"How to Avoid a Mid Life Crisis"

"How to Avoid a Mid Life Crisis"
By Professional Development Chair Taylor Paton

There aren’t many 20 something year olds I know of who have contemplated a possible mid life crisis, that is, I didn’t know many before meeting Steve Langerud last weekend. Principal of Steve Langerud and Associates, LLC and DePauw University’s Director of Career Development, Steve had some interesting insight on how to find a sense of meaning in your career. In order to find your sense of meaning, ask yourself “Where can you do what you do well and care most deeply about?”

Most of us are asked what we want to be when we grow up from the time we can talk. For me, I told my mother at the age of two that I wanted to marry a bald guy who drove a bus. So when Steve said many of our truest ambitions stem from those first conceived career paths, I was a little confused. However, I gave him a shot and found that by asking “where” before “what” will ultimately lead to a career down I path I cleared myself. Self-reflection on your skills, the issues and people you want to work with, and the type of environment you want to work in will give you the ultimate job description perfectly tailored to you.

Now where do you find this mystical job that you just dreamed up? Ask my future bald bus driver husband… just kidding. You will have to find this job by getting out and talking to people. They will ask you what you want to do and you will tell them where you are going. Tell them the skills you have, the issues and people you want to work with, and the environment you want to work in. Steve calls this your “Ten Second Statement.” Chances are the person you are talking to may know someone who does something similar to what you want to do. Ask for that person’s information and see if it is, in fact, what you want to do.

Gone are the days of career paths laid out for you. The biggest take away from Steve’s presentation: Find someone who will pay you for what you love to do (Similar to Confusious’ quote, “If you choose a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life”). And that, ladies and gents, is how you will avoid a mid life crisis.
 

Visit Steve’s website to find out about him, read his blog, and even send him an e-mail at http://stevelangerud.com/. Also, Depauw University also has a great page devoted to Steve called “Meet Steve:” http://www.depauw.edu/news-media/latest-news/details/24107/.

Afterword: This blog was in no way meant to harm the feelings of bald guys and/or bus drivers and/or bald guys who drive buses. Steve was somewhat right about my childhood career plans translating to my current ambitions. I plan to work in city management addressing issues of fiscal sustainability for the greater good of citizens, thus allowing bus drivers, even bald ones, to keep their jobs.

-
Editor's note: Taylor also serves as the Chair of PFA's Women in Public Finance Committee. 

The Importance of Understanding the Facts Behind Renewable Energy Subsidies

PFA Environment and Energy Chair Hank Hebel 

Finding adequate financing to fund renewable energy and sustainability can be an extremely difficult task.  Often, we depend on initiatives taken by the federal government to assist in providing those funds to support the accompanying investment.  Subsidies from the federal government are not a new phenomenon, yet campaign rhetoric can distort the facts and make things seem as though the government is “picking winners and losers”.  In regards to energy investment, the government has historically provided subsidies through tax incentives such as production tax credits (PTCs).  PTCs have been extremely important to the recent rise in wind production; however, these credits for the wind industry will expire at the end of the year.  Some may respond that an industry must be made to survive on its own without government support, and while this may be a valid point, it is important to understand the context of energy subsidization in the U.S.  According to a study by DBL Investors, coal, oil, gas, and nuclear industries have received a cumulative total of $630 billion in a variety of subsidies, such as land grants, R&D write-offs, and other tax credits, while the renewables industry has received only $50 billion in government investment.  Yet, much of the subsidization of the coal, oil, gas and nuclear industries is permanently written into the tax code, while many subsidies for renewable energy are appropriated on an annual basis.  Therefore, a true discussion about the government “picking winners and losers” cannot be seriously examined without these facts being fairly represented.  

Check out the DBL study here: 

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/09/26/328612/new-report-energy-subsidies/

OPENING NIGHT - FALL 2012

Welcome to the SPEA Public Finance Association, 2012 – 2013!

PFA Co-Presidents Ashley Ames and Gregory Jasinski, along with our Vice President Alex Luboff, would like to personally invite you to join us and your fellow SPEAons at Yogi’s tomorrow night, Thursday at 7:00pm, for an informal social and call-out meeting.

Yogi’s is on 10th and Indiana Ave., just down the street from the SPEA building.

Please visit our website [www.indiana.edu/~pfa] and like ourFacebook page [http://www.facebook.com/SPEAPFA] for more SPEA PFA informationand details!

PFA Tax Day Bar Crawl

In honor of Tax Day 2012 PFA is hosting the 1st Annual Tax Day Bar Crawl!

The crawl is happening TONIGHT 4/14 so if you are looking for a way to celebrate the end of tax season 2012 and want to start spending your refund come out dressed to impress in your best tax auditor outfit and join your fellow PFAers for some late night drinking and tax calculating.

Check out the event on PFA's facebook page for more details!

Also, be sure to keep up to date with other events and job opportunities posted on the PFA website.
Sycamore Advisors and the Congressional Budget Office are still hiring interns for this summer - don't miss out on these opportunities if your current summer plans still only include your couch and Netflix :)


Happy filing!

Networking and Career Panel Event - 3/21/12

PFAers - Don't miss out on an amazing opportunity to talk with SPEA alum currently working in the public finance field during PFA's Networking and Career Advice Panel!

Join us TOMORROW from 1:30 - 3:10pm as SPEA alum representing Grant Thornton, Crowe Horwath, the Office of Management and Budget, and the city of Hamilton, OH discuss their career paths, life in their respective cities, how SPEA helped them land their positions, and opportunities at their places of employment via videoconference.  Check out the schedule below to plan ahead as each panelist will be calling in at a different time.  There will be plenty of opportunities for Q&A and FREE Jimmy John's for lunch!  Be sure to RSVP to akames@indiana.edu if you plan to attend any or all of this exciting event.

Event Schedule:

1:30 - 1:50 Adam Helms, City Clerk with the City of Hamilton, OH and Joshua Smith, City Manager.
 The City of Hamilton, OH has THREE full time fellowships to share with our students!
 (SPEA Careers listings 6556, 6557, 6558 - deadlines are April 1st)
 Click here for Joshua A. Smith's bio

1:50 - 2:10 Zachary Garber, Office of Management and Budget

2:10 - 2:30 Melissa Neuman, Budget Preparation Specialist, Office of Management and Budget.
Melissa is a SPEA MPA alum with concentrations in Public Financial Administration and Policy Analysis, 2010.

2:30 - 2:50 Michael Potter, Consultant at Grant Thornton, LLP Global Public Sector
Michael is a 2010 SPEA alum and former Service Corp Student and TA.   As a member of the Transportation Security Administration Performance Measurement and Management Team, Michael plays a key role in the production of the TSAs chief performance management report, the Management Objectives Report (MOR). Michael is responsible for coordinating data collection with program offices, compiling performance management data, and using the Performance Information Management System to create the reports at the airport, hub, regional, and national levels. In addition to his responsibilities in creating the MOR on a bi-weekly basis, Michael is responsible for the design, creation, and distribution, of over twenty 
performance management reports each month. As a member for the quality assurance team, Michael provides technical testing support for the Airport Information Management System.

2:50 - 3:10 Andrew B. Perry, CGFM, Municipal Finance Advisory Consultant at Crowe Horwath LLP. Andrew is a 2010 SPEA alum.


This is a great opportunity to network and get insider advice from SPEA alum, we hope to see you all there!

Employer Visit: Sycamore Advisors, LCC

Former SPEA students Emily Loehr and (PFA's very own former President) Ann Richardson will be on campus Monday, February 27th, to talk with current students about career development and job/internship opportunities with their Indianapolis-based company, Sycamore Advisors, LLC. 

Employer Overview:
Sycamore Advisors, LLC is a WBE certified firm, registered with the State of Indiana and the City of Indianapolis, specializing in providing independent financial advisory services to municipal governments, focused on developing and structuring cost-effective and appropriate solutions for financing major capital projects, as well as general operational and strategic financial consulting. Sycamore has extensive experience in wastewater, storm water and infrastructure capital financing programs, including addressing financial capability issues with the U.S. EPA. Sycamore Advisors is also registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board as a Municipal Financial Advisor and is registered with the Secretary of State in Illinois, Indiana and Missouri.

Biographies:
Emily Loehr joined Sycamore Advisors in 2009, after completing her Master’s degree in Public Administration, with concentrations in public finance and policy analysis, from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs where she earned the distinction of  ‘John Ryan Fellow.’ She completed her B.A. in Economics from the University of Minnesota Morris.  Ms. Loehr focuses on data  and economic analysis; preparing rating agency briefing materials, pro-forma cashflows, analyses of system billing and collection data, preparation of comparative quantitative analytics for EPA negotiations, implementation of and financial projections for various utility user charges, and preparation of cashflow projections and draw schedules for various bond series.

Ann Richardson joined Sycamore Advisors as an intern in 2011, while completing her Masters’ degree in Public Administration, with a concentration in public finance, from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs.  She completed her B.A. in Political Science and French from Purdue University.

Hosted by IU SPEA Office of Career Services and SPEA PFA.

PFA passes on Christmas Spirit through Giving Tree

December 2011: PFA takes part in the Salvation Army Angel Tree program.  PFA's members and leadership team worked together to purchase a full-size bicycle, skateboard, wallet, and football to help make Christmas a little brighter for some of those children less fortunate than us!