What events (in university) helped you decide what you were going to do after university?

Hi Jessica,

Ken Simmons gave some excellent advice/next steps. I would like to add a few recommendations:

Look for shadowing opportunities in the fields/careers you are interested in. Speak with your advisors and networking group (as you build it) to find opportunities to monitor, learn and gain insight within a particular field. A friend of mine who wanted to be in the medical field did this with success to find that her passion was in occupational therapy. Another found he wanted to be an ESL teacher. It's a great way to see the day-to-day activities of a career.

Volunteer for organizations that support the fields you're interested in. This is another way to learn about the different career possibilities while also having a positive impact on your community. It is an excellent networking tool as well.

As you narrow it down, find internships that will give you a few months hands on experience. This will help you see if you truly enjoy the majority of the work. It will also benefit you for career advancement, either by getting your foot in the door for a particular company or building up your resume for other companies.

Finally, I strongly recommend you speak with your advisors about study abroad options. A summer, semester or year-long program would be an excellent resource to see how other countries/cultures approach psychology or public administration fields. As workplaces focus more and more on diversity and inclusion, it will be very helpful to experience other cultures and perspectives. I personally found my passion - analysis and research - while studying abroad as the different courses and expectations allowed me to experiment with different approaches.

As Marilyn Balke-Lowry said, keep your mind open to possibilities. Even after you've decided something, don't be afraid to change direction if things open up later that pull your attention. Have fun and best of luck!

I was in your situation in college, not knowing what major to follow, so I talked to my academic adviser and the counseling department at my school to arrange to take an interest and aptitude test. After I had it interpreted by a counselor, it helped me to decide what major to follow. Now, after having spent many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I find that it is a step too many students skip, thus ending up in jobs/careers that do not suit them after graduation. Here are some steps that I have found to be helpful in avoiding a mismatch.

When I enrolled in college, I only knew what I did not want to pursue...anything in education. But as I proceeded with coursework, I decided that I needed to focus on a career that would allow me to help others but would give me enough time for a family. I realized that teaching could do that for me. When I did my student teaching, I met the lead counselor at the school and talked with her about her career. I decided then and there that I would go back to graduate school and get my Master's degree in counseling. I did not care for teaching, but I LOVED COUNSELING! I realized that was my gift and stayed in the profession until I retired. It opened a lot of other doors for me, as the experience in guiding others and later in leading other counselors prepared me for other careers in presenting, training, private practice counseling, and later a career as an artist. I was fortunate in that my career evolved, but I stayed open to the possibilities, and it opened for me as it will for you, I am sure. Best of luck!

Marilyn Lowry

College Guidance Consultants