In 1933 Wells took a two-year leave of absence from his appointment as an assistant professor at IU. Between 1933 and 1935, when he returned to IU, Wells worked three full-time jobs. He was secretary of the Indiana Commission for Financial Institutions, as well as a bank supervisor, Division of Banks and Trust Companies, and supervisor of the Division of Research and Statistics at the newly created Indiana Department of Financial Institutions, a state agency that originated in the study commission's recommendations.