<p>“So, what job does one look for when one wants to be a writer? Something I should have asked myself, when I graduated in 1978. Better late than never?”</p>
<p>As a writer - my first job was as media relations director of a metropolitan human relations agency. Then I founded my own publishing house. Didn’t pay myself for two years. (Supported myself by teaching at the community college part-time, and going part-time at the human relations agency.) Didn’t have any training whatsoever. Publishing house soon brought in over a million a year, and all I ended up doing was keeping the wheels running, and supervising sales reps…and I didn’t get to write hardly at all!. So I left it (it is still going strong!), took a 40-hour a week gov’t job with no overtime five minutes from home, and began to write. Twelfth book coming out in the fall, and I write two regular magazine columns. </p>
<p>So I’m of the school that says the best preparation for writers is to write. If I were doing it today, I’d find a poorly paid or non-paid position doing public health or something in a low-cost area of the world, like Africa, and write about what I saw. I’d blog, write human interest articles, and fiction for fun.</p>
<p>Interesting. His instinct is to apply for Princeton-in-Asia to teach for a year. I am so glad this thread is going. We may just have saved all kinds of mother-son brouhaha. Thank you.</p>
<p>If he is truly a writer, he will write whatever he’s doing. But seeing the world when young is always a good thing for a writer (unless you’re rewriting “Oblomov”).</p>
<p>(I have students from my alma mater all the time calling me for advice about “careers in writing”, and this is what I always tell 'em.)</p>
<p>Hi everyone. I, too, have a class of 2012 S and I’m happy to join you all here. He’s my oldest (S2 will be a college freshman in the fall), so I’ll be dealing with empty nest pretty soon.</p>
<p>S1 chose a highly ranked very focused pre-professional program and with laser focus, he’s never questioned his choice. He spent two summers doing paid research but this summer (after coming home from a semester in Florence) he’s in interview mode for internships. I really hope he lands one! </p>
<p>He could have graduated in 3 years, but has chosen to stay at his great university for the last year and create more projects. In May, he will either take a game design position (mom’s choice) as luckily the top developers recruit from his program, or he’ll start his own indie development company. ulp.</p>
<p>btw, I’m also a writer and like mini’s advice. I have 9 novels published and didn’t start writing them until post-40. Before that, I lived a very adventurous life. ;)</p>
<p>Consolation, my S is kinda like yours - an introvert, but very mature and hardworking. He is a junior in econ at Stanford, with a minor in anthropology and possibly computer science too. He spent last summer doing paid research for his econ adviser and will spend this summer doing paid research for a different professor. He applied for some internships, but didn’t get any of them, and I don’t think he tried all that hard. He’s very happy doing research and spending time on that lovely campus - much nicer than a boiling hot midwest summer.</p>
<p>He is the perfect example of a kid who didn’t have any paying jobs during high school, but has gone into high gear earning money in college. We told him that his “job” in high school was to study hard and to find out what was important and interesting to him. He got into Stanford, which has excellent FA for even middle class income families like us. Starting in his sophomore year in college, he got a job at the gym. Then this year he also became a peer tutor in economics, and gets paid well for his services. That job is also an advantage to him because he has to really understand it himself in order to be able to help someone else. This year he also got a paid position writing editorials for the editorial board of his college newspaper.</p>
<p>I need to calm down and realize that he’ll do fine after graduation. I just like to know what’s coming! My H will be retiring in the next year or so, and we don’t have any idea of what we’ll be doing afterwards. For the first time in a very long time, our life is stretched out in front of us and it is a big blank! Kind of exciting, actually. There are many things we’d like to do, but have to wait and see.</p>
<p>gladmom - if your kid has done pretty well at Stanford, and does the minor in comp. sci., all he has to do is sit still and wait for Facebook to hire him:). I’m kind of kidding but kind of not. Now, if he doesn’t want to go into tech, that’s a different story. But it certainly sounds like no matter what he wants to do he’s really well set up.</p>
<p>Thanks for the thread, Alumom. DD is LAC senior, majoring in English and Gov’t. She has done everything possible to connect the dots between her skill sets, her majors, her work and her multiple internships, but still wonders where she will land between graduation and grad school. It has been exciting to watch her pursue her passions. I read about all these amazing young adults, and I have to believe they will find their place.</p>
<p>My son is a senior in USC’s film program. He could have graduated in 3 years but couldn’t bear to leave it behind. He’s had a marvelous time, so he came up with a comp sci minor as the main excuse to keep going to school. This whole thing has been so different from what I expected. My DH and I are very liberal-artsy type people, so the film thing is startling in how incredibly focused and pragmatic these kids are, and how supportive the school is of the whole networking thing. I had worried about this being an impractical course of study, but it’s the complete opposite. Through many, many hours of volunteering to help other students make films, my kid has figured out how to make connections with people and build a reputation for doing good work. He’s now got enough paying work that he could probably support himself today if he really needed to. Happily, another year of school should help him develop even more possibilities to do real art, as opposed to videography. </p>
<p>If anyone has kids interested in law school, I’m pretty involved in that world, so feel free to ask questions.</p>
<p>S1 is a math major at Chicago and has been taking graduate CS courses all along, though he is adamant about that not translating into an official major or minor. (insert parental grrr here) OTOH, he has had no trouble landing interesting programming jobs. Is still planning on going into academia, but may work for a year or two first, depending on how grad school results work out. (Math and CS GPAs are excellent, overall is OK.) Since he will be barely 21 when he graduates, some more life experience would be a good thing. Is dating an exchange student from the UK, and I am glad and relieved he is emotionally happy and healthy.</p>
<p>He has had some regrets about the road not taken (MIT), but has loved his Chicago experience, even if the Core kicked his butt.</p>
<p>He took the GRE last December – one and done. Did not study except to do a practice math subject test, which convinced him he’d be fine on the GRE quant. Said the verbal was no big deal. He did not want to take the new GRE exam. Still plans to take the math and CS subject tests.</p>
<p>He is doing research in his specialty with a prof in Boston this summer, as well as doing a PT gig at the company where he worked last year. Looks like he will launch next June. Have not always been sure this would happen, despite his talents, but we are pretty sure he won’t be home on the couch. (That spot is currently occupied by S2, a '14.)</p>
<p>Nice thread! My daughter is a senior in LAC. It just hit me a couple of days ago when we received a letter from her school with a preliminary schedule of activities for May 2012 commencement weekend. She is majoring in psychology + neuroscience concentration and is not coming home this summer. Shes doing research with a neuroscience professor in her school for 10 weeks with a possibility to continue during her senior year (mapping rats brain). Shes been excited about it so far. Shes thinking about graduate school, but not sure what exactly she wants to do Shes planning to prepare for GRE over the summer and take the new test in August and subject test in October or November. Im mailing her new GRE prep book tomorrow. We know nothing about graduate programs in psych and neuroscience so cannot help at all. She had three great college years including fall semester abroad in London in her junior year, but it looks like shes getting nervous with graduation coming closer We offer her to come home if grad school doesnt work out and she cant find a job, but she says that coming home after graduation is her worst nightmare </p>
<p>Speaking of 2012 commencement, I just made hotel reservations for 2012 commencement. For those whose oldest child is the 2012 grad (and haven’t been through this before), it’s a good idea to make reservations now especially if the school is in an area with limited hotel accomodations or where there are several schools that may hold graduation the same weekend. With my older son, I made a couple of cancellable reservations so I’d have some choice. I just had to remember to eventually cancel the extra reservation.</p>
<p>We’ve already made hotel reservations for graduation next May so we’ll be close to campus. It’s hard to believe that this time next year, he’ll have his B.A. This summer he’s taking a fairly demanding summer school course and working part-time, so he’s keeping busy. He could have pushed to graduate in three years (or at least three and a half) but didn’t want to leave, and I don’t blame him. Real life will be here soon enough, and there’s hardly enough time to take all the courses he’s interested in.</p>
<p>Our S chose his school based on his major and then switched. We weren’t surprised, though I was a little sad that he’d given up something he was quite good at. But I admired his realism and his honesty with himself. Now he’s a contented political science major who has enjoyed his coursework and teachers. The options he talks about are grad school in international relations, work with a nonprofit or a government agency, and especially the Foreign Service. He passed the written FS exam this year, which was an accomplishment for a 20-year-old. But he decided not to continue with the process right now because he didn’t feel he had enough solid life experience yet. He has a fairly respectable but not mind-boggling GPA, and talks about applying to graduate programs in both the U.S. and Europe. I wish he’d wait a year or two–maybe work abroad if he can figure out the financial end of it. But my mantra this time around is: It’s up to him. In the CC realm, of course, I’d appreciate wise advice, which I can either choose to share with him or keep to myself until I burst.</p>
<p>He’s formed good friendships in college, men and women. He and his HS girlfriend broke up freshman year. He’s talked recently about a couple of his male friends who are in high-maintenance relationships, prompting discussion of just what that means exactly. While I don’t care that he’s not in a relationship now, I hope he finds someone who appreciates him (and someone to appreciate) eventually.</p>
<p>We’re older parents, and our son is an only child. Approaching these life transitions, I’ve always felt wistful that they’re both firsts and lasts. This one is no different. For now, I’m happy to have him home for the summer.</p>
<p>FauxNom - I’d say that with film and comp. sci your son has positioned himself fabulously in one of the industries America still dominates. Our entertainment still amuses the world, so his skills will be in very high demand. That’s wonderful.</p>
<p>CountingDown - From my experience in the software world, no one will care about his lack of an official minor. They will respect the math degree - math and physics are the two disciplines that smart software guys think produces other smarties:). If he can program, and knows the appropriate technology, he should be more than OK.</p>
<p>FauxNom: Glad to read your post- Son is Film/Media studies and English- Double major. I really had to hold my tongue when I heard the film/media studies- as “did you really think this out or is it just to avoid math?” Good thing I never said a thing except “oh, that’s great, how about a summer Producers Program at UCLA to see how it all fit’s” This was after Freshman year- when he was still a bit under the influence of his parents. Well, he completed this program with an internship ( talent agency- job was to go out and scout potential woman who fit the “type” a client needed for a job. He did this by attending industry parties etc and passing out his card! Fun does not cover it…“and mom a receptionist answers my phone!”) He also read scripts since he plans on being a screenwriter. Needless to say, he never looked back. This summer he landed his “dream internship” editing film with one of his childhood idols of the surf world. He will be traveling to Tahiti for a final shoot. </p>
<p>He is in the process of writing his English thesis and could have graduated a year early but like others, no way he wanted to cut this excellent adventure short! Don’t blame him and every year seems to be a dog year for him- he matures so much.</p>
<p>He is thinking of Grad school, but also wants to take advantage of any position that may come up in the next 12 months. He is doing paid work for the college, creating video’s for departments and for the campus in general. When he was attending UCLA for summer school he had access to their internship and job board. I was stunned by the amount of positions advertised. Like FauxNom, I had no idea this “soft” major offered jobs in many industries- but considering Google bought YOUTUBE, keeping your business ranked means having video at least- it seems to be like computers use to be, only the kids can keep up! </p>
<p>Finally I can say I have witnessed my kid having a “passion” instead of manufacturing it for the college or work resume! What a relief! </p>
<p>S2 rising senior in High School…here we go again!</p>
<p>Great thread! It’s nice to see what others are doing/have done since starting college in 2008. D3 is a rising senior, who, like many here, has had several majors, including math, psychology and accounting. Thank God the last one stuck and she’s on track to graduate with her class, even with all the switches. She’s worked very hard the last year, doubling up on accounting classes and taking classes over the summer and winter breaks so she will have the 150 hours needed to sit for the CPA exam. Really clicked with her accounting advisor, who then got her in contact with a very supportive alum at a Big 4 firm. Since she started in accounting so late, all their internships were already taken. Alum was able to get her an invitation to attend their “Super Day” in case any interships unexpectedly opened up for this summer. It was a full day of presentations about the firm and she had several interviews, including one with a partner. Said it was great practice for interviews she would have next spring, even if no internship became available. Well, no joy on the internship, but much to our and her surprise, she was offer a full-time job beginning in the fall of 2012! You could have knocked us over with a feather!</p>
<p>geezermom, has your S thought about applying for a State Dept internship, possibly for the summer after he graduates? My S had one this winter. They are mostly unpaid, alas, but can definitely be an interesting experience.</p>
<p>^^ He applied for a State Dept. internship for this summer but didn’t get it. He might have a better shot with a degree and Arabic, which he’s taking this summer. I know so many people who have supported their kids through unpaid internships the year after college. Ugh.</p>
<p>Today he found out that his restaurant job (at a place where he’s worked, and they like him) fell through because they need people who can commit more time and stay longer than two months. That’s understandable, but depressing. So he’s back to pounding the pavement tomorrow to find something that fits around summer school. I guess this up-and-down stuff is just preparation for next year.</p>
<p>I have the impression that the summer internships at State are harder to get. He might have better luck in the fall or winter, and could hopefully support himself at least partially with funds earned during the summer/fall. Regarding summer employment, don’t overlook signing up with temp agencies. He can state his availability, whatever that might be. It’s better than nothing.</p>
<p>S2 is pounding the pavement looking for any kind of p/t job this summer. He’s taking one class each summer session which leaves plenty of time for work but work is not plenty in his college town. He applied at Texas Roadhouse restaurant and got called for an interview. He was pretty encouraged until he walked in and there were about a dozen other people there for the same thing…turned out to be sort of a group interview…not promising. The manager of a sporting goods store really liked S2, told him to fill out an app. Then when S2 returned the app. was told he couldn’t hire anyone this summer because business really dropped off since all the students left town for the summer…ugh. S2 is getting really familiar with the sensation of banging his head against a brick wall. Guess he’s not in that boat alone.</p>
Good thing I never said a thing except “oh, that’s great, how about a summer Producers Program at UCLA to see how it all fit’s” This was after Freshman year- when he was still a bit under the influence of his parents. Well, he completed this program with an internship ( talent agency- job was to go out and scout potential woman who fit the “type” a client needed for a job. He did this by attending industry parties etc and passing out his card! Fun does not cover it…“and mom a receptionist answers my phone!”) He also read scripts since he plans on being a screenwriter. Needless to say, he never looked back. This summer he landed his “dream internship” editing film with one of his childhood idols of the surf world. He will be traveling to Tahiti for a final shoot. </p>