What would you do in my shoes?

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>Hello, members of College Confidential!</p>

<p>I am a soon-to-be senior at a large public state school, and while I am on track to obtain my degree, I still have no idea about what it is that I would like to do upon graduating. It is this career-based uncertainty that has brought me here to you today.</p>

<p>You see, for all of my inter-college breaks (including this summer), I have never been able to find something to do that interests me. Thus, I have never really sought any major opportunities (internships, co-ops, other explorative things of that sort), and have spent my breaks working at a fast-food job that I've held since High School. To be honest, I love this job, and I know everyone there well. It's a comfortable place for me.</p>

<p>The problem? It's a low-wage fast food job, and I could never see myself working there past graduation. In fact, I have no desire to work there anymore after this summer. I've also begun to feel a great deal of regret for not breaking away from it earlier, and finding a greater opportunity of some sort. I'm going to graduate soon, and not only do I have no real "internship/co-op/field" experience in anything beyond the responsibilities of working in a restaurant, but I still lack any real career-based interests. Obviously, I cannot just "push" this away forever; I will graduate soon, and with college debts mounting, it is paramount that I find a job that I am not only interested in, but also that pays a sufficient amount of money with which I may begin to pay off my debts. Fast food can meet neither of these needs. Yet, I have not the slightest inkling as to what to look for, and with no real internship/co-op/field experience, I’m feeling quite vexed about what to do!</p>

<p>I guess my frustration stems from the fact that (seemingly) everyone else I know has an idea about what they want in life. They all (again, seemingly) have pursued internships/co-ops/field experiences, are already studying for difficult graduate level admissions tests, and, to put it bluntly, know what they want in life. I, however, feel quite lost, and I cannot help but feel that if I do not do something soon (IE: find an internship or obtain a more relevant job to some future career), I will fall behind the rat race. I really hope that I'm just overreacting, but in today's highly-competitive world, it seems like the only way to win is to start early. Reading about some of the amazing accomplishments held by people far younger than I on this message board has certainly not helped to change this viewpoint! I really don’t want to be completely exiled from certain jobs, solely because I did not take the initiative/have the passion to find something now.</p>

<p>So, what would you do in my shoes? If you were going into your last year of college, with no real career ambitions or internship/co-op experience, what steps would you take?</p>

<p>If it helps, here is some background information about me:
[ul]
[<em>]Attending a large public state school.
[</em>]Double-major in Biochemistry and History.
[<em>]Have worked as a Resident Advisor ("Peer Person") for five semesters. I plan to finish my undergraduate career with this job.
[</em>]Roughly six years of experience in fast food. (I do not have any desire to continue such a line of work after this summer.)
[li]Cumulative G.P.A (University): 4.0[/ul][/li]Thank you for taking the time to read this! Any advice, big or small, is appreciated greatly, and I am sure that it will help to clear up the incredible amount of insecurity/doubt that I feel right now about my future! :)</p>

2

<p>I would go to the Career Center (or whatever they call it at your school) and see if they can't help get you on track for a good job/internship/whatever it may be. These people generally know who to contact about almost any profession and while they may only get you a small job that is at the bottom of the totem pole (but above the fast food), it'll be a way to start off and make connections in the work industry.</p>

3

<p>even though you havent had a "real" job yet, you still can get a pretty good one. employers like to see leadership, reliability, and intelligence. even though you worked at the same fast food place for a long time it can actually work out in your favor because of the reliability factor, being an RA shows leadership, and pulling off a 4.0 is pretty damn impressive. the career center will help you and you will have no problem whatsoever finding a good job.</p>

4

<p>Go to your schools Career services office and set up a meeting with them. They'll likely have a lot of various assessments and rubrics and such that can help put your interests/preferences/values in to some formula to generate possible career choices. If not that, they'll at least have probably the single largest list of internships on your campus, plus the contacts/knowledge to go with it and help you land one.</p>

<p>See if you can find an internship during the school year with a company in town. I realize that many state schools are in rather rural or smaller towns (eg Gainesville-UF, Lawrence-KU, Stillwater-OkSt, State College-PSU) so this might be tough to do depending on where you are.</p>

<p>Think about sticking around for a semester more. I think that you need to figure out where you are going, otherwise you are going to end up either back in your old job (perhaps as a manger) or doing other low level service industry jobs (retail, waiting tables). </p>

<p>If an extra semester is not possible for any number of reasons, perhaps you should try for some other job on campus, particularly in someplace like the Admissions office. Employees of the University likely get discounted tuition of some sort if you are a non-degree seeking student, so it could allow you to explore some other options while also making enough money to live on your own. Given that you were an RA, I'm assuming you are outgoing enough to handle a job like admissions counseling. You probably need to apply for a student position now for the fall is possible, to get your foot in the door so that this is a viable option. But I had many friends who did this while waiting for other options to open up or for significant others to finish up school and the like.</p>

<p>That's the nice advice.</p>

<p>Beyond what I've said already, you should be feeling insecure. You need to get all your energies behind figuring out what you are going to do for the rest of your life. If that means your studies suffer, and you get a B, then that's what needs to happen. To be blunt, you seem to me like the type of person for whom grades are the ends, instead of seeing them for what they really are: means to an end. I know Biochem is not an easy major and for you to have a 4.0 tells me a lot - you're competeting against a lot of very anal, cutthroat pre-meds and still beating a lot of them. Your number one concern at this point should be career exploration and figuring out what occupation will be right for you right now. You may need to start looking at grad schools, for programs that have nothing to do with your majors, you may need to tack on a minor in something to get you a decent knowledge base to open up some doors. Whatever it is, you need to get after it and focus on your life post graduation.</p>

5

<p>Tutoring: it's a great way to make money without having to do all the blechy fast food things. Tack a couple of fliers [after asking, of course] around the nearest public library or neighborhood, put your credentials on there, etc etc. Also, call people you think have kids who need tutoring, and set things up with them. </p>

<p>I'm a recently-graduated HS senior, and you will not BELIEVE the money some of my friends are making off of tutoring. One of my friends has a 2 hrs per day, 5 days a week client, and he charges approx. 30-35 bucks. and that's a HIGH SCHOOL senior...you could totally get the same price as a college senior, especially w/a 4.0.</p>

6

<p>To answer the title of this topic, I would go to medical school. Considering you have a 4.0, you're definitely smart enough to begin preparing for the MCAT...and do well.</p>

7

<p>I'd take the LSAT and apply to HYS, NYU, Columbia, etc..</p>

8

<p>Although law and medical school are definitely opportunities, I think many of you are underestimating the amount of research, volunteer work, and/or internship work, showing interest in either of these fields, that are needed for consideration. But, with a 4.0, you could definitely give it a shot, although I don't know whether you'd have enough time to prepare for the LSAT/MCAT in time, considering you're going to be a senior soon. In terms of MCAT, most people take it their junior year and have sent out their first batch of apps around this time now.</p>

9

<p>What about journalism? </p>

<p>History being a better preparation for a career in journalism than is communications (at least according to Jane Pauley).</p>

<p>A journalist who knows some science - not bad.</p>

<p>Journalism having some of the immediacy of working fast food.</p>

10

<p>I think those who are literally saying what they'd do in the OP's shoes (go to law or med school) are missing the point. Most people, by the end of their college career, KNOW that they want to be lawyers or doctors. If you reach fourth year and the thought hasn't occurred to you, or if it has and you've rejected it, it's probably not meant for you. </p>

<p>To the OP- you need to look for internships. Anything that seems remotely interesting. The entire point of internships is figuring out what you want to do and what you don't. If you don't like what you're doing in the first internship, take a different one. Don't just look at summer internships, consider doing one during the semester (even if it's only 8 hours per week, which is feasible). On top of the personal problems that go along with being lost, you're going to have some professional issues once you enter the job market and have no real life experience in anything. Even if you intern and decide you don't want to go into that field, at least it will show initiative and will tell future employers that you can work in a professional environment. </p>

<p>The summer before senior year really isn't too late to start (especially since your double major and high grades will indicate to employers that you were very busy with school). You just need to actively do something about it from this point forward.</p>

11

<p>Medicine is not a career choice to just fall into. Believe me, med school sucks and if you aren't committed to it, you will not want to spend another 7-11 years (4 years of med school, 3-7 residency) in school/training. </p>

<p>Deedee also brings up very good points. Law school would be easier to get into without a lot of prior interest, especially if you aren't expecting to go to a top tier school. There are also a lot more options/careers where a JD is valuable. Plus one could likely find a job as a runner for a law firm in many college towns, gaining some insight into the career.</p>

12

<p>One major piece of advice I'd give you is do NOT go into Law School unless you're completely, and totally positive you'll love law. It's not a profession where you can just get by while looking at it as "just a job". My father is a lawyer and from my observations it takes a great deal of time and committment, much more so than college, to be successful.</p>

<p>Now for the real advice: since it's summer, I'd go directly to your local barnes and noble, borders, library, career center, or any place that has career books. Read through until you find something that interests you, then study that area in depth.</p>

<p>One question I'll ask is what do you find fun or interesting about your fast food job? Staying there for 6 years signifies a great deal of committment, and considering it's a low wage job, there must be something beyond "security" that compels you to work there. Do you like helping people? Do you like communicating with them?</p>

<p>Secondly, why did you choose the majors you did? Not many people I know want to major in bio-chem unless they have a very specific career in mind, be it doctor or otherwise. History doesn't really help you much when it comes to identifying a career, as the only place it leads is to historian or teacher, and neither are very lucrative areas.</p>

<p>I support the idea of internships, and those can definately help you decide what you don't want to do, if not what you do like. However, personally, I've had a great deal of luck researching my chosen area of interest (business, which is probably the broadest area you can go into, so I've had a lot of narrowing down to do) and identifying the parts I want to work in, by reading magazines, books, and guides.</p>