The next couple of weeks are really busy over here at Nautical By Nature. I am graduating in just over a month! I still don't have a job (or even an internship) so I am starting to panic slightly. Fortunately I have always been good about saving money so I can live off my babysitting money for the summer if I am forced to take an unpaid internship. I would love to hear what you did after you graduated (high school or college). Did you take a year off and travel? Start working full time? Go straight onto grad school? I am especially looking for advice from psychology/criminology majors. I would love to do research this summer (criminal behavior, violence, whatever) so if you know someone doing anything like that let me know!
My school work is piling up quickly but I have scheduled some great posts to keep you busy. I am reading all of your blogs and trying to comment when I can. I just have to make it to April 14 and then it is (mostly) downhill from there!
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Hang in there Kate and congrats. It is an exciting time. I just stayed at my college (started senior year) and got a master's degree. I think internships are great and if you can afford to work and not get paid, there are more opportunities. If you are not able to find something at a company/gov. agency, some professors are doing research in your field, and they may be looking for help (unpaid to start). Doing a great job on a professor's research project may help get a letter for graduate school.
ReplyDeleteWhen I graduated college, I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do, so I took a job as a paralegal and did that for 3 years (though I only planned on doing it for 2 years) while I got a better idea of what my long term career goals were. It is a good job to take as a stepping stone to other endeavors such as law school, grad school or even other careers, and it doesn't require that one studies a specific "major" (i.e. anyone with a college degree can do it). I definitely grew a lot from that experience.
ReplyDeleteI went straight into more school right after college. Have you considered law? Maybe criminal law?
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you want to get coffee & vent, or plot your future takeover of the world :) Hang in there & enjoy it! xo
ReplyDeleteCongrats! I have a bit of advice for you (coming from a relatively recent grad who is now out of work). (This is what I told my interns last summer when things were getting bad.)
ReplyDeleteWhile I really wanted to have my "last summer of freedom" I jumped feet first into the job search and started working 2 weeks post grad. It was great beacause my friends who took the summer off didn't get jobs come august. some had to wait until January.
In this current environment, you aren't just competeing with other recent grads, but also all the other out of work people out there! So I say, jump feet first. If nothing comes of it for the summer, well, then you get your summer break anyways!
BEST OF LUCK!
Good luck getting all of your stuff done, Kate!!
ReplyDeleteHurray for graduating! When I graduated I split my time between home and the town I went to school in (I had three months left on my lease). I did an unpaid internship/assistantship for a community, family festival for 3 months then took a paid full time internship at a PR firm for 8 months till moving to San Francisco to become a PR assistant at Fancy PR job. My dad is a psychologist and while I know it was a long time ago when he finished undergrad he did a number of jobs including working in a research lab testing rats then joined the army to pay for grad school to get his PhD.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with everything!
ReplyDeleteI got hired for my first teaching job a week before graduation, and I still work at the same school now!
Yay! It's such an exciting time! After I graduated, I went straight to grad school. It worked out great for me because when I started seriously looking for a "real life" job, the position I hold became available. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the upcoming graduation! When I graduated from high school, I spent the summer working as a waitress and a lifeguard. Then when I graduated from College, I worked at a Law Firm. My favorite summer was spent at the beach on Hilton Head Island.
ReplyDeleteRight after college I babysat and relaxed for a bit. Then moved in with my then boyfriend in Miami for 2 months and took graphic design classes then started a job in PR, which led to event planning and now corporate event planning and marketing..... I think its good to take your time, but also to try diff things.... also it depends what you can afford. I lived with my parents for a while. xoxox
ReplyDeleteGraduation...how exciting!!! When I graduated I didn't have a job lined up either. I actually took a job at a local hospital to pay the bills. Ends up that it has led me to my current profession, which has nothing to do with my degree!!!
ReplyDeleteI would suggest taking the summer to do something that you love. Even if it doesn't pay well...or at all :) It very well could lead to a wonderful career!
Aw, hang in there - you'll be fabulous.
ReplyDeleteAfter college, I travelled, then went into law school that fall. If you can somehow swing traveling for a while, I encourage that. There is so much time to figure out what you want to be when you grow up - so much more so than what your college counselors tell you.
You will miss it once its over, so try to enjoy, even though the work/stress is mounting! I work in finance, but took the summer after graduation to go back home, work at a summer job with friends, and have fun!! I started my job search that August and was well rested and ready to enter the "real" world!!
ReplyDeleteplease remember to enjoy the last bits! I wish I could go back to the last two months of college, I was so stressed....I barely enjoyed the end of the year partying(well, that is a lie, but u get what i mean!)
ReplyDeleteoh, and I know your from socal, if you can get your mom over to TJ MAXX, all so cal locations got TRUCKLOADS of TOSS stuff...makeup bags, purses, etc.
I'm sure you'll find something soon!!
ReplyDeleteI graduated a few years ago, but I didn't want a real job right away, so I waitressed/hostessed for awhile, until I found what I wanted. I'm glad I did that!
wow, best of luck!!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on (almsot) graduating!
ReplyDeleteI knew a ton of people in your situation last year and all have found terrific jobs or firmed up plans since last May. So don't stress!
I went right into law school but I kind of wish I'd taken a year to work and travel and switch out of academia a bit. I did semi take the summer off and just taught swim lessons and hit the beach but I know a lot of people who gave themselves the summer off before even beginning to look into jobs etc and it seems to have served them well.
Really just take some time to figure out what you want to do and then really committ yourself to doing it. (even if it means babysitting for a few weeks/months while you decide).
I graduated in a different era, so can't help much w/ that, except to say keep up the search. But... you can enter my Crate and Barrel contest! It would be so fun for you to win1
ReplyDeletewe are in the same boat missy! and we are both going to be just fine!! (crossing my fingers for us both!!)
ReplyDeleteCongrats and good luck. I was a psychology major and I had a hard time finding any paid internships after I graduated so I took a part time job in an office doing clerical work (just to make some extra money) and I decided to enroll that following fall for grad school. I had the summer still to enjoy and I didn't feel rushed for grad school.
ReplyDeleteGood Luck!
I started working right away.
ReplyDeleteI moved from College Town, Midwest straight to Atlanta the day AFTER graduation at 6:00 AM. I wasted no time. I did have a job lined up. I had started researching jobs over Christmas break and used my senior Spring Break to interview.
In retrospect, I wish I had taken at least a month or two off. I was really stressed. I graduated, moved, and started a new job in a new city all in 10 days. It was a lot to handle.
good luck! im a new follower of your blog but its so cute and i love it! this is a tough time of the school year for all of us, im only a junior in college but im feeling the stress! good luck with your final stretch in college!! :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on graduating! I had to do 150 hours of unpaid internship, and it was in Newport Beach and I live out by the Ontario Airport (I know your from LA =)
ReplyDeleteMy advice--if you can, take time to travel. Once you start working it'll prob be non-stop for years to come!
Kate, that is so exciting but scary at the same time. I wish I could offer you advice but I'm still a junior. I'll be facing this next spring. A lot of my friends are just going to grad school. I guess my advice is take your time and call call call. Just like you told me, which btw I've been doing non-stop!
ReplyDeleteHopefully something will work out! I feel your pain though. I still don't have a job lined up because all of the school districts are dragging their feet with hiring given the current economic situation.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the summer between college and grad school I worked at an autism summer camp. It was my second summer working there and I went back once more on a consultative basis the summer after my first year of grad school. It doesn't really have anything to do with criminology, but it definitely does with psychology! So many of the camp alumni have gone on to do great things in various fields (psych, medicine, education, law, etc.). The summers I spent working at the camp were AMAZING and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a summer job. If you are interested you can email me and I can give you the director's info...she is still one of my good friends!
I'm not sure how much advice I can offer, BUT i graduated last year as a psychology major and I am still trying to figure out what I'm going to do. There really aren't many jobs in psychology for just a bachelors degree. It's frustrating. I took a job in advertising immediately after graduation because I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to graduate school, etc. That definitely made me certain that I want to go back to grad school/ get a career in psych... Have you taken the GRE yet? If you get a job right after graduation, and decide to aply for grad school in fall 2010, we could brainstorm/ work on it together because that's when I'm planning on applying for too.
ReplyDeleteGood luck & congrats :)
Good luck as you wrap up school. After college I went straight to work. It was a terrible job and I did it for one year before I got the job I have now. I wish I had taken a year to travel or do volunteer work. I don't think you'll ever regret it.
ReplyDeleteCongrats and good luck!
ReplyDeleteI was very lucky and received a job offer 2 days before graduation and ended up starting work a little over a week later. I had gone back and forth between going straight to grad school or working for a bit - I was glad I ended up working because it helped me decide what grad school path I wanted to take.
If you can swing it, don't be hesitant to take an unpaid internship or volunteer position for the summer as it could turn into a full-time job offer once the economy perks up.
YAY! You're almost done!! I was an education major and I feel so thankful to have found a job!! It's very hard to find a job in a good school district around my area and I try to remind myself daily how lucky I am (especially when the kids drive me CRAZY)!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! It's such a great sense of reprieve when college is finally over with (not that one doesn't enjoy oneself).
ReplyDeleteI took 2 months off to figure out where I was going to go (I left the city where I attended University) and then got a short term, fun artsy job for about a year until I decided to be serious and went corporate. Not neccessarily the route for everyone, but it worked for me and allowed me to make a smooth and non-stressful transition into "grown up land." :)
Good luck!
xoxo KB
I'm a psychologist, but before I went back to graduate school I took a year off to relax. I work with kids now so I spent the year substitute teaching and traveling. It's highly recommended!
ReplyDeleteOh and if you ever need psychologist advice feel free to contact me at anytime (although I should warn you, I'm a child psych so I don't know too much about adults). =]
ReplyDeleteWent to College for 1 year while working at abercrombie (which back in 2000 was a lil better than it is nowadays). While greeting at the store I got scouted and signed by 2 modeling agencies and left college thinking it would be a good idea : ( In anycase I pretty much stopped modeling at this point and have gone back to school on an off for business classes.
ReplyDeleteI must say... besides learning great socializing skills I've learned alot more on my own then I ever did in college. ; )
Research & volunteer! It'll help you get into grad school if & when you do decide to go. And they love travelers, too, which is obviously fun! I didn't take time off in between but it was because I was really close to my professors & TAs that were in the program I wanted {school psych}. Just do what feels right for you, my dear!
ReplyDeleteAfter graduating, I returned to my summer employment (government agency) until I found a teaching position. In hindsight, I wished I had traveled, volunteered, or did something completely out of my career. I just don't know of another time in your life where any decision is possible and appropriate. Enjoy these last weeks of school. You will most certainly make the right decision for you!
ReplyDeleteGraduating is really scary, but exciting, too. I had NO idea what I was going to do, and didn't find a job for a few months. I had that job a few months, then took a short break, and found another job that I had for another couple of months.
ReplyDeleteYou will find your way. Anything you do is a learning experience, and if you can travel a bit, I say go for it!
You're a smart girl with a good head on your shoulders (and some cute interview outfits, I'm sure! You'll be just fine!
I would check out the U.S. Department of Justice. Especially the Marshal service or the U.S. Attorneys Office. USAJOBS.GOV - the USAO may have jobs in the Temporary Student Clerk program - which gives you vacation, sick, and raises on an annual basis, while also gives you the option of benefits if you so wish. I would check that out if I were you. I have been doing it for 2 years, today is my last day, but it has been a really educational experience!!
ReplyDeleteThings will work out for you. You're such a sweet girl, and you deserve the best. Have a great weekend! By the way, what did you think about GG this week? Um, how HOT was Nate in the park at the end?! Yikes!!
ReplyDeleteI just recently found your blog and I think it's adorable! First of all, congratulations on graduating! After I graduated, I had about three months until medical school started. I had some friends do internships in fields they were interested in and luckily those turned into real jobs!
ReplyDeleteI am so excited for you kate! Graduation was so amazing! Just enjoy it as much as possible because its over so quickly! Hopefully you will find something (as far as work). An internship may not be the worst idea - it could possibly lead to a job...you never know. Hopefully though it won't take you almost 11 months like it did for me. Anyhoo, hope all is well and that finals and the next month go well! Take care!
ReplyDeleteXx
Hi Kate,
ReplyDeleteI graduated from college in 1980 with a degree in history and political science. I wanted to teach but there were no teaching jobs. So I applied to Macys and Bloomingdales and entered Macys Executive Training Program and applied my teaching skills to the corporate world. You will find the path that is right for you!!! Maybe you will apply to Lilly for an internship!!!!
I went straight from college to grad school. I knew if I didn't do it right away, I never would. Now that I'm out of grad school I took some time off. Now I know this is not typical but I was so burnt out from school and just being stressed in general. I waited and now I have such a great job that I love!! I hope you are able to take some time and find something you love!
ReplyDeleteI got 2 weeks off after graduating college. I started my new job then. My parents freaked me out about not having health benefits since I didn't qualify to be on theirs anymore.
ReplyDeleteOh, and the job...I'm still here after almost 12 years.
What kind of thing are you looking for in psychology and/or criminology? Cause you know...I'm in that biz..