When John Flores mentors University of South Florida students, he reminds them they don’t need the next 20 years of their careers mapped out. His path shows detours often lead to the most meaningful growth.
Flores has never been afraid to pivot. His journey began with a sidelined basketball dream after an injury in his senior year of high school. Unsure what to do next, he turned to his uncle, who suggested, “You should go to school for computers.” As a first-generation college student, Flores followed his advice and entered what was then an emerging field. But six months in, he realized it wasn’t for him. After earning his associate degree in computer information systems from Remington College, Flores shifted his focus to business.
“My plan was to get some work experience and see if I could have an employer pay for some schooling,” Flores says. “Then I would have a frame of reference, shaped by professional experience, to say, ‘This is what I like, this is what I don’t like.’”
He accepted a senior sales executive role at Alltel Wireless, which Verizon later acquired. The acquisition introduced him to senior directors with strong business acumen—many of whom had MBAs. Flores took the opportunity to learn from them, asking questions like, “Where did you go to school? What did you study?”
One of those leaders connected him with Verizon’s then-corporate partner, the University of Phoenix. Flores earned his bachelor’s degree in business and MBA in under five years while working full-time, with Verizon covering roughly 70 percent of his tuition. He was promoted to regional account manager but discovered further progression would require relocating from his home in Tampa, Florida.
“I felt like something was missing,” Flores says. “I didn’t feel the same challenge.”
More confident with pivoting, he changed careers again, taking a pay cut to become a financial advisor trainee at investment management firm Merrill Lynch.
“I took a gamble on myself,” Flores says. “I thought, ‘Whatever I don’t have experience in, I’ll just supplement with education.’”
His bet paid off: Flores progressed from trainee to roles at JPMorgan—starting as a relationship banker and, ultimately, becoming a private client advisor and vice president of investments. While there, he leveraged JPMorgan’s tuition assistance program, interviewing and researching nearly 50 other bankers to understand their educational and professional backgrounds, reverse-engineering their careers to reach the next level in his.
How Lifelong Learning Accelerated Flores’s Career
Flores took his first Harvard Business School Online course, Alternative Investments, in the spring of 2020, as the world entered lockdown due to COVID-19. By the end of the year, he had enrolled in five additional courses. Fast-forward to today, he’s taken 12. Following Alternative Investments, he completed:
Through that journey, he’s earned five Certificates of Specialization in Finance and Accounting, Strategy, Leadership and Management, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Business in Society.
“As soon as I started taking my first HBS Online course, I felt like, immediately, it was a good decision,” Flores says. “I was kind of addicted because I saw how quickly I was progressing in my career—not because of the work experience, but because of the educational experience. I felt more comfortable talking to senior people in finance. I understood the language more. It’s really the reason why I’m where I’m at today in my career.”
The Value of Global Perspective and Real-World Learning
Flores credits the case study method—where learners immerse themselves in real-world situations business leaders have faced—as a course highlight.
“Where you think the case study is going and where it ends up is always different,” Flores explains. “It changes how you think about business solutions. Sometimes, the best decision isn’t always the one that makes the most money. It’s the one that has the best socioeconomic impact or lays off the least amount of people.”
He adds that the learning model changed his perspective, professionally and personally. It encouraged him to consider situations from multiple perspectives, including a global one.
“What’s different about the experience is the global community,” Flores says. “I would be talking to somebody in Saudi Arabia, which is not something you do every day when you’re living in Florida. It’s hard to find a lot of the like-minded people that you find in these groups. HBS Online’s global reach is impressive.”
Mentorship, Finance, and Giving Back
Today, Flores is a vice president and client advisor at Bernstein Private Wealth Management. He’s primarily focused on business development, including establishing strategic partnerships, executing curated wealth management events on relevant topics like tariffs and philanthropy, supporting his clients, and mentoring college students in finance programs and entrepreneurship accelerators.
What drew Flores to finance was its potential to be a force for good. Now, he wants to model that for the next generation.
“I come from a family where I was the first one to graduate from college, and we didn’t have a lot of money,” Flores says. “I love mentoring students, especially ones from disadvantaged backgrounds who don’t have someone to give them advice. I think education is such a way to unlock opportunities.”
Why You Should Keep Investing in Your Education
Flores’s own educational journey is far from over. He’s been researching HBS Executive Education’s General Management Program to help him transition from a client-facing role to a leadership position. Through the advice he gives his students, it’s evident he’ll never stop challenging himself.
“Don’t ever think your educational journey is done,” Flores tells them. “You need to continue learning. If you don’t want to be replaced by AI or faced with layoffs, you have to challenge yourself to be better. The world is moving too quickly. Technology is moving too quickly. It’s okay to try things. If it doesn’t work out, pivot to something different, because there are a lot of options.”
Rather than follow a roadmap, Flores is building his own.
Are you ready to chart your own path and take the next step in your professional and educational journey? Explore HBS Online’s certificate and credential programs, and download our online learning success guide to learn how to prepare for your next HBS Online course.
