Nov. 25, 2024

This paid piece is sponsored by MarketBeat.

School might have been out of session, but the past seven holiday breaks rarely felt like the chance one teacher needed to get away and recharge.

For Shannon Tokheim, the holidays represented the one time during the school year she could have a chance to travel or take a vacation, but with all her family in South Dakota, it wasn’t when she wanted to be away.

That has changed in a big way this year, though, with a move to MarketBeat that has allowed Tokheim to make a rewarding career change while prioritizing time with her family all year.

Shannon Tokheim joined MarketBeat as an associate editor in May.

Tokheim is now an associate editor at MarketBeat, using her English language skills to edit financial news articles every day.

“MarketBeat stood out to me because I was looking for a career where I could use my love for English and writing,” she said. “While I wanted to try something entirely different, I still wanted to use my knowledge of English in my daily life.”

Now, instead of teaching English to eighth graders, Tokheim is coaching MarketBeat’s writers from around the world, correcting grammar and writing social media posts every day. While she didn’t come to MarketBeat with a passion for the stock market or financial news, she quickly has picked up the skills she needs to become an expert editor in this field.

“MarketBeat provides countless opportunities for growth and development, pushing us to be lifelong learners, which, as an educator, is paramount to me,” Tokheim said. “I still have a lot to learn about the stock market, but my desire to grow is what will lead me to be successful in my new career.”

While she said she always will have a passion for teaching, her work at MarketBeat is more fulfilling than she ever thought possible. She frequently completes her work inside MarketBeat’s new office in The Bancorp Building at Cherapa Place, often with her dog, Buckley, in tow, one of the company’s favorite office dogs. But she also rotates some days working from home, where she can continue to work with writers remotely.

Buckley joins Tokheim at her MarketBeat desk to help with some article editing.

“The work/life balance is no joke,” Tokheim said. “It’s fascinating to see how much my stress level has decreased. I feel fulfilled and valued in ways I hadn’t felt before.”

After getting engaged and thinking more about planning out her career and growing her family, Tokheim said finding a more flexible work environment was her priority.

MarketBeat’s core values of embracing flexibility and work/life initially drew her to apply, but she has found even more fulfillment from MarketBeat’s other core values, like creating a fun workplace and encouragement.

Tokheim dressed as Cousin Itt for the office Halloween costume contest.

“Working at MarketBeat has changed my professional life by giving me a fun and positive work environment with colleagues who all want to see each other succeed and grow both professionally and personally,” Tokheim said. “I didn’t even know a company or career like this existed in Sioux Falls. I feel so lucky to have a job like this without leaving my home of Sioux Falls.”

As a Chester native, Tokheim is especially grateful for the opportunity to build and grow her career so close to home, giving her a chance to firmly plant her roots and one day grow her family in South Dakota.

Building a flexible career so close to home also means she can easily spend every holiday with her family while enjoying travels any other time of the year. For the first time in her adult life, Tokheim took a November trip to Boston with her fiance, one of the many new improvements in her personal life that also came with making the career move to MarketBeat.

“I now have a healthy balance between work and life as I can separate the two in ways I hadn’t been able to do in the past,” Tokheim said. “Above all, at MarketBeat, we are valued for who we are as individuals. It’s so refreshing to get up every morning and know I get to work somewhere where I will immediately be greeted with warmth and positivity.”