Her Story
About Julia
I have been working in accounting and tax for 12 years. My path to this career wasn't straightforward. I moved to the United States from St. Petersburg, Russia, where I had started studying civil engineering. When I arrived here, I realized that wasn't what I wanted to do, so I tried accounting. At first, I found it kind of dry, but then I started doing tax work and everything changed. Tax became super inspirational to me. I really like what I do and I like helping people. You would think, oh, just tax, it's just numbers, but then you see the impact and the faces when you tell them certain advice and they're like, oh yeah, this is awesome. I just like to create this magic. I graduated from San Francisco State University with my bachelor's degree, and now I'm at USF getting my master's in Legal Studies, focusing on trusts and estates and individuals. I consistently lead trainings myself or take trainings to keep growing in my field.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Julia
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received was from my mentor when I had my daughter. I remember I was like, I need to go back to work immediately, you know, the team needs me. And she told me, hold on, slow down, take your time. Don't try to rush things. Just do it step by step. Enjoy your family, then come back. You're gonna be refreshed, you're gonna be full of energy, because you satisfied what was important to you, and then you're gonna come back to work fully prepared, excited to go back to work. That advice really stuck with me.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say, honestly, stick to what's important to you. Over everything, I would prioritize my family, because that's what I'm doing all this for anyway. Yes, I'm doing this for myself, but I want my daughter to go to the better school, you know, get better tutors for her. You need financial resources to do so. But stay true to yourself. If you spend time with your family, if you take care of yourself, your glass is full, so you have something to give. If you don't recharge, don't spend time for yourself, you just don't have anything else to give. You're working, but you're not gonna be happy at work, you're not going to be able to do the work. It goes both ways.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge in my field is finding work-life balance.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Family is the most important value to me. Over everything, I would prioritize my family, because that's what I'm doing all this for anyway. That's for who I'm doing all this. I want my daughter to go to the better school, get better tutors for her. I feel like if you spend time with your family, if you take care of yourself, your glass is full, so you have something to give. If you don't recharge, don't spend time for yourself, you just don't have anything else to give. Spending time with my family is priceless.
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