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I've been studying this question a LOT these days, as I'm now a 20-yr-old sophomore at one of the top-ranked public universities. I'm sure that many of you here as well have thought about this a lot too, considering how competitive this world is becoming (in literally every sense of the word)
In a world where everyone and their dog has a college degree and *almost* everyone and their dog has a PhD, MBA, or went to law school, it seems like pretty much everyone is smart, dedicated, and motivated.
Of course, not *everyone* does this, but I was figuratively speaking about how there are lots of unemployed men and women these days with higher-education from even the top-notch schools, and from the looks of it, figures will only seem to get worse as we move into the new decade. The competition even among those at the top-of-the-top seems to be getting worse.
What is the best thing that someone's who's pursuing a PhD, MBA, JD, MD, trying to climb the corporate ladder, or beyond, should know and incorporate into their plan of action to get ahead of the millions of others that are doing just the same? It seems even the chant "work harder!" doesn't really add much to the equation anymore, considering that the advice is doled out by parents, schools, and in a lot of other places. And it already looks as if someone who's pursuing a PhD, MBA, JD, MD pretty much *had to* work harder and harder just to get up to where they are (or to stay where they are relative to others who are working just as hard"er"?)
It would be nice if we could get some opinions of those who know some people who have "made it ahead", are aspiring to do so themselves, or any outside-the-box opinions that are waiting to be thrown out there.
Last edited by aspiring_natural; 11-21-2011 at 10:44 PM..
Maybe it's where you live/who you hang out with? I live in Seattle. Over 50% of the population has a bachelors degree....think about that. Everyone in my workplace has atleast a bachelors as well. A few PhD, a variety of MBA and engineering graduates, all else bachelor.
My advice? move to a dumber city upon graduation lol
Think more about what constitutes a life well lived. Perhaps conventional success is not require for happiness and satisfaction. Is it really important to have the Rolls Royce rather than the Honda Accord? To have a 6000 sq-ft house rather than a 2000? Focus on health (mental and physical), fitness, family, friendships, learning, and the like, rather than on winning the rat race.
Well, the fact is that if you choose an advance degree, you will work have to work harder. One thing I think people don't quite understand ahead of time is that for each higher level of education you pursue, you are self-selecting yourself into a much tougher group of competition. If you're the smartest kid in your high school and go to a good college, you'll find yourself in a class with 3000 other kids just as smart as you. If you then go to law or med or business school, you'll find yourself in a class with a smaller group of smart people, but who have very similar interests and skills as you. So to succeed, you need to not only work harder, but to work smarter.
1) First and foremost, figure out your plan. Be honest with yourself about what you want to do, and whether obtaining a higher degree will really help you. It's ok to not know exactly what you want to do (down to the industry or job role) but you should have an idea of what your strengths and weaknesses are, and what careers work for those. Do not go to grad school right out of college, unless you're going to medical school, or pursuing a very specific PhD program. Take a couple years to get some real-world work experience under your belt to help make sure your plan is what you really want to do. You may find out at 25 that your interests lead you in an entirely different direction than what you had planned out at 20.
2) Get a mentor. Find someone who is in a role that is similar to one you want, and ask them for advice. You can often get matched with someone through your school's career office. The point of your mentor is to give you advice, not to give you a job, so don't seek out this relationship thinking they will get you one.
3) Seek out as many informational interviews as you can. As the title implies, these are informational interviews. Seek out people in positions that interest you and find out what they do and how they got there. Don't treat these like job interviews, as that makes people feel like you are just trying to get something from them that they may not have to offer. On the other hand, people often love to talk about their own experiences and tell perceived inexperienced youngsters all they had to do to get into a position. Take notes, learn from others' life lessons, and make sure to always thank them for their time.
4) Make the most of your extracurricular activities. Coming right out of college, most people are starting out at the same point - i.e.; little to no direct experience in their field. How do you stand out from that? By making the most out of the activities you are involved in, and then demonstrating how they are applicable to the industry. On your resume, I don't necessarily care that you're interested in fishing, bike riding, or travel. I do care that you held a position within a group you are involved in - an elected leadership position is great, but handling a budget is even better. Keep in mind that extra-curricular activities should continue even when you graduate from college.
5) Network, network, network. If you have an idea what industry you want to get into, find out about social events they sponsor and attend them. Go to open houses and talk to people. Don't ask them for jobs or if they know of any jobs. Just find out what they do, and be able to explain what you're looking for. If they are in an area you're specifically interested in, or might be interested in, ask them for an informational interview. The more people who know what you're looking for, the greater the chance someone might say "Hey, you should talk to person X" or "You should check out opportunity Y".
6) Always remember to be polite and send people a follow up thank you. All the networking in the world won't help if people think you are a jerk.
There's value to the piece of paper. I would wager that most people with good degrees from good schools do not apply the material they learned.
Hence our current economic situation.
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