Career Advice for College Students

I recently spoke at a panel focused on guidance for college students. The panel time was limited, and so I’m posting my advice here.

The Goal

Your undergraduate career is a crucial time to make choices that will impact the course of your life. This can feel daunting, especially if you are uncertain about a long-term career path or your long-term financial needs. The advice below can help you maximize your long-term professional and lifestyle opportunities.

Determine the Right Major

1. Create an estimate for the minimum acceptable salary for your adult lifestyle

   • I have seen wonderful human beings take out $50k-$120k USD in student loan debt for a career that will likely only pay $40-60k USD annually. 15 years later they have almost zero savings and are still paying off those student loans. They probably won’t ever be able to retire. Or go on vacation. Or get sick. Or support kids.

What can you do to prevent this common unfortunate situation? 

• Check out this living wage calculator for your city. Identify the required annual income before taxes (e.g. $50,260 USD for Chicago in 2024).

• Now include the additional costs required to meet your desired lifestyle. For me, this has included:

• Go to GlassDoor > Salaries and search for the average salary for a role you want post-graduation. For example, if you wanted to become a Chicago-based preschool teacher, the average salary is $43k/year. 

  • Are you independently wealthy?

    If not, this job may lead you to financial disaster. I know it’s hard to accept that such a noble profession can be a recipe for financial ruin. If I ran the world, teachers would all be well-paid, but for this post, the goal is to equip you with the knowledge to flourish in this world.

2. Seriously ask yourself: Why do I like this path?

   • When someone tells me about a career path they like, I have noticed 4 possible interpretations:

     • They like the day-to-day activities of the role

     • They like the image or prestige of the job (e.g. astronaut, CEO, politician, firefighter)

     • They like the social impact of the job (e.g. teacher, nurse, doctor)

     • They like the (expected) level of compensation for the role (e.g. stockbroker)

All 4 of these interpretations are valid; however, if you don’t like the day-to-day activities of a role, you will probably burn out and abandon this career after a few years. For most people, I would therefore recommend pivoting to a career path you’ll actually enjoy.

Plan Your Undergraduate Course Schedule

1. Create a tentative course schedule from now through graduation

   • This will help you learn if you can complete a double-major (i.e. 2 separate degrees for 1 tuition)

   • Pretend that this school year is indicative of future course availability; this will help you identify and prioritize courses that are only offered 1x per year

   • Remember that this is simply a tentative roadmap, and so it is always alright to make changes (or even switch majors if you realize you no longer want to pursue the current one)

2. Pursue a Double-Major if Possible

   • You will probably change careers in your lifetime. If you do pivot your career, it can be extremely helpful to hold Bachelor degrees in 2 distinct disciplines

   • Most 120-credit undergraduate degrees consist of:

• However, you can probably test out of 30-45 GenEd credits (my alma mater accepts up to 45 credits). With 2 majors:

Isn’t a Double Major A Lot of Work? 

Only at the start.

• Spend 1-2 hours to plan out your course schedule through graduation

• Check if your university will accept credit for any of these CLEP exam options

• Take CLEP exams you think you can easily pass, and test out of 3-45 general education credits

  • A Silly Example: I entered the University of Florida with credit from an AP Calculus exam. Then I discovered that UF required 3 more math credits. Instead of wasting 45+ hours taking an even harder college math course, I simply took the CLEP exam for (basic) algebra.

Get Job-Related Experience

1. Create a career experience check-list and then get those experiences

   • Go to LinkedIn or Indeed and search for jobs that you want to have in 1-3 years

   • Gather all the required/preferred qualifications or experiences for 5 similar jobs and create a checklist for yourself. 

   • Seek out 1-2 internships that can provide you with those experiences

     • Aren’t internships time-consuming? 

       • During college I double-majored, double-minored, worked as a barista, and had 2 internships all at the same time. Sounds time-consuming, right? In reality: 

         • Remember, double-majoring (and double-minoring) requires almost zero extra work; it mostly just means I spent 1-2 hours making a course schedule and then chose my classes accordingly

         • Working as a barista was time-consuming, but unlimited free caffeine is delightful

         • Both internships only required 3 hours each per week, and they were both directly relevant to my career ambitions

     • My paid job prevents me from getting an internship; what can I do? 

       • If you are able to avoid or minimize student loans by working, please know that employers will find that commendable, and you should explain this on your cover letter to help you stand out when applying for jobs. 

       • If you have 2-6 hours available per week, then I recommend reaching out to a professor in your major and asking what internships may exist within the department, and how you can find out more information. If an internship only requires 2-5 hours per week, it may be worth having a packed schedule for 1 semester.

       • If there are experience checklist items that coworkers perform at your job, ask your manager if you could gain experience completing those activities. As long as you’re capable and not asking for additional money, it’s a win-win situation for your employer.

Further Guidance

1. Prioritize networking – especially with others in your career path

   • A large percentage of young adults will get their next job via a network connection.

     • This may not seem fair, but the goal here is for you to flourish in this world.

   • Specific Action Recommendations

     • Say yes to every social invite that doesn’t sound terrible

       • Before attending, watch and follow the guidance from this TED Talk

     • Join 1-2 clubs, and– if interested– try to become an officer in for a club

       • The experiences you gain as a club officer are often near-identical to professional activities

     • Invite classmates for 1:1 or small group coffee chats 

       • The initial goal is to help you understand different perspectives on your shared class or career path, but the ultimate hope is that this leads to a longer-term social connection. 

       • If you feel awkward about inviting a near-stranger for a chat, you can explicitly say that you’re currently trying to follow the advice of a career coach (i.e. blame me for insisting that you do this)

Conclusion

I hope this advice proves to be helpful. Please comment below with any doubts, questions, or additional recommendations!