<p>Wow Meg, not sure I’ve read such a relaxed point of view here, kudos to you on your zen-ness. Well, I have actually given both kids that advice, ‘follow your passions…if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life,’ etc. Unfortunately, they are sooo driven that they can’t seem to embody that mentality. They, like most of us, get caught up in the dollars and cents and want to ensure a return on their academic investment.</p>
<p>Regardless, I think this summer I will encourage him to cast a wider net and look for a different experience. We have a friend that works for a celebrity merchandiser and travels overseas quite a bit. DS said he would love to summer at that company. I actually think that he would be terrific in that arena, fingers crossed.</p>
<p>@Mill5 you and several others here are so right about that! Perhaps I’ve been looking at this from the wrong angle indeed. I kept thinking that each experience will sour him to that particular industry and that he’d run out of options or keep switching majors. In reality, they’re all helping shape his choices and like you said may lead to something he will like. Fortunately, he’s sticking to Econ, because he enjoys it and isn’t fixated anymore on whether it’s the right “career” path or not. Many thanks for your insights.</p>
<p>I’m still wondering if these are internships- or if the misc work in the law firm and the ecommerce warehouse count more as summer jobs. As an econ major, I think what he needs to aim for may be exposure to how policy is made and implemented, how groups work together- or something that at least uses that body of knowledge and exposes him to the skills the successful folks use. (Eg, I’m not sure the warehouse experience is what most marketing majors do, when they get an internship through a college.) </p>
<p>We all know grunt work is part of starting a career, but these don’t sound like work that tapped into his more specific interests. I think that’s what you aim for. It’s good to have a connection and not bad to start at the bottom, but I’m not sure working for a celebrity merchandiser is going to match his interest in economics or environmental econ. I’d suggest he speak with some profs. You want his enthusiasm to grow. And, for him to have something for his first resume, later. For me, the test was always, is this something my kids could put on that first resume, to show a potential employer how they had relevant experience before the first real career job. Try it from that angle. In that respect, even a low- or no-pay job with local govt, a financial institution or a non-profit could be…well, profitable.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t spend one more second worrying about a child like the one you are describing. He’s a total go-getter/self starter with an entrepreneurial streak a mile wide. Someone like that is going to be absolutely super valuable to the best companies, or he may just explore being an entrepreneur. Either way, I have no doubt that if he doesn’t like his first job, he will quickly find a way to advance or switch. I wish I had a problem like this, lol!</p>
<p>Sort of a similar story: my husband worked at a steel mill for over 25 years in various departments. He liked learning different aspects of the process. Then the big lay-offs came, and he applied for a position at the electrical plant nearby. They were hiring for the first time in 18 years, and only hiring a few. He passed the poss mass test, but not everyone who did got a follow up interview. My husband was called for one, tho. He was told that his work as a boiler operator at the mill caught their attention because they had boilers at the power plant. He had no way to know years ago that working in the boiler house would be instrumental getting him a job later.</p>
<p>@lookn yes, agree with you on one point. He absolutely loves Econ theory and policy and for a kid who gets up during school breaks at home and goes to the park to read historical bios for fun, haha, I agree, he requires mentally stimulating work. But, honestly the really good internships seem to start at jr level, not there yet, so it’s been catch as catch can, because he refuses to sit still. And, because they’re scarce, it’s typically through our own network such as my galpal, a microbiolgist with whom he did lab research, my office, and H’s ecommerce biz. While not true internships, he at least got to do those positions and felt he wouldn’t enjoy them as a career. As far as the celebrity merch, it would be in overseas finance, the perks of interning for a huge celeb are obviously alluring to his teenage mind </p>
<p>@Boyz yes, we agreed that because he will grad without debt, lots of merit aid, he will go onto grad school.</p>
<p>As an aside, the only true internship he’s completed was a leadership one thru Associated Students Assoc. freshman yr. He loooooved it, score!</p>
<p>A agree with the point that internships can lead to premature conclusions about an entire field, and you just have to be careful about that. I’ve seen students rule out entire fields based on an unpleasant internship, when part of the issue is the kid is 19 years old and just not mature/experienced enough to understand the nuances of professional work.</p>
<p>Gman that’s exactly the point of my OG post! Seems damned if you do or don’t! In my own experience, every 3rd yr law intern we’ve hired has been extremely disillusioned haha. Don’t blame them, Big law is horrid, small law is a brutal mix of feast or famine. I’ve seen people change course after law school, pity.</p>
<p>Its a little bit of “can’t see the forest because of the trees”. This also happens with the impact that individual recruiters can have on a young job seeker’s impression of the entire company. I encourage intern and graduate job seekers to think big picture about a career path, and not be overly influenced by an isolated experience. But that’s easier said than done.</p>
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