Posts Tagged ‘Careers’

New Year’s Resolutions–Develop A Post-Graduation Plan

Monday, January 17th, 2011

In David Sedaris’ humorous memoir, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, he describes his tenure in the hallowed halls of the prestigious Princeton University. As opposed to most ambitious Princeton students, Sedaris flitted from course to course, not entirely sure what he wanted to major in. (He did briefly consider majoring in Patricide, but scrapped it after his mother grew jealous. “Why aren’t you majoring in murdering me?” she demanded.) After graduating, Sedaris headed back home, just as lost as he had been when he left several years ago. “What are you going to do with your life now?” his parents asked him. “Well,” Sedaris replied drolly, “I do have some dirty laundry I need to do.” And he did do laundry, for the next six months.

Don’t let yourself end up like David Sedaris! (I mean, the Sedaris who just graduated from college, not the present Sedaris, who is a best-selling author and world traveler.) After completing four years of education, Sedaris wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his degree. In this way, he is like thousands of seniors who will be tossed from the sanctuary of their university and into the real world this May. These students wander aimlessly through the summer months, taking up waitressing positions, collecting unemployment, and living with their parents. These students also suffer from a general sense of dissatisfaction. They wonder exactly what they went to college for, and whether it was really worth it.

Thankfully, I was not one of these students when I graduated from college nearly two years ago. I knew exactly (or pretty exactly) what I wanted to do after graduation. First, it had always been a kooky dream of mine to work on a dude ranch. So I got a position at Bitterroot Ranch in Wyoming for the next 8 months. After my employment on the ranch was over, I knew what I wanted to do next–get an editorial internship in NYC, preferably with a publishing house. And, as an intern at the Campus Clipper, now I’ve accomplished this as well! Although my path after graduation has been a somewhat meandering one, I’ve always had a goal in mind–to become a freelance writer and copy-editor.

From both examples, David Sedaris’ and my own, you can see that having a goal in mind when graduating from college is necessary to your happiness. Even if that goal does not lead to that 90k dream job you envisioned while a dew-eyed freshman, it at least gives you something to strive for. So my advice to you is this–have “Develop a Post-graduation Plan” be one of your New Year’s Resolutions. Whether you’re a senior trembling in the face of impending graduation this May, or a freshman who’s stuck on deciding a major, it’s necessary to have to a plan in mind!  I’ve provided a few tips to help you below.

GO WITH YOUR INTERESTS

This seems like a no-brainer, but so many students sideline their interests to pursue a major that they feel will “make them successful” or “bring them money,” even if they dislike it. For example, one of my old boyfriends pursued marketing major in college because he felt it would help him land a job. But after 3 years of struggling through lectures he didn’t enjoy, he quit. He is now enrolled in music school and loving it! The moral of the story is this–don’t waste your time majoring in something you know you’ll hate, just to make yourself marketable. This may help you land a more lucrative job, but the problem is you won’t enjoy your job any more than you enjoyed your major. And jobs don’t last 4 years–they last decades.

But what if my passions are banjo-playing and 2D cartooning, you may ask. Sure, I can have a good time and major in art and music now, but how will I be able to find a job at all with this degree? Believe me, if you really want to be a banjo-player, you’ll find a way to pay the bills. My friend who is in music school teaches kids guitar to make ends meet. He’s much happier in his classroom surrounded by eager-eyed students than he would be if he was working 9-5 in the financial district. And if you’ve got an art or music major to back you, you’ll have a better chance of succeeding in your dream than if you only sat through finance lectures in college.

CONSIDER A DOUBLE MAJOR

Maybe you do want to be a banjo-player, but you also want to enjoy the finer things in life. Consider majoring in both music and a more “practical” major, such as business. This way, after graduation, you’ll be able to score a salaried desk job while at the same time playing gigs on the weekend. This, however, will only work if you’re willing to let that salaried job take precedence. You can’t be a banjo-player and wear a white collar at the same time. Plus, if you do decide you want to be a double major, you have to make that decision very early on in your college career. By the time you’re a sophomore, you should have earned credits towards both majors. Double-majoring is also a lot of work. Believe me, I was an English and Communications double major in college, and it often seemed like I had more papers than I had fingers to type them with.

WHEN IN DOUBT, GIVE CAREER SERVICES A SHOUT

Maybe, unlike that banjo-player, you really don’t know what you want out of life. You’re like David Sedaris, skimming through lectures, but never sitting in on one that makes you say, “Hey! I wanna do that!” Don’t be afraid to let other people help you. Career Services is located on your campus for a reason. Schedule a visit with them and explain your problem. The counselors at Career Services have a lot of experience helping uncertain students just like you. I also recommend seeing the counselors at Career Services because they have more time to assist you than your course advisor does. My course advisor in college was inundated with work for his own classes, and was trying to advise 20 other students besides me. Our appointments usually consisted of him telling me I needed several more math and history credits, then shooing me out the door. But my counselor at Career Services actually had time to sit down and discuss my future. After all, that was her job, and she loved doing it!

So I hope these three tips will help you develop your own “Post-Graduation Plan.” Right now, the future may look a little murky. It’s so important to have a path ahead of you in these woods which are called life. Maybe that path won’t be in a straight line, but as long as you can put one foot in front of the other, you’ll reach that goal! 🙂

Also remember to check out our new book, The NYC Student Guide, for more tips on career-planning. The Guide will be out soon!

Written by Megan Soyars, Campus Clipper Blogger

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What Recession?

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual unemployment rate across the country has more than doubled since 2006. While the national unemployment rate for the month of April was 9.9, the unemployment rate for New York wasn’t too far behind at 8.4.  This is troubling, not only for the entire workforce, but for recent graduates as well. It seems that the end of the recession is never going to come and that all is lost. I beg to differ.

For the past two years of my life, while many have been running around in a frenzy, spreading the word that “there are no jobs because we are in a recession,” I have been denying what everyone seems to be saying. I’ve never really been too keen on statistics, as I learned how they could be altered, while completing my studies in undergrad. I often saw students change both words and numbers around, molding their PowerPoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets to fit certain ideas, even if the real numbers or real data didn’t match up to these concepts; sort of the way some journalists do with their “objective” stories. I’d rather base my opinions on what I see. And based on what I’ve been seeing, we are in no way, shape or form, experiencing a recession. I can prove it.

Exhibit A: I want you to pick a Saturday when you have nothing but free time or even a few hours, preferably mid-afternoon to three o’ clock PM. Take the train to 34th Street in Manhattan and walk along this street, from Fifth Avenue to Eighth Avenue in either direction. Take notes, look around, and take pictures if you want.  What do you notice? Is it desolate? If not, approximately how many people are walking the streets? Do they have bags in their hands? Are they going into stores? Do the stores seem crowded? If your answer to the last three questions are yes, then you have successfully proven my point thus far. Recession’s, don’t usually include the joys of shopping.

Exhibit B: Let us move on to entertainment. I have been to the movies about three or four times this year. Now that may not be a lot to some, but each time I went, I always felt that I was on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange. By the way, I’d visited three different theaters and the environment was always the same, from Chelsea to Midtown to Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, the crowds were always there; even on weekdays! I went out with a variety of friends for three weeks in a row to several restaurants around events around the city, and they were packed as well. Hmph, some recession!

Exhibit C: Now according to some, there are no jobs. Really?!? Then how come when I visit web sites such as craigslist.org or monster.com or the career web sites for the colleges I’ve attended, I see thousands upon thousands of jobs, internships, and careers? These are added on a regular basis and come from all industries as well as all career levels. But how can that be if we’re in a recession?

By now I hoped you’ve figured out the answer; just reread the title if you haven’t. So, keep looking for jobs, continue to shop, eat, and live. That’s what I’m doing because I live life by looking at what’s directly in front of me. Plus I’ve never really liked the news. It’s so depressing!

What will you do? Will you believe what the statistics say or will you believe what’s directly in front of your face?

Shana H

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