right? It's our team here, just super relaxed. They come in in jeans and T-shirts every day and it's a very relaxed culture. But if you work at like BP which is one of my clients, it just felt very different. You're in a suit pretty much most days and depending on your client, you may need to dress and speak and be a certain way in public. When I went to a regional firm because your clients tend to be smaller, it's a little bit more relaxed too. And people were a little bit more understanding off if you needed to leave because you had to go do something, it was a little bit more flexible. And as an internal audit because she works for the company, you are able to take advantage of the company benefits. I just happen to have a great company that allow us to have flex schedules and leave in the middle of the day if you need to do something as long as you're getting your work done. So I've seen the audit from all three. And I always tell people, any one of those work, you just have to figure out what you need from each one, right? When you're in public accountant and you understand that, you are going to learn a lot skills that will help you if you decide to leave and go do something else. So your focus is on learning as much as you can, because those jobs project you onto even greater opportunities and industry for most people. And when you're working in industry like I do, your focus is understanding your company that you're working for so you can provide more value within the company. Like my job always ask, how can I provide more value to my own company because I work here and I want it to succeed. 

Networking is everything. Once you know what niche you want to work in, figure out where that industry is booming. Then reach out, make connections, and network to make sure people know your name, talent, and experience. If you’re applying for a job and you’ve made a connection with someone at the company who can vouch for your ability to get the job done well, it’s a lot easier for the hiring manager to pull your application out of the hundreds of others they receive.

I grew up in Ghana and came to the U.S. when I was 16 as part of an exchange program. It was a huge culture shock and I got homesick often. I felt a lot better when I moved to Houston because of the diversity.

I left accounting to start a clothing line but it didn't work out. I was also working at Nordstrom as a manager at the time. Even though the career change didn't work out, I gained analysis skills as a manager that I use as an internal auditor today.

I’m assigned specific projects and lead a team to audit those projects. I set up meetings with the companies I’m working with to understand their processes and perform tests on those processes. When I’m done testing, I’ll issue a report to the company and then discuss improvements with them. Sometimes, that means traveling to festivals and shows to make sure they’re compliant.

Internal Audit Manager

Work Culture Differences Amongst Accounting Firms

My name is Richard Fletcher. My background I went to Monterey Peninsula College and PC for three years and then I transferred to Humboldt State University. I was a wildlife biology major there and started working for California State Parks two days after graduation. Being a seasonal interpreter at Humboldt Redwood State Park I did that for three seasons before they offered me a job here at Hearst Castle. I took that promotion and was educating people kind of interpreting Hearst Castle for about four years and then they offered me a guide to job, which is a supervisor job here. So now I oversee the guides at Hearst Castle. It's special for so many reasons it played such a dynamic role in California's history. So it's interesting socially for that reason. Now William Randolph Hearst, he's a collector, right? He loves collecting art, he's a builder. And he's also an entertainer. That's a huge passion. This really ties kind of all three of those passions together. You could play poker with the future Prime Minister of the UK, Winston Churchill. He's a guest here. He might be sitting there with the witty Irish author and playwright named George Bernard Shaw. They might be sitting with up and coming names in Hollywood like Cary Grant. You might be sitting with Charlie Chaplin. If you don't know what to say, to get his attention, maybe you're a little intimidated. Remember, this guy's a huge media mogul. He could make or break. Your career through his media empire. So what do you say to get attention? It's easy you ask him about his art collection. &gt;&gt; When you originally chosen major was this what you had intended to do? &gt;&gt; When I was a kid, I went to a Campfire program in a National Park and I had so much fun I just decided, you know what? That's what I wanna do. So when I was picking my major, I did have that in mind. Both my parents were teachers, so I think that rubbed off of me. I loved teaching people things. And interpreting is more than just teaching. You're also trying to inspire people. 

Get a seasonal job. It will help you learn how everything works in the State Parks system. I would also highly recommend taking any and all civil service exams that you can. You can't get a full time state job unless you are ranked on a hiring list! Look at https://jobs.ca.gov/CalHRPublic/Search/ExamSearch.aspx to find exams that you may be interested in taking. Every exam you pass is a door that will be open to you when you are looking for a job.

I took advantage of as many aid programs as possible. Don't be too proud to apply for programs like unemployment or food stamps. It will be a lot harder to get or keep a job if you don't have a place to live or if you can't afford to eat!

I was diagnosed with a learning disability when I was in grade school (terrible reading comprehension). I took advantage of all the programs they had to offer at school. I also learned how to work around my disability by learning in other ways.

Daily work is quite variable. I normally answer sick calls and replace employees in the morning. I then check employees in and ensure the tour operation is running smoothly throughout the day. After that, I work on ongoing assignments like planning and scheduling school and ADA tours. I also monitor and evaluate tour guide's tours. I mentor the guide staff and assist them with any problems. I analyze the tour program and address any issues in meetings. Lastly, I give tours to VIP guests.

Guide II Supervisor

You are going nowhere in life and wasting your time.

Goals

Becoming A Guide At Hearst Castle

Becoming an interpreter, what were the steps, or what were the things you have to get certified to get up there? &gt;&gt; Yeah, oo be a seasonal, it's really easy. All you have to do is apply. But if you want a more permanent position, or a full-time position that would include the retirement and the benefits, you have to take a civil service exam. Once you take the exam, you get ranked on a list and then people can hire off of that list. I would recommend take as many those exams as you can, the more exams you take and pass the more doors are open for you. You could become a tour guide, you could become an interpreter, you become a specialist which sometimes do they have people that are specializing interpretation. So It does help. Definitely, do your homework when you're applying for the job. If you're gonna be doing an interpreter job, for example, down here at the coast. Definitely look up the environment, look up what's going on, look at what the programs are about. All that type of stuff really helps because it is gonna be competitive. A lot of the times there's one position open but there might be 17 people applying for it. And don't just get discouraged if you don't get it there's always going to be more interpreter jobs. 

Experience

Finding Comfort Outside Of The Norm

Ken Burns

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