A Day in the Life
Dozens of people in different careers and industries describe a typical day on the job.
When you were young, the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" may have been easy to answer. Today our employment possibilities have expanded exponentially, and jobs that didn't exist when we were children have become mainstays of our modern economy. In these articles, real-world employees take you through a typical work day. Some include their names and information about the companies they work for, while others maintain more anonymity, but all are written in their own words.
Advertising & Marketing Jobs:
- Magazine Ad Sales Rep in NYC.
- Marketing Associate for an FMCG company in Montevideo, Uruguay.
- Assistant Brand Manager
- Marketing Manager assigned to Time Magazine
Education Jobs:
- ESL Teacher working in South Korea.
- Third Grade Teacher for Teach for America literacy programs.
Financial Industry Jobs:
- Private Banker Vice President of a regional private banking office.
- Leveraged Finance Structuring Analyst working with clients in Midtown Manhattan.
- Entry-Level Private Equity Associate at a firm in Manhattan.
- Corporate Finance Associate at a pipeline operation company.
- Auditing Intern at a Big Four auditing firm.
- Tax Staff Professional at a Big Four firm.
- Consulting Firm Associate working in Shanghai, China.
- Venture Capitalist with a Silicon Valley firm.
- Investment Banking Associate at JP Morgan, Hong Kong.
Media & Creative Industry Jobs:
- Lead Animator for BioWare, a Montreal-based video game design firm.
- Art Director for graphic design firm Ishan Khosla Design.
- Book Editor with Five Star Authors in Maine.
- Editorial Assistant for the Princeton Review.
- Network News Producer
- Creative Executive with a media/entertainment company.
- Senior Book Publicist with Random House Children's Books.
- Online Editorial Assistant with Entertainment Weekly Online.
- Editorial Research Associate at Planman Media.
Human Resources & Recruiting Jobs:
- Recruiting Team Member at an investment bank.
Legal Jobs:
- SEC Staff Attorney
- Assistant District Attorney
- Plaintiffs' Lawyer, a partner at Otis Canli & Duckworth LLP.
- Employment Attorney, in-house human resources counsel for Honeywell International.
- Union Attorney, an associate at Holguin & Garfield, APLC.
Medical Jobs:
- Medical-Surgical Hospital Nurse at Good Samaritan General Hospital.
- Oncology Charge Nurse at Hermann Memorial City Medical Center.
- Physical Therapist at an outpatient rehabilitation center in New York.
Public Policy and Activism Jobs:
- Policy Analyst for a nonprofit energy advocacy group.
- Energy Consulting Associate
- Staff Assistant on Capitol Hill.
- Foundation Officer for a philanthropic organization.
- Library Director for a small public library in New York.
- Lobbyist working in Washington DC.
- Nonprofit Consultant with MBA Enterprise.
- In-House Grant Writer that expands respite care services for families with mentally ill children.
- Chief Executive of the Veteran's Agency, part of the UK Ministry of Defence.
- Legislative Correspondent working on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Real Estate Jobs:
- Real Estate Sales Agent for commercial properties.
Corporate Retail Jobs:
- Fashion Buyer for DKNY.
- Fashion Product Manager at Federated Merchandising Group.
- Product Manager for L'Oreal Revitalift and Age Perfect creams.
- Fashion Buyer purchasing dresses for Victoria's Secret Catalog.
- Fashion Inventory Planner
Scientific & Technical Jobs:
- Information Analyst with a quantitative analytics group in the energy sector.
- Software Developer, senior product arcitect with an internet company.
- IT Project Manager
- Arcitect, principal at an arctitecture firm.
- Corporate Interior Designer, principal at an arctitecture firm.
- Research Scientist in the Medicinal Chemistry department at AstraZeneca.
- Operations Manager overseeing manufacturing for a Biotech company.
- Entry-Level Scientist in the pharmaceutical industry.
- Plant Engineer at a tablet and capsule production facility.
- Design & Project Engineer at Corus Process Engineering.
From the in-demand to the unusual, learn how to land these jobs:


