Job Experience

Prompt # 8
by: Jake

Many majors and fields seem appealing to students which makes it difficult to choose a major. But you can never truly know if you enjoy a career path without gaining some entry level experience within the field itself. Thankfully, I was able to gain this experience with  two different State Farm agents this past year.

My father works as a sales leader for State Farm, and I have always considered becoming a State Farm agent as a future career. But I never knew if this was something I would enjoy or would even like to consider doing after college.

During my senior year I was able to work for a State Farm agent in Richland, MI. I was very excited to be working in a professional environment and to gain both experience in and understanding of the business field. Unfortunately the job was not as glamorous as I was hoping. As I moved to college and began work with a new agent I made the same realization. I found that I enjoy jobs that involve an aspect of problem solving and that have varying operations. To my disappointment neither State Farm Job had either of these qualities. Both of my entry level jobs involved cold calling and only cold calling. I was grateful for the experience but cold calling is not something that I am excited about or looking for in a future career, and has made me reevaluate my career choice.

I am extremely thankful for my opportunities at State Farm, but long hours of cold calling were not enjoyable at all and have made me stop and think. I am still interested in the entrepreneurship aspect of becoming a State Farm Agent, but entry level cold calling positions are no longer something I will consider or pursue.