EPTDisclaimer: Please bear with me; there's not really that much humor.
-Graduated several weeks ago with B.A. in cultural studies, and just need to finish one online course this summer to acquire political science degree after negotiating with department
-Got myself a girlfriend last summer (I was wondering which would happen first, a relationship or a girl post on TL)
-Said girlfriend dumped me because she suddenly wanted to study abroad, so we split mutually, although I'd rather not have anything to do with her anymore (think Passenger- Love Her When You Let Her Go)
-acquired a learner's permit
-Readying myself for a personal trainer certificate
-started learning computer science in my own spare time for fun, and just in case I do want to do something with it (I'm really enjoying it, and wondering why I didn't give this a try during undergrad)
Priorities, or early game build order:
Right now, the most pressing issues for me is to 1) get a job, and 2) pay off my college loans.
Thankfully, I have a grace period which lasts until November to get myself into gear. Thinking about consolidating my loans because they're all from one source, and they don't amount to all that much (under $35k USD total).
And to pay it off, I need a job. Unfortunately, there's a few things that are affecting me in this department:
-lack of a desirable degree/relevant experience in the field. It doesn't intimidate me from applying for them, but a lot of coveted research positions are being taken by graduate students who do have the necessary experience and knowledge
-My GPA isn't the greatest (2.79). I was extremely close to dropping out during my sophomore year due to a sub-2.0 for two semesters, but I managed to recover sort of, although it meant having to stay an extra year due to switching majors. Should I have stayed another semester or so to improve my grades? Highly doubt it. I really had nothing else left to complete aside from that one course, and I really didn't feel like spending money just to bring my grade up a tenth of a point due to diminishing returns. Because of this, grad school is a pipe dream at this point (financial constraints nonwithstanding)
-Networking: I honestly should have utilized my last semester better and established more connections. I do know a few of my supervisors/managers from 2 of my jobs very well, and my coworkers to the point where I can comfortably rely on them for references, but it's not the same as having professors who you can rely on, especially in reference to my first point.
That being said, what I do have going for me:
+Volunteer work: I've staffed conferences, helped with various fundraisers and other community service projects, enough to cover at least two pages on my resume; I think this is my greatest asset
+Customer service: I think the greatest thing I got from college in terms of being a benefit to society is learning how to interact with others in public. And I've had plenty of experience in that sense, having worked as conference staff on multiple occasions, information desk, as a front desk attendant at the school's gym; etc. Interestingly enough, the only part about this that I'm EXTREMELY uncomfortable with is promoting sales and memberships to people, having done some canvassing before with PIRG groups.
+Family support: Cousins who do give me advice, but I wanted outside advice, hence the point of this blog post. My parents are being patient with me, knowing full well that I'm not the 4.0 student they wanted me to be, although my dad's frustration with me is beginning to show.
So, what's the plan for mid and late-game?
-Right now, I have a second interview with Costco. It's not my ideal preference for a job, but it's something to get started, as opposed to staying at home and bumming around. Plus, I see this as an opportunity to fine-tune customer service some more.
-Getting the fitness certificate is alright, but it does free up options in case I do want to work part time at a gym to earn a little more pocket money (free gym membership, yay?)
-Still waiting on several research assistant internships opportunities to respond. This is ideally what I want for short-term (next 2 years or so), while I pay off debt and begin to early a salary for myself, which is when the real fun begins.
-I've been told to apply for teaching English overseas, and I gave that some thought, and while the idea of going to Korea and being a teacher (as well as being able to check out Code S matches live) is entertaining, the prospects in the long run aren't ideal. Once my tenure there is over, it'll be back to square one once I'm back in the States in terms of looking for a job.
I think the biggest problem with me right now is that my plans are just too broad. I'm like the Terran who opens 3CC in the face of all-ins (represented by my debt), despite knowing full well the risks, and not preparing in the weirdest way possible (building armor, anyone?). There's too many what ifs, and I'm being too wishy-washy about what it is I want to do. I need to narrow these down to one single thing so I that I can actually make it a career, and not just a day to day job.
All in all, being a recent grad is somewhat intimidating. Bills, taxes, responsibilities, living up to expectations, being a decent human being, as well as quieting the nagging voice in the back of my head, telling me that I wasted my years in college acquiring less than desirable degrees (hindsight 20/20 OP nerf pls). But I think I'm ready to meet the challenge.
Here's to figuring everything out.
+ Show Spoiler [for space (cheers)] +
![[image loading]](http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1194879/thumbs/o-CHEERS-LEONARDO-DICAPRIO-570.jpg?5)
But... based on what you've read (I know, a bit TL;DR), any advice? I'd greatly appreciate any feedback from people who have more life experience. Thanks.
