Thinking about a career, for the first time, EVER

[Myth]

I will be graduating college next year with a two majors, Toxicology and Economics, from one of Canada's best universities, in the top 10%, hopefully. However, I have always taken a below average course load, and made up for it by doing summer school. I have NEVER earned a cent in my life, except 2 thou in scholarships. I have NEVER taken part in an extracurricular activity or sport. I have NEVER done volunteer work. I have NEVER done anything that is even remotely related to earning money or gaining work experience. I have NEVER earned any certification that is not academic. I know no one who I can ask to hire me, and I won't hit up my friends, who any case are confused themselves. I know NOTHING of how employable I am.

I am otherwise normal: good humored, average IQ/intelligence, in good shape etc. Not really someone who might stand out.

I want to plan my career after college, I don't plan on going to graduate school right after, but I doubt I'll get in given that I won't have anything in my application except my transcript. I suspect my degree is useless in getting a job, because I don't like to work in a lab (I'm a little clumsy), and I haven't seen any jobs for Economics majors with no work experience.

I want my FIRST EVER job to be a desk job, where I write, analyse, talk on people, etc. but I am worried I'll have to work at McDonalds for a couple of years first. Nothing wrong in that if that all I am qualified for , except that I am pretty bad at working with my hands, I probably won't make very good burgers.

Anyways, I want to plan my career so that I learn skills and get a professional degree, so I'll be able to earn an income of around 70-80k.

What might be the best way, considering I have nothing except a college degree, and have only one desire, not to start off in a physical labor job? Maybe someone can give me a timeline of how I might progress towards earning 70-80k? Any path is OK.

[Tuumble]

Originally Posted by Myth

I want my FIRST EVER job to be a desk job, where I write, analyse, talk on people, etc. but I am worried I'll have to work at McDonalds for a couple of years first. Nothing wrong in that if that all I am qualified for , except that I am pretty bad at working with my hands, I probably won't make very good burgers.

Why are thinking about what you don't want to do? If you are clear on what you WANT why let yourself be distracted by what you DON'T WANT.

In addition who says you have to apply and then accept a position like that? You will only put yourself in that situation through YOUR actions: request an application form, fill it in, post it or hand it to the manager, attend an interview and accept the position. That's all down to you.

Focus on what you want and don't worry about the other stuff because you will only draw yourself towards it because it's on your mind.

Having said all that it it wouldn't hurt to have a variety of life experiences because it makes you more rounded and understanding of society. Even if you did work at MacDs it demonstrates working with people and paying your way but no one is forcing you to do it.

If you definitely don't want to do that then fine. Just go for your goal and forget the rest.

[Love]

Past work experience is important, so I'd look to do some relevant volunteer work immediately.

And even if you haven't done work or even extra curricular activities, you can still talk about your experiences in a positive light.
For example, if with your vacation time you traveled all over, you can mention how skilled you are at devising itineraries and handling details and your familiarity with different cultures... You could work for a travel company.

Or talk about your interests, because you done something to make those areas your interests, and there's bound to be some skills involved with each.

However, my experience is that most jobs do not care about extra curricular activities. They want to know that you can get the job done. So show them how you will get the job done.

Grad schools, that I don't know about.

[justfiverules]

Hi Myth,

Would you like a desk job where you don't stand out or where you do?

I have known a lot of peeps who settled for 20 years of the former. Some OK with it, some not.

FWIW, desk jobs might anyway be an endangered species as almost anything a Corp can do to reduce their real estate footprints and so reduce high fixed costs, but maintain or improve productivity, is becoming very attractive.

And with all the technology smarts still in the pipeline - mobile, untethered knowledge workers are in for an interesting 24x7 ride;-)

[Tristan]

Hi There,

It doesn't matter what kind of a job you get right out of college, so long as it supports what you want to do down the road. Heck....flipping burgers at McDonalds might sound crummy to most people, but not to the person who's career goal is to open up a McDonalds or a competing franchise all over the country. What would they say at McDonald's corporate headquarters if you were to walk up there and ask them for their business plans, marketing strategies, etc. And you get paid for learning! There is no better replacement for building career and/or business accumen than by immersion.

This reminds me of one of my coaching clients (we'll call him John). John was a middle-aged well-paid corporate executive who was burned out on working for a large and cold corporation and felt that his number was coming up on the corporate downsizing "chopping block." He wanted to run his own bar and grill restaurant as food was a passion of his, but he didn't know how. I suggested to him to take a job as a lowly cook or janitor at a similar restaurant and he looked at me as though I were nuts. Of course, John was making well over a six-figure income and I was asking him to leave that behind and take a minimum-wage job. Since he was financially sound, I urged him to follow his passions and he took my advice, quitting his job and taking a position as a waiter at a restaurant. At first he thought he would hate taking orders from people he unfortunately saw as "beneath" him, but he told me that he loved it. He loved the fact that he was learning the inside "guts" of the business and he loved the excitement of being "incognito"--The millionaire waiter that no one knew. He quickly realized that it wasn't about the pay...it was about the experience he needed in order to make his transition a success. That lowly job as a minimum wage waiter armed John with the business acumen needed to run a successful restaurant.

Like most college graduates, your marketable skills are probably limited and you need to build those skills up. The important thing is to build up those skills in the area that is congruent with what you see yourself doing 5-10 years from then. Base your decisions on that.

[Brutha]

I would think about getting an internship.

[maclinda]

Do you have any sort of career counseling at your school? It sounds like you need some ideas of what you might be suited for, and what skills you might need in order to get there.

Before you go in, I'd suggest you make a list of your strengths and interests. Your post is full of what you don't know and haven't done; could you flip those around to what you do know and have done?

[unwiser]

what? have you ever considered sending out resumes?

Originally Posted by Myth

I know no one who I can ask to hire me, and I won't hit up my friends, who any case are confused themselves. I know NOTHING of how employable I am.

you dont plan on going right away so you have time to involve yourself in extracurricular activities

I don't plan on going to graduate school right after, but I doubt I'll get in given that I won't have anything in my application except my transcript.

there are proffessional jobs that economics majors can apply for you just have to look.

I suspect my degree is useless in getting a job, because I don't like to work in a lab (I'm a little clumsy), and I haven't seen any jobs for Economics majors with no work experience.

as for a time line, that is on you. there are to many factors involved. But unless you change those negative images you have of yourself and your abilities it will take a long time to reach that amount.


Getting a good job is selling yourself and if you dont think to highly of the product your selling(yourself) you will most likely sell it for way to cheap. So I suggest send out resumes, go to networking functions and work on yourself image. Good things will come in time

What might be the best way, considering I have nothing except a college degree, and have only one desire, not to start off in a physical labor job? Maybe someone can give me a timeline of how I might progress towards earning 70-80k? Any path is OK.

[JimC]

Keep telling yourself that you want to start at the top.

With any college experience, there's no reason why you should ever have to work in fast food if you don't want to.

I never had any work experience either, mainly because I refused to work in fast food or even the grocery stores. I kept telling people that and even my parents doubted that it was possible to get a decent job without starting at the bottom. But my first job was working in the IT department at a nice game development studio.

Just shoot for what you WANT, not for what you think you deserve.

[DuncanB]

I suggest that you start by thinking about what you enjoy and what you would be passionate about making a living at.

So few people consciously choose their career so you have a great opportunity in front of you.

Good luck