As The Great Resignation continues to reshape the national workforce, a new wave of employees is preparing to re-enter offices across the country.
“I think a lot of people at my age are retiring,” says Lee Sera, a Scottsdale resident and mother of two. Sera is one of several formerly full-time parents at Scottsdale Community College preparing to go back to work. “My sister-in-law mentioned to me how lucky we are that we could raise our children and then go back and try something different.”
Sera left her last full-time job in 2002. While living in Baltimore, she was one of the nation’s top salespeople for Bell Atlantic before helping lead the wave of wireless telecommunication sales for AT&T after her family relocated to Phoenix. But not long after her daughters were born, a miscarriage led her to reevaluate her priorities and focus on parenting full-time.
“It’s really hard to be a full-time mom and a full-time employee,” she says.
Two decades of parenting later, both of Sera’s daughters prepare to leave home, and she finds herself ready to put herself back on the job market. With an MBA from Loyola University Maryland to her name and a natural competitive drive, Sera was eager to try something new. Two nephews already working in finance encouraged her to explore that sector, where her combination of hard and soft skills could mesh.
That suggestion led Sera to the Securities Industries Essentials: Pre-licensure program at Scottsdale Community College (SCC).
The Securities Industries Essentials (SIE) exam is, in most cases, a non-negotiable requirement for entering the financial sector. Administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), passing the exam establishes that an applicant understands the fundamental principles required to work in financial services. From there, employers may require additional certifications in the form of “top-off exams,” such as Series 6, 7, 79, and 99.
“It’s a lot of information,” says Sera. “You have to go through every page because it’s a lot of detail.”
More than twenty years after earning her MBA, Sera admits that she felt a little rusty at the start of the program, even overwhelmed. But as that little voice in her head tried to convince her to quit, she remembered the lessons of grit and perseverance she had imparted to her daughters and stuck with it.
‘‘I cannot say enough good things about Scottsdale Community College,” she says. “The teachers there really care about their students. I’ve had great, great instructors there. [SCC Business Chair] Sue Sandblom has done such a great job with this, and my instructor was great!”
Sera credits an earlier experience at SCC with helping her succeed in the SIE prep course. Soon after she stepped back from working full-time to raise her children, she realized she needed something to do for herself beyond just parenting. As a Christmas gift, her husband enrolled her in a photography class, and that instructor encouraged her to pursue the hobby at SCC. She fell in love with photography, completing courses in digital photography, fashion portraiture, and even two semesters of art history.
“Hands down, art history was one of the hardest subjects I ever took in my life,” says the MBA holder. She explains that the breadth and depth of information and memorization necessary to pass her art history courses helped prepare her for the intensity of the SIE exam.
Sera’s work paid off. She completed the SIE prep program one Thursday night and the next morning, took the lengthy exam and passed. Sandblom has continued to be a resource for her, helping her apply for jobs. Sera found herself in a flurry of interviews and has even had a recruiter reach out to her for the first time in years. She now has two job offers and is in the final stages of her return to the workforce.
Sera hopes other formerly full-time parents will reprioritize themselves as their children leave the nest.
“Yes, raise your kids, but continue to raise yourself. Get an education, keep learning! That’s the biggest thing. And give yourself some grace because you won’t be an expert overnight. You have to stick with it. Find something that you want to do. Take classes. I can’t say enough, take an SCC class! Make it work with your schedule. I love Scottsdale Community College. Taking a class keeps you young, keeps you engaged.”
Sera’s final piece of advice? “Rip the band-aid off, jump in, and see where it takes you.”
The next cohort for the SIE Exam Prep program begins on August 22, 2022. For more information, email Sue Sandblom at susan.sandblom@scottsdalecc.edu.
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