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Is there anything you could do to advance your career while attending college?
Since I'm not just going to take Computer Science, I wonder what other classes I should take to help reach my career goals. #career-counseling #career-plan
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Rebecca’s Answer
The question is what is your career goals. Would you like to develop in Technology or you would like to be an entrepreneur or something else?
Generally speaking , the communication skills is essential all the time regardless of the career. We always work in teams or we have to interact with internal and external stakeholders. You can take courses on communication, e.g. Writing skills, Presentation and Public speaking, etc.
On the other hand, you may move to management position when advancing careers. You can also consider to take some business management courses.
At the same time, it is an good opportunity to establish your people network in the college. You can join more extra curricular activities or participate in voluntary work. You can know more different people via these activities. You can help other people and meaningful as well via doing voluntary work.
Hope this helps! Good Luck!
Generally speaking , the communication skills is essential all the time regardless of the career. We always work in teams or we have to interact with internal and external stakeholders. You can take courses on communication, e.g. Writing skills, Presentation and Public speaking, etc.
On the other hand, you may move to management position when advancing careers. You can also consider to take some business management courses.
At the same time, it is an good opportunity to establish your people network in the college. You can join more extra curricular activities or participate in voluntary work. You can know more different people via these activities. You can help other people and meaningful as well via doing voluntary work.
Hope this helps! Good Luck!
Updated
Paul’s Answer
I agree with the above answer and will add to (or elaborate on) that answer. In short: Network and get experience. Here are some suggestions on how; 1. Network - reach out to friends, family members, etc. in the same industry and talk to them about their career. Ask them who they know that you can talk to. 2. Network more - reach out to people on linked-in. 3. network even more...reach out to people that are not in the industry you are interested in to see if they know anyone in the industry you are interested in. 4. Seek employment - Look for a summer job or part time job while at school. Take anything in your field that will give you experience. 5. Seek employment beyond job openings - simply call companies near you and tell them what you are doing and what you are interested in. Maybe they can use some free help (if you can afford not to be paid). Maybe they will simply let you shadow their IT guy. Maybe they use another company for IT ....if so ask them who it is (or search for small IT companies in your area) and call them.
Updated
Sooksun’s Answer
Great question. Luckily supplementary routes are pretty accessible. My first advice would be to talk to your counselor about internship opportunities your school has with partnering companies. After that, I would broaden to an online search and reach out to companies that do over internship opportunities. Some of these are only for credit and others are paid, so there are multiple benefits to looking for an internship.
The other thing I would recommend is to look for networking opportunities in the field you are interested in. For instance, look for a local meetup group or user group to join.
Lastly, I would recommend charity/volunteering events. There are many benefits to this in terms of putting it on your resume, networking, and it does feel good to give back in an altruistic manner. Plus you really never know who you can meet and many companies also participate. A fun one I can think of is to check for any Special Olympic events in your local area. Your school counselor might be able to help here as well.
I hope this helps.
Reach out to your school counselor for internship opportunities.
Reach out to your school counselor for charity/volunteering opportunities.
Online research for companies that offer internships.
Online research for charity/volunteering opportunities.
Attend local user groups around the fields or interests you have to help network with people.
The other thing I would recommend is to look for networking opportunities in the field you are interested in. For instance, look for a local meetup group or user group to join.
Lastly, I would recommend charity/volunteering events. There are many benefits to this in terms of putting it on your resume, networking, and it does feel good to give back in an altruistic manner. Plus you really never know who you can meet and many companies also participate. A fun one I can think of is to check for any Special Olympic events in your local area. Your school counselor might be able to help here as well.
I hope this helps.
Sooksun recommends the following next steps:
Updated
Miranda N.’s Answer
Hi Chris! Seeing as you're interested in computer science and live in the Bay Area, here are some other general areas where a class might be helpful to rounding out your person, and improving your chance of future success:
- Business--you're in the land of a million startups, so having strong business principles will make you appealing to many employers post-grad...and it can help you identify which business aren't going to work out, before you join them. Specific courses to explore: Information Systems, Technology in Business, Entrepreneurship
- Communications--this is often something software engineers struggle with, so being a strong communicator will really help you stand out. Specific courses to explore: Business Communications
- English--I know this isn't everyone's favorite, but the critical analysis skills in English classes are invaluable. Same goes for the ability to edit and critique your own work. Specific courses to explore: Copyediting, Grammar and Punctuation, Basic Literary Analysis
If you have extra spaces in your schedule, I'd also recommend taking some classes that just sound interesting to you, even if they're not relevant to your career. One of my favorite college courses that taught me the most was sociology. I'm an operations coordinator. I NEVER would have thought to take sociology! But I use the principles in my everyday life because I enjoyed the class so much that the key learnings stuck.
Basically, try to round yourself out to be ready to step into a career, but take time for your own interests, too. You never know what will happen after you graduate. Good luck!
- Business--you're in the land of a million startups, so having strong business principles will make you appealing to many employers post-grad...and it can help you identify which business aren't going to work out, before you join them. Specific courses to explore: Information Systems, Technology in Business, Entrepreneurship
- Communications--this is often something software engineers struggle with, so being a strong communicator will really help you stand out. Specific courses to explore: Business Communications
- English--I know this isn't everyone's favorite, but the critical analysis skills in English classes are invaluable. Same goes for the ability to edit and critique your own work. Specific courses to explore: Copyediting, Grammar and Punctuation, Basic Literary Analysis
If you have extra spaces in your schedule, I'd also recommend taking some classes that just sound interesting to you, even if they're not relevant to your career. One of my favorite college courses that taught me the most was sociology. I'm an operations coordinator. I NEVER would have thought to take sociology! But I use the principles in my everyday life because I enjoyed the class so much that the key learnings stuck.
Basically, try to round yourself out to be ready to step into a career, but take time for your own interests, too. You never know what will happen after you graduate. Good luck!