VYP Q&A: JD Archer, Mass Mutual Financial Group

Get to know some of your fellow VYPers in our recurring series of Q&A sessions with some of the Valley’s top young professionals. This month, meet Jonathan (J.D.) Archer, a financial advisor with Mass Mutual Financial Group. J.D. is an Ohio State University Buckeye who earned bachelor’s degrees in geography and political science in 2002 before coming to the Valley where he earned an MBA from ASU's W. P. Carey School of Business in 2008.

Q. What was your first job and what was the most important lesson you learned from it?

A. My first job was teaching seventh and  eighth grade science in South Phoenix. After teaching middle school for seven years, I went to ASU to get my MBA, which is what led me to financial services. The best lesson I learned was while teaching: find your most productive hour of the day and make the most of it. For me, it is between 6 and 7 a.m.

Q. What’s the most unusual job or duty you’ve handled?

A. I spent a summer painting fences and picking up trash at the county fair. Even though it was a dirty job and only paid minimum wage, it was fun to be doing the job with a bunch of friends.

Q. When did you know you wanted to make a career of financial management?

A. I think it goes back to my first experience working with my own financial advisor. I look back to the first financial advisor I worked with, and am very thankful he was able to put me on the right financial path. He took a lot of time to get to know me and my situation and to make recommendations that would make me financially secure. I wanted to be able to share this feeling with others.

Q. What’s the first thing you do when you get into the office each morning?

A. I tend to check email right off the bat. After that, I will use the quiet office time before anyone else gets in to do case preparation and make calls back to the home office on the East Coast.

Q. What are your long-term goals, and what one thing do you believe will be most important?

A. I want to continue moving up in my career, getting multiple designations that exist. In meeting these goals, time management is key in order to be able to keep a good work-life balance.

Q. How has Valley Young Professionals helped you in your career?

A. I have had a great experience with VYP. After going to multiple events, I start seeing people over and over again, and I’m able to start to build important relationships with these people.

Q. If you won the lottery, how would you spend your winnings?

A. Assuming it was around $14.3 trillion, I would take care of the U.S. debt so that we can all get on with our lives.

This interview, conducted by Sandy Des Georges, is part of the Chamber's monthly Valley Young Professionals email. To sign up for any or all of the Chamber's email communications, click here.