Career Development
Career Stories from Alumnae - Ann Treacy
Find out where an English
major can lead you!
Ann Treacy graduated from the college of St. Catherine in 1989 with a Bachelor's degree in English and then again in 1995 with her Masters in Library Science. She also has her MA in Anglo-Irish Literature from the University of Dublin.
What is your work history and current employer?
- She is currently self-employed
- Her business, Treacy Information Services, develops and maintains web sites and e-marketing materials (e-newsletters, blogs, other) for small businesses
- She also manages online ad campaigns.
Please describe a routine day or week in your job.
- Creating and modifying content is the general goal
- Because she works for herself she does
- Ann works from home, which she enjoys
How competitive is entry into this field? What’s the outlook for future openings?
- Outlook is growing for the future
- This is in some part due to search engine optimization and online marketing
- However, the ability to come in without any experience is decreasing
What kind of educational preparation does a person need for this job? What types of advancement opportunities are available?
- Educational preparation varies
- An ability to write is a definite necessity
- For Ann, having the background in library work has helped her greatly
- She thinks that the opportunities to be self-employed in this field are good – for her that’s the ultimate in advancement
- She found that she was able to make more money working for herself, which was a key advantage
- Though she works quite a few hours in a week (definitely more than 40), it’s OK with her because she can choose which hours to work
What types of skills/characteristics does a person need to do this job effectively?
- Detail-oriented
- Organized
- Self-employment requires the ability to change gears quickly and look at the big picture
- Ability to listen to the needs of the clients, research the best ways to meet those needs, and then create solutions based on the needs and available/affordable technology
What do you like about your current position? Dislikes?
LIKES:
- Ann greatly enjoys the flexibility
- The advantage to her current situation is that she can choose the hours that she works
- All she needs is a computer and an Internet connection to keep in touch with her clients, which is obviously a great advantage too!
CHALLENGES:
- It would be very difficult for her to be gone for a week or longer
- She rarely goes 24 hours without checking in online
- There are times where she wishes she could sign off for a week but those times are few and far between.
Are there a lot of women in this field? What inspired you to take this path? How did St. Kate’s help you? Do you have any advice for our students?
- This field relatively new and Ann believes there are equal numbers of men and women involved
- Ann was honest in saying her inspiration to get into this field was the independence and the financial potential
- St. Kate’s greatly influenced her writing ability
- The academics at St. Kate’s have come into play in her work, and the networks she made and continues to make have helped to connect her with potential clients
- When asked what advice she could offer current students at the college of St. Catherine, she replied “Think about the lifestyle you want when choosing a career path. Do you want summers off? Do you want to make a certain amount of money, which may be translated into do you want to take nice vacation and/or do you want to send your kids to private school? Do you mind working nights? Do you like to work with people? I think it’s very important to enjoy what you do 40 hours a week and it’s important that those 40 hours feed into what you like to do away from work.”