Rasheda Deals With Trial And Error
Rasheda was undecided about her major and feeling panicky as her junior year was nearing. As she cast about for ideas on what to major in, she took a business course, upper-level courses in history, and she even considered the pre-med route. In other words, Rasheda was using the 'trial and error' approach in choosing a major. She then made an appointment with an advisor at her university's Career Services office, and her advisor suggested that she systematically gather information about her interests, including talking to people in fields that appealed to her.
Rasheda soon discovered that, while the information she gleaned from books and websites was helpful, it was the conversations with people that proved the most valuable. She learned that a major in history, her real love, could lead to jobs in community education, historical preservation, or even business if she complemented her major with selected business courses. Rasheda is now interning with a local museum and she is looking forward to her senior year and following up with her contacts to obtain a job after graduation.
Nicole Questions Her Major
Throughout her college career, Nicole was convinced that information systems was the right major for her. She enjoyed the courses, had completed an internship with a consulting firm, and was confident that the field offered good opportunities for growth. The trouble was that as she approached her last semester, she wasn't sure which career path she wanted to follow. Did she want to continue working in consulting or would opportunities working in the MIS department for a single company offer her more satisfaction?
At a meeting of the Information Management Society, her faculty advisor recommended that she contact some recent graduates of the department to discuss their work. In fact, she had met several already because it was customary for many graduates to come back to discuss their careers and companies with current students. In talking to the alumni, she discovered that while both career paths offered challenging work, working in a corporate MIS department was a better match for her interests and long-term goals. Nicole then was able to approach her interviews with confidence, secure in the knowledge that she had made a wise decision.
Mark Wants To Live On The West Coast
Mark liked his major in civil engineering and he was eagerly looking forward to working in a firm that specialized in environmental issues, his primary interest. He had always wanted to live on the West Coast, but he had absolutely no contacts outside of the state of Texas. How could he realize his dream of working for a West Coast environmental engineering firm a reality? What Mark did was use a source of networking contacts that is very helpful for new college graduates: he contacted members of his professional association for help.
With his career advisor's assistance, Mark tracked down the California and Washington chapters of the association. He corresponded with the presidents of the local chapters to ask for their advice on landing a job in their communities. Furthermore, he scheduled a trip to these locations during spring break to enable him to meet personally with these contacts. Pleased to assist a job-seeker who took the initiative to ask for their advice and to travel to their cities, his contacts provided him with job leads. At this writing, Mark is happily employed with a recognized environmental engineering firm in northern California.
