As a college student, you’re told to choose a major, complete internships and join clubs and activities that interest you. These experiences are designed to lead to a fulfilling career, but what if you don’t know what you want to do yet? That’s totally okay and in fact, it can actually be beneficial to you in the long run.

You’re going to change your mind at least once.

When you begin your freshman year of college, the major you choose might be something that interests you, but you don’t really know if you’ll enjoy it until you try it out. Most college students change their major at least once in college and many change them more than once for several reasons. You might really like history, but you may decide once you start taking history classes that you’re not as excited about it as you originally thought. College is the perfect time to expand your horizons and do a lot of different things, and figuring out what you don’t want to do is just as important, if not more important, than finding your dream career.

Internships and jobs can help you find your dream career.

Very few people start off knowing exactly what they want to do with the rest of their lives, because it’s hard to know what you’re looking for in a career until you actually get a taste of that particular industry. Although the classroom teaches you quite a bit, there are some things you can’t learn anywhere besides the professional world. Internships are the perfect opportunity to test the waters and you might find that you love the field that you’re studying or come to realize that it’s not for you. The good news is that both revelations are extremely valuable.

Your classmates are in a similar situation.

It can be easy to compare yourself to your friends who seem like they have it all figured out, but the truth is that sometimes you just have to fake it until you make it. Almost no college student has his or her entire life planned out, so try to remember that your fellow students across the country feel the same way that you do. Being unsure about your career opens up so many doors, because it simply means that you have a ton of options to choose from. Our advice to you is to get as many different experiences as you can to help you decide where you see yourself in five years, 10 years and so on. Just keep in mind that every time you find something you don’t like, you’re that much closer to discovering your passion, so don’t stress about uncertainty, because you never know what can happen.

Talk to friends and family, join clubs, take classes that interest you, take on internships and jobs and you’ll be well on your way to finding something that makes you feel like you’ll never work a day in your life. In the meantime, though, enjoy not knowing and take advantage of everything college has to offer.

The post Not Sure What to Do With Your Career? You’re Not Alone appeared first on Job and Internship Advice, Companies to Work for and More | WayUp Blog.

Perhaps you have known for quite some time that you want to attend graduate school. Or, maybe you are in your final year of college, and you decided to start looking into the idea, mainly because you are scared out of your mind of, what’s next?!  Regardless of your reason for pursuing graduate school, the planning stages for starting your next educational journey are just as important as the journey itself.

Before you start to look at programs, have a conversation with your family and loved ones about your decision.  Graduate school, even in the shortest duration can impact the relationships with those around you, and having the support from your loved ones is an important part of your journey.   You also want to consider your timeline for the process.  The entire application process takes about a year from preparing to apply, to the time you receive an admissions decision.

What type of program should you apply to? Research your career interests and schedule a few informational interviews with people in the field to see what their recommendations are about whether or when they recommend attending graduate school and how they think graduate school fits into a career path in this field.  What difference will having an advanced degree have on your earning potential? Are there shorter-term certificate programs that will help you achieve your goals? Do schools that offer this type of degree program typically recommend that you gain work experience before applying?

The next thing you want to think about is who you would potentially ask to write you a letter of recommendation.  You may be asking yourself “Why do I need to think about this so early? I might not even need letters of recommendation!”  Yes, it is early.  However, if you do not have anyone that you have developed a relationship with recently who would be good to ask, you may need to take some time to re-acquaint yourself with individuals who you want to ask from previous experiences.  Typically graduate programs will request at least one academic reference and one professional reference.

TIP:  Make sure you stay in touch with supervisors, professors, and/or mentors who you have had a positive experience with.  You never know when you will need a letter of recommendation, and having it from the right person can often be more important than the content of the letter itself. 

The search begins!  Where are you going to apply?  This part could potentially be overwhelming given the numerous options.   A few things to keep in mind:

1. A more specific graduate degree might only be offered at a few schools, limiting your options a bit, but making it easier to narrow down.
2. Take into consideration how close you want to be to family or to your current situation.
3. If you have no idea where to start your search, Princeton Review provides a comprehensive guide to graduate schools that allows you to search by major or location, and offers a number of valuable resources.
4. Make sure to thoroughly research the program outcomes, cost of attendance, and time to completion. Keep in mind that in addition to tuition costs, you should factor in the cost of lost wages if you are unable to work while attending school full-time. This factor might help you determine whether you want to attend graduate on a part-time or full-time basis.

Once you have a few schools in mind, you can start considering some of the details.   Keep in mind that applying to graduate school often means much more than just submitting an application form and previous transcripts.  You need to consider what entrance exams you need to take (GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, CBEST), including what kind of preparation you will need for the exam and the time it will take to strategize about and write your personal statement. Check if your school offers free or discounted test prep courses. Another great tool for learning about specific programs is the students who are currently going through the program. Contact admissions and ask to be connected with a student ambassador within your program of interest and see if you can reach out to them to gain a student perspective.

Graduate school can be incredibly rewarding and can provide numerous career opportunities.It is however, a very big decision.  If you put in the time to do the research and plan your approach, you will feel much more confident that you have made whatever decision is best for you.

Andrea Peeters is the Director of Student Success at Menlo College, a small undergraduate business college in Northern California.  She works with all students and alumni on general career and professional development, as well as with current students on academic progress and success.  Prior to coming to Menlo, she worked as a High School Counselor and Adjunct Faculty teaching personal development courses in central California.

The post I’m thinking I want to go to graduate school. Now what? appeared first on Job and Internship Advice, Companies to Work for and More | WayUp Blog.

I went to Berkeley and double majored in English Literature and Linguistics. Based on that sentence alone, not many startups I was applying to were impressed or interested. However, once I said the magic words, “I took a programming class at Berkeley,” the interview requests started pouring in. 

I was initially insulted at the change in reaction I got from companies when I played up this part of my background, and honestly didn’t understand the bias until I started working. I was (foolishly) miffed that all the time I spent writing in cuneiform and analyzing symbolism in Chaucer was not impressive enough for these startups to hire me. I wanted people to understand that English Literature is actually highly analytical and that Linguistics is incredibly data-driven, but those are battles that I can’t and won’t win in my lifetime. Once I came to terms with that, and became comfortable playing up my background and interest in programming, I started to use it to my advantage. 

That’s why I tell people: It just takes one class. Really.
I love the internet and had been tinkering around on it since I was in middle school, but I struggled to construct a career path that included my interests in writing, communication, and technology. In college, I did what my idealist self thought was the right thing: “Study what you love!” So poetry and Russian it was. But I did make a small concession for my future career prospects in the form of more tech-based classes and experiences. And honestly, they were enjoyable and educational, and they helped me a lot in the long run—without having to make a full departure from my main fields of study.

I took AP Computer Science in high school, took an intro EECS class at Berkeley, and taught a LaTex class to fellow college students who were primarily Mathematics and Physics majors. I did not want to be a Computer Science major, I did not want to be a coding ninja, and I was not—based on my majors alone—in the STEM/hard sciences camp. I enjoyed computer science on an academic and theoretical basis, not a vocational one. However, it was incredibly fruitful to have these minor experiences under my belt to point to as signs of my analytical ability. 

Why startups liked me more

I was applying mostly for business and marketing jobs at startups, so it’s not like I would be building out products or apps for these companies—not that I would have been able to anyway! But I think many of these founders and hiring managers had such a tough time finding business or marketing people with any technical background that they were happy with even my paltry set of experiences. They could have just hired pure analysts, but would have been missing out on “soft” (I hate this term) skills like writing and communication. Startups on tight budgets need people with a breadth of skills and potential, and even if you have analytical skills with an English degree, it is difficult for people to understand that you are are capable of different styles of thinking until you put a label on it, like “Computer Science.”

How I apply CS to my everyday work

I can’t build out a whole site, but I can:

• Think of workflows and problems abstractly, and as repeatable processes with rules
• Have a rough sense of how development works and the amount of time/effort certain projects take
• Do initial “debugs” technical issues by isolating variables and testing
• Pick up things like MySQL, advanced excel formulas, basic HTML/CSS quickly

 I did not predict that these things would happen. I thought CS was just my foot in the door and certainly was not thinking about the real-life applications my work would have when I was sitting in the computer lab doing problem sets. I was just enjoying the learning process, and didn’t think that it would be part of my future career in many aspects (management, business, marketing). 

It doesn’t help the “English majors are not just baristas” cause when the business and marketing people in startups say things like “just ask the developer” or “I don’t know how any of that stuff works, it’s just magic.” Even with a basic amount of exposure, people can get over the intimidation they feel about speaking and thinking intelligently about technical work and realize that the fundamentals are quite simple. Take one CS class while you’re at school—not only is it “in” right now, it will also help you succeed in both the short-term and long-term!

The post Why an English Major Took a CS Class: How to Get A Foot in the Door of Startup Land appeared first on Job and Internship Advice, Companies to Work for and More | WayUp Blog.

Last year, many tuned into the most talked about finale since the lights went out on Tony Soprano. We watched, spellbound, as (spoiler alert!) Walter White, the protagonist of AMC’s hit show Breaking Bad, reached a fitting apotheosis: bleeding to death on the floor of a meth lab. For those who don’t know much about the show, Walter White is a high school chemistry teacher, bespectacled and pathetic, going nowhere in life. Then he’s diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Over the course of five seasons, we watched as White transformed from a law-abiding father into the Southwest’s leading meth kingpin (For the uninitiated, that’s short for methamphetamine). What was truly gripping about this drama was our relationship with White: at first we rooted for him, hoping that he’d beat his cancer and the demons that long plagued him. But soon, as White traverses one moral boundary after another—actually, “completely obliterates” would be more apt—our affection is quickly colored with disbelief, and ultimately hardens into revulsion. Even before the beginning of the final season, many viewers found themselves rooting for the cancer.

So what do Walter White and his sordid saga have to do with the GRE? Well, hopefully I don’t ruffle any feathers, but I’ve decided to compare you—the GRE test taker—to Walter White. So if you adamantly believe (as most of us do) that White ended up a sociopathic bully without an iota of compassion (“I did it….because it felt good”), try not to take the comparison the wrong way. Hey, at least I’m not comparing you to Sal Rosenberg.

You’ll need to think of the endgame

Most drug dealers* are content with small scores. Sure, a little turf expansion is always part of the game. But as long as money is coming in, few are overcome with a Napoleonic desire for conquest. Walter White, however, loved power. For him the endgame was making sure his family (son Flynn and pregnant wife Skyler) would never have to worry about money again. To achieve this aim, White knew he had to find a supplier for his one-of-a-kind meth (remember, he was a chemistry teacher), and the bigger the supplier the better.

When it comes to taking the GRE, you can’t just start whipping through questions. You have to have a sense of how the problem set you are doing fits into the bigger picture. Are those question types the ones that you are struggling at? Are they questions from a topic covered a week back (you can’t just plow ahead learning new information)? Are you taking enough practice tests and reviewing them? Do you know what score increase you need, and have you broken that into weekly incremental improvements? Being able to answer these questions and come up with a well-devised game plan is to think as Walter White does.

*Disclaimer: I’ve never dealt drugs before. 

Keeping one step ahead of the enemy

At the story’s inception, Walter White was mainly besieged with personal insecurities (“I could have been a multimillionaire but my buddy stole that woman and my ideas and now I got these snot-nosed teenagers….”). By the end he beset on all sides: competing drug cartels, a slighted ex-partner, a relentless DEA brother, a hit man who always finishes the job, and, of course, the cancer.

What allowed White to gain such control in the first place was his intellect—and I’m not just talking about how he MacGyvered bombs from houseplants (okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration). What made White so formidable was that he was always able to stay one step ahead of his enemies, however cunning they may have been (sorry Gus Fring).

With the GRE, you too will beset with enemies: the timer, the concepts, the diabolical twists, the convoluted syntax. You will need to anticipate these problems, even if it is something as seemingly innocuous as a little trick in math (percent increase vs. total increase). It’s those little details that kept Walter alive for five seasons, and what will keep you from squandering precious points test day.

How the GRE is like Walter White

Okay, I would be remiss as…well, a human being, if I held the sociopathic drug dealer as an exemplar for GRE prep. So to turn the tables a little, here is how the GRE is like Walter White, and how you can use that knowledge to your advantage.

The GRE math really isn’t only testing your ability with numbers. It’s testing your ability to pay close attention to the exact wording, to look for that one exception to the case. The GRE verbal isn’t necessarily about how well you understand the text. It’s also testing your ability to avoid choosing really, really tempting (shall, I say methamphetamine-level tempting) wrong answer choices.  In other words, the questions have been sedulously crafted with the same care that Walter White put into producing his much-coveted “Baby Blue.”

So, you are up against a true mastermind in the GRE. And your GRE scores will depend on how well you know your enemy and how well you know yourself—the mistakes you are likely to make, and any lapses of logic you’re likely to commit. You will have to think like Walter White, because you’ll be up against Walter White.

This post was written by Chris Lele, resident GRE expert at Magoosh, a leader in GRE prep. For help with GRE vocabulary, check out our free flashcards and Vocab Wednesday videos on the Magoosh GRE Blog.

The post 3 Ways the GRE is like Breaking Bad appeared first on Job and Internship Advice, Companies to Work for and More | WayUp Blog.

Last year I met a college freshman who was agonizing about choosing a career. Matt said that all of his friends knew what they wanted to do and he was worried that if he didn’t figure it out soon, he would screw up his life. “How so?” I asked. He explained that if he didn’t know now, he could end up being 35 and having to start over.

Matt had made so many mistaken assumptions that it was no wonder he was panicking.

Most people don’t know what their ideal career is when they arrive on campus – including his friends who supposedly knew what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives. Whether they were bluffing because of the same fears Matt had, or honestly believed they had it all figured out doesn’t matter – they are just as likely as Matt is to change majors in college or to change careers down the line.

If you’re one of the lucky few who knows what your ideal career is, you can save time and money by doing research.

ONLINE

• Start by going to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook ( Here, you can find out what people in your ideal career actually do, how much money they typically make and what the future outlook is for the profession, as well as what major or degree is required and whether graduate school will be necessary.
• Explore the websites of professional associations in your field – most have an education section with information and guidance for people seeking to enter the field.
• Search LinkedIn for people in your chosen field to see what they majored in and where they began their careers.
• Search the web for professionals who blog about specific careers to learn inside information and possibly even ask questions.
• If your ideal career requires a graduate degree, check out programs right away to find out if there are specific prerequisites, such as the pre-med coursework required for medical school. If you don’t complete them as an undergraduate, you’ll have to do them after graduation, costing additional time and money.

Website: www.objectiveinsightconsulting.com

The post Choosing a College Major for your Ideal Career appeared first on Job and Internship Advice, Companies to Work for and More | WayUp Blog.

So you worked hard in high school and got into a great liberal arts college with a beautiful campus, small class sizes and engaged, informed professors. Awesome. But as graduation draws near and the ill-fated question about your next steps gets asked with an alarmingly higher and higher frequency…what now? You aren’t ready for a world of applications and interviews, commuting, status calls and benefits registration! Religion Studies 201 did NOT prepare you for this. Your capstone research project on gendered communication habits of government officials in Malaysia did NOT prepare you for this. What the heck did you just spend four years of your life and $200,000+ on if you aren’t prepared for the “real” world??

Shhh. It’s okay.

First of all, don’t start hating on your liberal arts background just because you’re freaked out about finding a job. Liberal arts educations are incredibly valuable and enriching. Whether or not you have a clear path set, a quality liberal arts college or university will broaden your perspective, engage you to think critically, and challenge you to ask important questions of the world around you. These are skills and traits that any employer should want to see in an applicant. But how do you get your qualifications across when recruiters and hiring managers have never even heard of your tiny prestigious school? Or worse, what if they have no idea what you studied?

It may be time to beef up your background if you want to ensure your hard work and quality educational background shine in the board room and pay off once you leave campus. Below are a few ideas that have helped me gain street cred with employers and might do the same for you:

Take a few technical courses

I’m not here to tell you that your degree in Anthropology or Art History lacks value in the professional world (that’s your family’s job), but I will advocate for taking a few technical courses on the side if you can. Good companies seek diversity among their employees, but great companies seek diversity from within their employees. What does this mean? In the words of Google X’s Rich DeVaul, “What we want, in a sense, are people who know less and less about more and more.”

So if you have room in your schedule, opt for a more technical class instead of another section of Creative Writing. Try a 100 or 200-level class in Accounting, Economics, or Statistics. Or if you’re really freaked out by numbers, maybe look for a Quantitative Research Methods course or an introductory Marketing course. Your school will probably let you Pass/Fail or audit the class if you’re particularly worried.

If you already have a background in the kind of courses listed above, stretch yourself further! Try Business Calculus, Advanced Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Corporate Finance, Law – anything your school offers that will engage a more analytical and process-driven area of your brain. When you apply for a job, highlight these courses when discussing your education. A hiring manager could very well dismiss your degree in Classics, but might take a second look if they notice you augmented your field of study with more challenging, technical offerings.

Learn a technical skill on your own

What if your college doesn’t even offer the kinds of courses I described above? You may have to take some initiative and develop more marketable skills on your own. The good news? Your options are almost limitless (or in the words of Cady Heron from Mean Girls, “The limit does not exist!”)

Bored over winter break? Get certified in Google AdWords for free! Marketing and Public Relations employers will probably drool. Have some spare time during your summer break or evenings during the school year? Take a technical class at the local community college or vocational school. My college doesn’t offer any advertising courses, so this summer I enrolled at a vocational school and studied Advertising Layout, User Experience Design, and Creative Direction – skills that will directly translate into the kind of work I want to do.

Another great option? MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)! Learn anything from personal finance to JavaScript on your own time from some of the best Universities and instructors in the world, often at no cost. You likely won’t receive credit for the courses, but you can most definitely add them to your resume and learn from them in preparation for your chosen profession.

Intern. Intern. Intern. 

Get an internship. There really is no better way to augment your education and prove your professional competency than by completing an internship. If you can, try to land a paid internship in your field of interest. With a good internship, you will gain experience with the software, systems, technologies, and processes that (get this), you will actually use after college. There’s nothing more valuable than that.

Numbers and computers and internships and interviews can be scary, I get it. There’s a reason you chose a liberal arts school, after all. So can you still land a job with a liberal arts degree if you don’t follow my advice? Totally. Is there a chance it might be as a retail sales associate or a restaurant server? Possibly. You’re a smart person and you worked incredibly hard during college (sometimes). Make those all-night essay writing sessions and grueling Faulkner readings pay off after graduation. Prove your parents wrong. Show employers that you’re not just a froufrou liberal arts grad. You’ve got some beef, goshdarnit! Now go forth and make Cady Heron proud.

The post How to Beef Up Your Liberal Arts Degree appeared first on Job and Internship Advice, Companies to Work for and More | WayUp Blog.

Your career is just that…yours! More often than I would like, I meet students and graduates choosing their career options based on what others want them to do. When I say “others” I most often mean parents or personal support systems. Now, I’m not saying family pressures aren’t something to take seriously. Family and friends are a huge part of your life, but sometimes what they think is “good for you” isn’t always the best fit.

Some families may help pay for college under the expectation you become a doctor, lawyer, or some high achieving business person – dealing with external financial pressures for college is a whole other conversation. If we can try and put the financials aside for a moment, what are some of the other reasons you may be feeling the familial pressure? Perhaps your parents are trying to live vicariously through you and steer you towards a career path that they wish they had taken. Reality check: is your mother the one who will be soliciting donations in that development job? Will your father be helping you close out that key account for the company? I didn’t think so. The reasons people are pushed into careers they aren’t passionate about are infinite, but the outcome is almost always the same: burnout and career dissatisfaction.

Personally, I’m not much of a quote guy, but a mentor of mine gifted me a mug for graduation with a quote on it that particularly speaks to me. It reads, “This is your world. Shape it or someone else will.” Authored by Gary Lew, I am reminded of these words daily when I’m getting my morning caffeine fix. So here are a few tips on how to show your support system that you want to shape your own career.

Do your research

If becoming an interior designer suits your interests more than a regulatory affairs specialist, be able to articulate some facts and concrete reasons why this is the career for you. Telling your parents you’ve chosen your new career path “because it’s what I want to be” won’t convince them. Talk to working professionals to learn about their day to day life. Informational interviews are one of the best ways to gather rich, meaningful insights into a career, not to mention build a lasting professional connection! Check out your alumni network or do a search on LinkedIn to target professionals you’d like to learn more about. Shadowing someone for a day or few hours is another way to get a firsthand look at what a career is really like. If numbers and hard data are what you need, explore the Occupational Outlook Handbook or O*NET. Both are fantastic resources to get information about employment trends, salary, and job outlook for careers and industries. With this wealth of information at your disposal, you will be more confident and prepared when the time comes to talk.

Timing is everything

So you have gathered some research and are ready to present your case. The next thing to consider is timing. This may seem obvious, but depending on your audience, you may not want to casually throw around a major life choice. Take a look at your schedule and who you want to talk to. When are the best times for you to have your family’s undivided attention? Could this conversation be accomplished during a holiday break, weekly phone call, or Sunday dinner? Consider the location and medium for this discussion.

Be prepared to compromise

Obviously everyone’s situation is different. As I mentioned earlier, financial dependence may be a large factor in a college major choice or pressure towards a career path. That is a sensitive subject, without a doubt. Each party has some level investment in your success, financial or not. I am in no way suggesting you should run away from your support system, whatever that may look like, and never look back. That would be unwise and rash in most cases. At the end of the day you know your situation better than anyone, and the best way to navigate it! Consider compromise and dialogue when discussing your career future with your support system.  Be objective and fall back on the facts when things aren’t going the way you planned. If you’re still in school, is there a minor or courses you could complete to gain experience that wouldn’t affect your major? Alternatively, explore informal ways you can further your career. Are you able to complete a part-time internship to gain industry experience outside of your coursework? Can you find a mentor in your desired industry that can guide you and connect you to other professionals? Think outside the box; there are many paths to your dream career and not all connect to a major.

In the end, just like many things in life, this conversation is a process! It is not something that will happen overnight. Be patient, stay calm and remain level headed throughout it. Remember while you certainly want to respect and be gracious of your support system, it’s ok to be a little selfish when you choose that dream career, even if it’s not the President of the United States like Grandma always wanted.

The post Dear Mom: I’m Changing My Major appeared first on Job and Internship Advice, Companies to Work for and More | WayUp Blog.

As an intern, you’ll certainly want to prove yourself. Keeping your nose to the proverbial grindstone may be one way to show everyone what you can do. But coming up for air to look around and learn about the kinds of positions you’d love to have in the future is just as important. Whose job would you like to have one day? Find out what it takes to get there. Look at the job postings for similar positions and see what’s required. In business, you’ll be surprised to see how many job descriptions say, “MBA strongly preferred” or “MBA required”.

If an MBA is necessary for your dream career, then setting yourself up to jump that hurdle as easily as possible will be a great advantage. Over the past few years, getting an MBA, especially from a top business school, has evolved into a more challenging game. In particular, the GMAT exam, which is required by many business schools, has become more competitive. And the competition has become more international. Every year since 2009, more people have taken the GMAT outside the U.S. than inside, and the number of people taking the exam in countries such as China, India, and Russia grows rapidly. At the same time, average GMAT scores at many business schools have inched up, another sign that the bar has been raised.

A visit to any online GMAT forum reveals that aspiring business school students often study intensively for three to six months, and in many cases, for a year or more. Along the way, they frequently study stacks of books, complete several practice exams, and take the real exam multiple times. Fortunately, for most business schools, only your highest score matters.

So if your vision for the future includes an MBA, you’ll maximize your chances of attending the best business school possible by not only getting good grades in college and building solid professional experiences, but also investing the time to achieve your highest possible GMAT score. For planning purposes, also consider that many business schools have multiple application rounds. In general, it is most advantageous to apply in the first round, which usually has deadlines in early October. Second round, typically with deadlines in the first week of January, is not a bad fallback. Later rounds (after the second), however, can be significantly more competitive. Ideally, you’ll want to finish the GMAT early enough to have ample time (2+ months) to craft well-polished, customized applications that explain how your background + MBA = your high-paying dream career.

The post Keep Looking Up: You May Need an MBA to Get There appeared first on Job and Internship Advice, Companies to Work for and More | WayUp Blog.

Whenever I’m asked about my college major, I subconsciously grit my teeth and blurt out, “Anthropology and Creative Writing,” bracing myself for the look of skepticism and confusion that will be quickly followed up with a depreciating or vague statement along the lines of, “So what do you plan on doing with that?”

Before graduating college, when I had no clue as to what I’d be able to do with any of the education that had been both gracefully and ungracefully shoved into my brain, this question would make my heart flutter in a nervous, oh-what-have-I-put-myself-into sort of way. People felt that there was nothing I could possibly do in the real world with such a major, so how would I ever find anything?

Now I know better. Now, whenever anyone asks me what I “plan on doing with my major” or “what options are available to me,” I tell them, quite simply, “Whatever I want.”

One of the most conflicting messages that our school system and society at large feeds to us is this idea that our college major completely determines our career path and the choices set in front of us. That, somehow, if we don’t apply ourselves directly in the field we spent four years or less studying in, our lives are somehow a failure.

I have a message to that mentality: you’re wrong.

Others in the World Wide Web agree with me, but the truth of this position is drowned out by both other internet pressures and the more pervasive and persuasive opinions of the people around impressionable youths and young adults.

I get it: it’s hard to overcome the idea that the subject you dedicated or will dedicate your college career to won’t actually be the center of your career. If you really want it to be however, it can. Nothing’s stopping you, except you. But instead of seeing this flexibility and freedom as a bad thing, this can be a wonderful opportunity. By not confining yourself to the idealizations and constraints of your chosen field, you can experience the wide range of job and career opportunities around you.

Though I studied anthropology and creative writing, I have worked as a hostess, a server, an office assistant, a camp counselor, a travel magazine intern, an assistant cook, a marketing writer, and now a group counselor for a full-time school. Some of these may more directly relate to one of my majors, but for the most part, these jobs leave friends and families grasping at straws for how they are at all related to my studies.

Let me make a point clear: following in the subject and the steps of your major is never a bad thing. If there is an opportunity that is in front of you and makes you truly happy, then I extend my fullest congratulations. Not many people get to know that joy. But for those of you out there who are struggling to find employment and happiness in your intended field, then just remember: you’re a complex person that can, will, and should pursue job happiness in any capacity that presents itself to you, whether or not it’s in the packaging you anticipated. Much more important than following your major or following expectations is finding a drive that makes you want to get up and go to work every morning.

Maybe one day I’ll go to graduate school and become a professional anthropologist and really “put that anthropology degree to work”. Or perhaps I’ll become a published novelist and show off the skills I learned from my writing undergraduate degree. Or perhaps I’ll find yet another job outside of either of my majors that makes me happy and combines my interests that, within the narrow scope of my university experience, I didn’t even know I  had. But what’s important is that all of these options are perfectly appropriate, no matter what my judgmental neighbor or unresponsive family member thinks.

The post Why Your College Major Does Not Define Your Career appeared first on Job and Internship Advice, Companies to Work for and More | WayUp Blog.

My friends with humanities majors often joke about the obscurity of subjects like math and engineering, and how they can never wrap their heads around them. But having seen both ends of the spectrum as a Math and Econ double major, I don’t think the two fields are mutually exclusive at all. In fact, there are many reasons for non-tech majors to actively gain some technical knowledge.

You Will Stand Out in Both Crowds

Not to confirm the stereotypes, but engineers are sometimes not among the most sociable while humanities majors are often not that well-verse at quantitative analysis. Thus, having knowledge from both fields can become your forte and a strong selling point to future employers.

It Trains the Way You Think

Yes, it’s not that I use proof by induction or Gaussian eliminations everyday at work, but as I completed my courses, I realized that being a mathematician became a habit. My math degree helped me train the way I think. It shaped me into a logical, analytical, and careful thinker. You know those phrases thrown over everyone’s resume, such as “critical thinking” or “problem-solving skills”? Turns out, they are real skills that you can gain from taking technical courses!

It Opens More Doors

I think at least a part of the reason why people think that they aren’t “math people” is because that’s what they tell themselves. Take some classes or do some exploring. you might find your hidden interests and talent! Studying political science doesn’t mean you are excluded from technical fields. Many industries have skills that overlap. You will find many more opportunities with a new skill set.

Now what are some ways to gain technical experiences if you are study humanities in college?

Consider a Minor 

College time is limited and many of you are likely to have finished your first year already. So if a double major isn’t practical, try pursuing a minor. Especially if technical fields are not your main focus, then a minor will prepare you well enough.

Take Selective Courses

Being in California and witnessing the prevalence of technology, I once considered doing a minor in computer science. But the idea was soon proven to be impractical given my double major. But now I wish I at least took some classes to familiarize myself with the basics. For those of you that are still in college, pick a focus and take some lower division classes. You never know what might come in handy one day.

Utilize Online Resources 

From video tutorials to MIT lectures, the Internet offers an amazing array of free education. It’s especially useful for some specific skills that you want to acquire. I’m currently going through the SQL tutorials by Caleb on YouTube and they are awesome. You can get yourself started on whatever technical skills that interest you.

In Conclusion

I had the best 4 years of college experience at UC Berkeley. So I’d say, yes, have a lot of fun and don’t be afraid to be silly. But remember that it’s unlikely that you will have another 4 years relatively free of other obligations to study. The resources offered by your university are probably among the best you will receive, and they are right at your fingertips now! Take this opportunity and learn as much as you can.

The post Not a “Math Person”? Think Again appeared first on Job and Internship Advice, Companies to Work for and More | WayUp Blog.

Open online courses are the future of education. Despite what the name implies, they can provide a more personalized approach to learning than 300 person lectures. Plus you can take them in your pajamas.

Did you know?

• Stanford professor Sebastian Thrun’s online course on artificial intelligence attracted 160,000 students from 190 nations.
• EdX.org, the collaboration that started with MIT and Harvard, now has 27 schools offering 52 free online courses for this summer alone.
  
• EdX.org also has about 890,000 unique users, of which 12 to 15 percent earn certificates (complete and pass the course).

Professor Terrance Odean of UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business talked with us  about how and why students should take open online classes:

Q: You teach at the Haas Business School and are planning an online course on personal finance for January 2014—what would be the benefits for a student to take it, and other online courses in general?

A: I am going to teach a massive open online course (MOOC) on personal finance starting next January on the EdX platform. Personal finance is well suited for a free online course because many people who are not enrolled at universities find themselves faced with financial decisions that they don’t well understand. The course will ask hard questions such as “how much do I need to save?” “how should I invest?” easy, though critical, questions such as “why are mutual fund fees so important?”, and practical questions such as “how do I look up my credit report (and why should I care)?”

People should take this course for what they might learn, not the certificate.

MOOCs are only one form of online courses. More and more colleges and universities are offering online courses for-credit courses. After I teach the personal finance MOOC, I’m hoping to create a for-credit online course on personal finance for Berkeley undergrads. This will be an easier course to design than the MOOC because most of the students will be around the same age and facing similar financial decisions. However, with a for-credit online course, I’ll need to put more effort into assessment and grading. Quite possibly, the course final will be taken in proctored classrooms.

Q: The financial sector is notoriously difficult for students to break into; do you see these courses as helping students to land internships or jobs after graduation?

A: Things you learn in a MOOC could potentially help you land—or do—a job, but the MOOC certificate is unlikely to do so itself.

Q: What is the biggest barrier for students to successfully complete online classes? What does it say to you about the students that do?

A: Many online courses are offered asynchronously. Students can watch the lectures, work examples, and take quizzes when they want. It is a bit like homework, you need to do it by a certain time but not at a certain time. While this flexibility is convenient, it can also be dangerous. Undoubtedly some students will wait until the last minute—or perhaps beyond the last minute—to watch the online lectures and do online work. Some instructors will set incremental deadlines and try to monitor student progress, some won’t. Students who are better organized and more disciplined are likely to fare better.

[For more on time management check out this post from last month!]

Q: Do you see online courses as the future of education? What do they offer that traditional college courses don’t?

A: I see online for-credit courses as part of the future of education. I hope not all of the future. While I believe that online courses can be more effective than large lectures, they are not a substitute for small seminars. (Though one could teach a small seminar online to students in diverse locations.)

Free online courses reach people all over the world—many of whom don’t have access to good universities—people who have retired, and people who simply want to come home from work and learn. They reach people currently not served by traditional college courses.

Q: What advice would you give for students looking to take an online course? What skills do you see as being critical to success in this arena?

A: Be sure to fully engage at the beginning of the course. Don’t do the online course while you watch TV, surf the net, hang out with friends (who aren’t studying), talk on the phone, or sleep.

Curious to learn more? The following are a list of resources to jumpstart your online education:

• Udemy.com
• Coursera.org
• Oedb.org
• Byu.edu
• EdX.org

The post How Open Online Courses Can Help You Land a Job appeared first on Job and Internship Advice, Companies to Work for and More | WayUp Blog.

This is a guest post from Noodle Education, a life-long education related search company by the founder of The Princeton Review.

We get it; school can be a drag. Between the all-night study sessions, group projects, and research papers, it’s easy for even the most organized of students to burn out. To remind you of the wonders of collegiate academia, Noodle Education has compiled a list of courses that break the mold.

From Fermented Beverages at Michigan State University to Magic and Witchcraft in Pre-Modern Europe at Davidson College, the classes apply academic discourse to topics that usually get snubbed in course offerings. Not only are they interesting in and of themselves, but they’re also a refreshing reminder that learning happens all the time, and it’s not always about preparing for your future job.

View the full post, “Top 10 Most Interesting College Courses,” on the Noodle Education page, and then tell us in the comments below: what was the most offbeat course you’ve taken in college.

The post Top 10 Most Interesting College Courses appeared first on Job and Internship Advice, Companies to Work for and More | WayUp Blog.

Guest post by Joe Hanson, blogging intern for the free hiring platform SmartRecruiters

Don’t panic! You’ve graduated, you’re job hunting, and you don’t know what you want to do with your life. Or you’ve been in a job you don’t enjoy for the past couple months, and you’re looking for a major career change, but you have no idea what that career change is. These are scary thoughts, but many young adults ask themselves the question, “What should I do with my life?”

Some of you might be thinking, “I’ll just go to grad school,” or “I’ll go back and get my MBA until I figure things out,” when you feel like you lack the passions to drive you in the right direction. I grew to despise a job I held for 6 months before having these thoughts. I began going to information sessions for graduate programs and teaching credentials, rushing into the thought that I needed more school to find out what I wanted to do. But if you’re going to go to graduate school, be sure that you already know what you want to do.

Instead of going to graduate school, I decided to find an internship at a small startup. Graduate school not only required a major time commitment, but also a major financial commitment. If you don’t know what you want to do in life, an internship is a cost effective way to learn what you want to do. Here are 3 reasons why I decided to do an internship instead of going back to school.

1. Wear Many Hats

As a graduate student, there’s a good chance that you will–for years–only learn about whatever your degree is in. Which begs the question, what if you don’t know what you want to do yet? You’ll be committing thousands of dollars and a couple years towards a master’s degree, so be sure you’ve picked the correct one for you. On the other hand, with an internship, you have the opportunity to wear many hats, gaining access to several different departments and employees. Even more importantly, you get to try new things, finding out what you enjoy doing and what your strengths are. The opportunity to take on different roles and responsibilities may help direct you in a career path that you otherwise wouldn’t have known existed. Graduate programs can be very tunnel-visioned, depending on what program you pick, so there may not be an opportunity to expand your horizons.

2. Learn By Doing

My alma mater, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, has the motto “Learn By Doing,” and the hands-on approach of an internship gives you just that. As an intern, I’ve learned more than I learned in the classroom, developing and improving my skills in a number of different areas. The hands-on experience you can get out of an internship is extremely valuable in developing yourself early in your work career. I like to say, to learn to swim, you have to get in the water. In disrupting the recruiting industry with SmartRecruiters, I’ve learned things as diverse as how to promote and cover an event, how to optimize a blog post, and how to write a kickass email. Depending on your graduate program, you may not have to opportunity to try the career you are working towards, knowing if you actually like it or not.

3. Build Your Professional Portfolio

Whether you’re a business development, accounting, or design intern, you can build a portfolio of your work. At an internship, you’ll work on several projects, all that can be used when job hunting and interviewing in the future. Your portfolio doesn’t just have to be tangible works, but can also be achievements that you accomplished as an intern. No matter what your project or work was, if it has quality, it can show a future employer that you would be a valuable asset to their company. Many graduate programs have you work towards one large project which is beneficial to your area of study. But say you go to graduate school for English, only to find out that you really want to do graphic design. That concentrated project may not help you in the short term.

So before you rush into graduate school simply because you don’t have a career direction, consider taking on an internship. If you are still undecided about what you want to do with your life, the tunnel vision approach of a graduate program might not help you find your passion. And remember that grad school is not cheap, so if you’re not sure about it, think about what you’ll get out of it. You may find that hands-on learning and work experience brings out an unknown passion and sets you on the right career path (which may or may not include graduate school).

The post Should Young Professionals Go to Grad School? appeared first on Job and Internship Advice, Companies to Work for and More | WayUp Blog.