By: Erin Gessert

I always struggled in my math classes throughout the years I’ve been in school. From high school to college, my attempts to understand the complex topics of algebra and geometry were faced with countless nights at the kitchen table, feeling defeated.

As I look forward to a career in journalism, a field that subtracts fiction from fact, I’ve learned the differences that this career path has in contrast to countless others, in that the learning experience is never-ending, even after graduation.

Take an accountant, for example. In college, one would learn accounting principles and procedures, why certain people fall into various tax brackets and how to read a balance sheet. Unless you decide to earn a master’s degree or become a Certified Public Accountant, the foundational skills needed to succeed in those job duties are complete. The ins and outs of a particular job and technological advancements would require additional learning, yet for the most part, the work is carried out based on the knowledge previously acquired.

I got my bachelor’s degree in journalism, where I learned how to write accurately, concisely and comprehensively, and was taught the inverted pyramid, where you provide your reader with the most important information at the beginning. As I am taking classes now to get my master’s degree, I’ve zeroed in on writing under deadline, synthesizing information and brainstorming unique ideas to engage the public on topics they may have never known about before.

However, something that I have not had formal education for in the two journalism programs I’ve been in are the many specialized areas we, as future journalists, report on, like business and financial regulation, politics and law, and environmental and climate change. While these topics are not included in the course list needed to graduate with a journalism degree, you will need an expert understanding, given your beat as a reporter.

I recently began taking a Business Writing and Reporting course, and in our first weeks of class, we had to look at a balance sheet and understand what it meant. As I said previously, math has always been my biggest weakness academically. It was a challenge to even comprehend what these numbers meant, and an even bigger one to take this information and write about how this has impacted a company, let alone has an impact on the ordinary person.

As the weeks went on, we started looking at 10-Q reports, which describe a company’s financial performance for a quarter of the year, and 10-K reports, which paint a financial picture of a company, including revenue, assets and liabilities for a full fiscal year. Viewing these reports confirms the belief that I was never meant to work in any math-related industry. However, it is rewarding to decipher this information and show readers that a corporation’s third-quarter report reflected that its advertising revenue exceeded expectations.

Navigating my role as a future journalist, I am reminded that being challenged to understand a topic does not limit you — it ignites growth and curiosity, and by maintaining that curiosity and asking the right questions, you will find the answers you need.