As I’m nearing the end of my undergraduate college career, I know it’s time to look ahead. This can be scary, and definitely overwhelming. I went into this semester honestly having no idea what I wanted to do after graduation. But now, I have a career path in mind. Getting to this point wasn’t easy. But if you follow the steps I took, maybe it can help you figure things out too.
1. I wrote a list
This list included all of the careers I might want. I wrote down lawyer, industrial psychologist, public relations manager, mediator and campaign manager. I then researched each career. I eliminated lawyer because of how expensive law school is. I figured if I’m not super passionate about it, it’s probably not worth pursuing. I also eliminated campaign manager. From what I read, this is a high stress job and when there isn’t an election going on, it can be difficult to find other work.
2. I researched graduate schools
I was now down to industrial psychologist, public relations manager and mediator. In all of these professions, a masters is either helpful or required. So I decided to look into what options I would have for graduate school. For an industrial psychologist, I would have to take the GRE or the GMAT which is basically the SAT all over again. So I crossed that off of my list. I didn’t like the idea of having to do statistics on a daily basis, or crushing people by firing them off anyway. To be a mediator, you would go to school for conflict management and resolution. This degree sounds pretty interesting. So does a masters in public relations. Both of these include things I could enjoy learning about. So far, so good.
3. I went to Stony Brook’s Career Center
I had narrowed down my search to two possible career paths. Now, I needed help from a professional to make a decision. The career counselor I met with was very helpful. We listed all of my skills, and interests. We then looked at what was used to describe each profession. The more I looked at the two different options I had, the more I leaned toward public relations. It was more creative, and getting a degree within this area didn’t mean I was tied down to a specific industry. A public relations degree could allow me to really have a variety of different career options, depending on my interests. So, this was my choice. I would go into the industry of public relations.
4. I looked for internships
While I was meeting with my career counselor, she stressed the importance of having experience in the field you are interested in. The best way to gain this experience is through an internship. So, I went online and started to look for different public relations internships. As I mentioned before, every corporation has a public relations department. So now I had to narrow down what type of specialist I wanted to be within the field. I thought about what I enjoyed doing and what I would be passionate about promoting every day. I decided on publishing. I found an internship that seemed perfect, it’s located only about 10 minutes from where I live and it would expose me to all different aspects of the industry I’m interested in. I applied, got an interview and will begin working there in April.
5. I talked to someone already in the industry
The job I will get after graduation will most likely be a publicity assistant. I want to work in the publicity department of a book publishing company, and this is the first step to becoming a publicist in this industry. I decided to talk to a family friend about her experience, as I knew she was already a publicity assistant. She told me all about her daily responsibilities and how the application and hiring process worked. She told me that a masters degree really doesn’t necessarily help you in getting the job, they are more interested in experience. This was all really informative, and it only made me more excited to break into this industry.
The career path I decided to pursue wasn’t clear to me just from thinking about my major. As a psychology major, publishing and public relations isn’t a topic covered. I simply organized my interests and did some research and found a career I am really interested in. I know my internship that I will be starting in April will also help strengthen my desire, or maybe it’ll make me change my mind. All I know is that I have a direction and that feels really good.