A few weeks ago I found myself in Berlin, speaking to a Harvard History graduate who had finished suma cum laude in the top three percent of his class. At the time of our conversation he was embarking on an internship with the UN, before starting Law School in September. Very intimidating, considering I also take History, so when the conversation inevitably turned round to my post-graduation plans and I truthfully replied that I didn’t really have any, you can imagine my surprise when he praised my deadbeat answer.
Off the beaten track
At that moment I realised I shouldn’t be embarrassed at my failure to produce a fully mapped life plan at the age of 20. Some people, like this super student, know exactly what they want to do for the rest of their lives but the majority of us will only get an inkling of the avenues we wish to follow once our university days are well and truly behind us.
Although this appears daunting and the more anally retentive amongst us would find this laissez-faire attitude horrifying, most people tend to completely veer off the path they’d envisaged in university.
A box of chocolates
Many people have a few career changes in their life meaning their first job is wildly different to where they end up. Dominic Cadbury, of the Cadbury chocolate dynasty, sums this up perfectly: “There is no such thing as a career path – its crazy paving and you lay it yourself.”
Johnny Depp used to have a sales job selling pens over the phone for a living before he slowly moved up the acting ladder showing there is hope for all of us who haven’t got a clear career plan in mind!
Degree choices
Furthermore, unless you do a vocational degree at university, most people end up doing something completely unlinked to their degree anyway. A recent study found that only 27 percent of American graduates are on a career path closely associated with their university discipline. Therefore, if students have so many options open to them, it seems a bit of a waste to choose a career too early and maybe find out later down the road it wasn’t the right choice.
Experiment
The way I now see it, is that your 20s are a time to experiment. Who says you need to get on the career ladder straight away after university? Some people opt to do a Masters or even a PHD to buy themselves more time, and gain in-depth knowledge of a particular field. Others choose to do paid and unpaid internships and volunteering placements to test the waters and see what kind of career suits them.
As for me I’m now planning on travelling for a couple of years – a well-deserved break to bridge the gap between 17 years of education and the rat race of whatever field I finally decide on.
Do you have any advice for students who don’t know what to do in the future? Let us know below in the comments!
Photo: CollegeDegrees360 / Flickr
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