Elizabeth
How do you know your career or college is the perfect fit?
I have gone on many tours of different colleges and I still have no idea which one felt the most "right". Is there some feeling that you can describe that may help me with my future decision of enrolling in a specific college?
#future #help #career #college
4 answers
Scott Rompf
Scott’s Answer
I will assume the colleges you are looking at all support your major for this response. if not you may want to look at that first. However please remember College is a tool that you use to better your education so that you have a marketable talent when you start your career. Most employers ask for your degree, not where you got your degree. Think of it like this. You need to get from New York to LA, you can get there in a 2018 Bentley or a 2005 Chevy or even a $1000 plane ticket. All three methods will get you there, One a bit nicer, one a bit faster and one a bit cheaper but either way you are there. College is the same thing some are nicer, some are cheaper and some are actually faster. Based on your circumstances you need to answer that part first and group your choices accordingly. That should eliminate some of the choices. Next, I would want my daughter to look at safety. the US government has stats for that at https://ope.ed.gov/campussafety/#/. Finally quality of life, how close to home do you want to be. Are any of your friends gong there. What extra curricular activities do you like and does the college or local area have them available? Hope that helps.
Sajeevan Yogeswaran
Sajeevan’s Answer
That's a good question and something that everyone will have their own perspective on. From our experiences, we've found that a "perfect" fit is something difficult to obtain and is ever changing as your grow as a person. What you think is perfect for you today, may not be in a few years (which is totally reasonable). Here are a few reasons/questions that a few of us at PagerDuty used to drive our choice of university/college
1. Scholarship / support structure - Does the college in question have scholarships you can partake in? Do you have friends/family in the area that make undergoing this next phase in your life easier? Personally, I chose a university based on education costs and proximity to home so I can commute instead of living on campus.
2. Will the college itself and the cohort you'll be a part of affect your career success in the future? For instance, some business majors may find that their cohort makes up a large base of their network and heavily influences future success whereas it may have no impact for others. Ask someone working in your desired field about how important this may be.
3. Co-op / placement opportunities - Does the college help or boost your chances of getting an internship or job experience prior to graduating? Some colleges have great connections with local businesses and help facilitate your placement whereas with others you're on your own.
In hindsight, we found that there may have been too much pressure trying to choose the perfect fit when we were first looking. It may matter more for higher education such as an MBA or a Masters/Doctorate, but it didn't for us when we pursued our Bachelor degrees. One of us, even decided to pursue a different career path after graduating!
Cheers from Alan, Leandra and Saj @PagerDuty
Sajeevan recommends the following next steps:
alex brolick
alex’s Answer
I think that you'll know you've found the "right" career when reading about the career and actively engaging in that particular field excites you. For example, if you tend to read articles online about investing, maybe look for a career in finance. Or, if you read articles about medicine and science, think about a future in the medical field. How you spend your free time is usually a good barometer for what you'd like to enjoy spending your career doing!
