There are lot of opportunities out there, choose one which will give you satisfaction, joy and will help in your long term career plans. Gradually things fell into good place for me but giving long term plans a more thought when looking for new opportunities would have been more of an informed choice rather than relying on destiny. Degree - MS in Business Analytics Graduation Year - 2018
Hardly anyone does the same job out of college for 30+ years, let alone 5+ years anymore. If I were back in college today, the advice I'd give myself is: Reach out to employees on LinkedIn who already work in the industry/company you are interested in. Asking for a 30 minute coffee date where you can pick their brain on the in's/out's of what it's like to do that job can save you time, effort and headaches -- it can also lead you to a world of happiness. Past me would be surprised to hear how many people will respond when you ask in a genuine (and concise) way. Don't forget to add value to the other person; I have confidence you can do it, after all you are about to graduate from the #1 School of Innovation! Tyler Warrick, Degree in Management and a Certificate in Professional Sales.
I learned the importance of this later on in my career but it started for me at ASU. I was in the WP Carey Business School, a Marketing Major and learned quickly that for both my academics and career path I was going to need to identify and connect with mentors in my desired career field for consistent insight, advice and support-through my schooling and early career opportunities. I still keep in touch with many of my ASU mentors/leaders today and you never know how mutually beneficial these relationships can be!
One of the great things about W. P. Carey is the great alumni network. You will find folks from every professional background and industry. Utilize this early and often – knowing the field and roles you are interested in, reach out to relevant alumni and ask for 15 minutes. Come prepared with questions and look to understand their journey and advice, doing so will help you be much more prepared to accelerate your education and post-graduation journey. MBA, 2021
I would have spent more time analyzing the business trends in the market I was stepping into. For instance: If starting off in a fast growing city, I would have looked at who is moving in and what do they need? Then I would have aligned my career very close to these emerging needs. Likewise, if starting in a stable or even shrinking population my research would lean more toward the discovery of underserved markets. The idea is to start from a place of localized strong demand. Tip the scales in your favor! Tony King W.P. Carey School of Business Class of 1983 https://personalfinancialstrategy.com/
The idea that your work experience begins after graduation is a prevalent one. This bad job advice for students will and can cost them future opportunities. Before you graduate, begin your job search. Don't always settle for minimum wage jobs or the conventional "college student" roles. Look for employment in your field of study. For instance, working at a print manufacturing facility might be advantageous for journalism students. This offers a behind-the-scenes peek at how the company runs. Consider working as a receptionist at the neighbourhood tax office if you're an accounting student. Majors in art history could work as volunteers or interns at a neighbourhood gallery. The all-inclusive, government-subsidised job study programme is an additional choice. The work-study programme is available at all colleges and universities with federal accreditation. This programme matches students with jobs that are somewhat guaranteed.
If I had known then what I know now about being an anthropologist in the tech industry, I would have also studied AI with a focus on natural language processing (NLP) and large language models (LLM). Additionally, I would have pursued more in-depth studies in linguistic anthropology, which was not the focus of my design anthropology program. Linguistic anthropology provides an understanding of language as a cultural and social phenomenon. It can assist in working with NLP and large language models by considering the broader context of language use, including cultural and historical nuances, which can impact how people use language and NLP algorithms should process it. If I had studied AI and linguistic anthropology, I would be more equipped to design the next generation of applications as a design anthropologist.