<p>It's been awhile since I've been around bothering you. Well, finally D is finishing up her thesis and everything to call it a warp (her school decided to change graduation for August, so hopefully she'll make that cut). So giving her my blessing, I'm trying to help her find out what it is she wants to do.. and yes, she wants to study/work in something different than her major. I had her do a list of things she "needs" to have in her job, and I've been at work all day thinking what it is she could do, with:</p>
<ol>
<li>Travel: at least at the begininng of the career.</li>
<li>Exposure to different cultures and languages (possibility of learning them is a plus), and interaction with people (D's so talkative)</li>
<li>Active environment: less desk job, more moving around</li>
<li>Constante learning is a must. Needs to be challenging, competitive and constantly changing</li>
<li>Can provide a comfortable lifestyle (regardless of location)</li>
<li>Nice loan repayment options available would be a PLUS
7.Wide range of career opportunities (like different work environments maybe?)</li>
</ol>
<p>and I'm throwing in.. job security?? </p>
<p>D currently will graduate with no loan debt, so that should be a plus for the whole career changing thing. She did mention she'd love to work in Seattle, Portland or the North Carolina area in the States.. or maybe, abroad.
CALLING ALL CAREER GURUSSSSSSS...
ANY IDEAS AT ALL???</p>
<p>Sorry, but this is a description that just about every graduating senior I’ve ever known would give… If she can’t be more narrowed-down than that (not that that is bad), seems like something she is going to have to figure out on her own by trying things, figuring out what she likes/doesn’t like (trial and error), and finding her way/path. Also, you shouldn’t be ‘desperate’ - sounds like you have a kid with a big potential and you shouldn’t freak out (that’s her job). You would need to give more specifics if you want actual job options (ie. is she into healthcare? Or economics? Or Spanish language? Or kids (child development, teaching, etc.)? Or the outdoors? Or the arts? Or…)</p>
<p>I don’t understand. Shes graduating with no student loan debt, but she wants a job with repayment options? Also, you didn’t tell us what she majored in. Without knowing that its a bit hard to recommend possible careers that she is actually qualified for. </p>
<p>I think your D needs to step back and have a more realistic view of the job market. Most people are lucky to have two or three of those things from that list. Only a very few get to have them all, and thats likely over their entire career. She should be happy with a decent paying job in this economy.</p>
<p>Unless she’s graduating at the very top of her class with tremendous LORs and work experience, she’s not going to find something that grandiose. And those are all superficial characteristics about a job; I’d be more worried about what I’d be doing on a day to day basis than worried if I can travel or if it’s a dynamic environment.</p>
<p>Well posters, I am terribly sorry for not finishing thoroughly with the information. I’m afraid I was in a bit of a rush.
Well, D is only child… so you would see why I’m all that desperate. Anyways, fellow posters… D is actually quite good at what she is doing right now. And I mean good as in Magna Cum Laude good, and is currently writing her thesis. Letters of Recom. are not the problem at all, she’s very well connected (with her dean and professors and such). Work experience is her week point, and honestly she’s doing nothing about it. IMO, I don’t know why she just won’t make a click with it. To be clear, if it were for me… I would have her continue with things as they are. But I’m old perhaps, and have a rather old fashioned view of things. </p>
<p>D is currently working as an interpretor (and as a tutor, but that’s on the side). The thing is, actually those “superficial” aspects do make out most of your days. Of course we are not aiming at finding the perfect job with every single characteristic… but using them to narrow the search doesn’t hurt. LET’S KEEP IT POSSITIVE PEOPLE!
As for the repayment for the loans, yes… we are fortunate enough to have been able to pay for D’s UG degree in full. But if she decides to continue with the career path she currently has (which is honestly, what I pray for)… she would need an advanced degree and if she wants to change careers… well whatever degree she will need won’t pay itself alone that easily in this economy.
D wants Plan A:
teacher (maybe of ESOL or so?) … which in my opinion can fulfill a few characteristics from the above. But we really don’t know much about.
corporate communications… which is the closest D will go to B-school or corporate world?</p>
<p>or stick to plan b… and stay with her current careerpath.</p>
<p>So yes, I was throwing in characteristics… to see if it rung any bell to any of you. </p>
<p>I must add that D always wanted to transfer, but by the time she was ready to take the step (I wasn’t approving at the beginning)… she had too many credits to do so.</p>
<p>Maybe she can try applying to a Fulbright at first, and do an English teaching abroad program (or go through JET, EPIK, or CIEE).</p>
<p>She can join the military as an officer. That has all of those requirements, including the travel, wide range of career opportunities, an active environment, and the opportunity to pay for future schooling - if she stays in for 36 months she’ll get the 9/11 GI bill, which provides a substantial amount of financial aid for BA and grad programs. Most services also have some kind of tuition assistance that offers additional money on top of the GI bill. Officers are usually managers and the salary for an O-1 is typically higher than most newly minted BA holders can make. And job security is good since you sign contracts! Of course many people aren’t on board with the whole military thing.</p>
<p>She could also apply for the foreign or civil service. Obviously the foreign service will be better, because of the traveling, but the civil service has all the rest of the stuff and sometimes a limited about of the traveling.</p>
<p>There are also plenty of companies that need international business leaders. One option is to try for a management consulting firm. After 2 years of working as an entry level business analyst, some of them will place you overseas at your request. They also often pay for an MBA at a top school if she’s interested.</p>
<p>Your daughter should pay a visit to her college’s career services, if she hasn’t already.</p>
<p>The Fulbright deadline is in the fall (I believe) with notification and actual start coming months later, so that won’t help in the short-term, when she graduates in August. There are programs that send people to countries to teach English; they may have a shorter time window. I know someone who majored in physics and after graduation spent two years teaching English in Japan. She loved it. </p>
<p>It would be REALLY helpful to know your daughter’s qualifications, particularly her major. You say that she needs an advanced degree to work in her major field, and while that may be true long-term, it’s probably not short-term. For example, a chemistry major can find employment as a lab tech at a university or pharmaceutical company with only a BA/BS. I have a cousin who majored in physics who has only a B.S. and has a well-paying job (after many years) at a research hospital. A government major can find an entry-level position at a public policy think tank, lobby/association group, or a law firm.</p>
<p>BTW, if it’s any help, my sister had the same criteria you listed in your first post. She was an education major who decided that she wasn’t cut out to teach. She got her first job in a DC association as an events planner. She didn’t make a lot of money back then, but she could support herself.</p>
<p>I had a Fulbright immediately after graduating from undergrad, and it really opens up a lot of doors. (I later had another for dissertation research.) Fulbrights require American citizenship (can’t tell from your posting whether or not that requirement’s met) and they have a range of research and English language-teaching options all over the world.</p>
<p>Please please PLEASE post her degree and other qualifications, along with the paths she is considering following. It is all but impossible to offer anything but bland and often inapplicable advice without a little specificity.</p>
<p>Why are you making this post and not her? I noticed a lot of "we"s, and not “she.” Not to be super critical cause I you mentioned it’s your only child, but in my experience it is better that she take the lead in figuring out her career path. She should check out the career counselor at her school, websites, etc. She should do what she enjoys and nothing else, forget notoriety, pay, etc. (within reason).</p>
<p>The only way I ever figured out what I actually wanted to do is when people let me figure it out for myself (ie parents). After college, I traveled, I tried some different jobs, and after much thought I’m going back to school for something I actually want to do. I am 25, but at least I will be happy and content with my career path.</p>
<p>And just remember, she doesn’t need to choose her career right after graduation. Many of my friends did this, based on pressure from parents and the money aspect, and are now miserable.</p>