Many of us as first gen students made it through our undergraduate degree by focusing on what was directly in front of us and most of the time that was passing classes. This isn’t a bad strategy but it can come back to bite us when we are trying to decide what we want to do next. I’ve worked with a ton of students who are interested in goi g to graduate school, but when I talk to them about their plans, they don’t have much of one beyond going to graduate school.
Since we’ve been so focused on passing classes most of us probably haven’t had a chance to look much further beyond getting our degree. And now that crossing the graduation stage is more and more a reality it can start to set in that we haven’t had a chance to plan for after.
A graduate degree is a great tool, so long as we know what it is we are going to use that tool for. Another way to think about it is that if we were building something, we want to start with detailed plans of what we want to build, then decide what tools we need to help us do the job. The way many first generation students go about the process is to get the tool first, then try to figure out what they can build with it. This approach can cause some problems down the road, like mismatches between the degree you earned and the career you want.
The better approach to is to start the process of deciding what type of career is a good fit for you. That’s easier said than done, since most of us are limited in the careers we’ve encountered that require a college degree or a graduate degree. Because of that we have to get creative, we have to incorporate our networks, including our professors and other people in our lives to help us think through who we are and what type of work will fit us well. I’m going to post a set of exercises you can do to think this process through. Once you’ve done some of these you’ll have some information to take with you into a meeting with a professor or anyone else. You can let them know that you’ve thought about what environments are a good fit for you, what populations you think you’ll work well with, and how you would want your day to look. From there we can help you fill in some possibilities of career paths that might fit those ideas.
Most of us haven’t had the time to really sit with ourselves and think or plan for our future. If your first generation you’ve been trailblazing a long time, which can mean the task at hand, clearing the way, is the most important thing. But now is the time to plan, to think, to talk about your future. Making time now to do that will help you make sure you get the most out of both your undergraduate and future graduate degree.
Leave a Reply