"If you're like most recent graduates, you've just spent three or four years studying material that is largely theoretical and often not even related to the working world."
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Really? Sounds received wisdom or a cliché to me. In the first place, are you assuming universities should exclusively be career training centres? Actually, they are more and more becoming that, and they do provide much more than 'theoretical' knowledge.

BTW, it is the theoretical grounding I received in Engineering school that permits me to provide a distinctly higher level of value to my customers than say, a technologist in the same field. And a few communications skills such as reading and effective writing are never wasted.

Great advice for new grads - from my own personal experience I've found that finding what you want to do is one of the hardest parts about graduating. After spending nearly 20 years in school, it is difficult to make the adjustment to life after graduation.

I liked what you said about trying as many things as possible - it's a great way to diversify your interests, stand out when applying for jobs, and most importantly it could lead to a rewarding career or lifestyle.

I'm definitely going to take some time to analyze my past and look for signs of potential - thanks for the inspiration!

Having taught college economics now for about five years and coming into this THIRD career after realizing my true passion, I have a similar discussion with students each first day of class. I always ask students who knows what they want to do with their life. Consistently, 3-5% of students are following a goal -- the others are searching. Take home message -- you're not alone, by a long shot!

I am reminded of the movie, Forrest Gump -- remember when he said, "Life is like a box of chocolates"?. My interpretation is that you have to be WILLING to try many things -- and be pliable enough to weather the failures, which are in fact successes, but you won't know that until later. One of my favorite suggestions is to learn to talk with others -- take the time at the bus stop or movie line to ask someone you don't know "what do you do?", "how did you land there?", "do you like it?", "what education do you need". Not only will you find that there are 1000's of jobs out there you have no idea about, but also you'll learn a most important skill -- the art of small talk and conversation. That is a skill above all else, will get you to where you want to go! You don't know what you don't know -- so start by finding out what you don't know -- TALK!!

I think it's important to have varied work and life experiences but let's be honest: working in the hospitality sector and selling movie tickets and jobs of that ilk are unskilled positions that you don't even need a high school education for, let alone an undergrad degree. These jobs are unlikely to provide you with the skills or experience to help you advance to bigger and better things.

My advice to young grads is to begin thinking of yourself as a "brand" and figure out what qualities and abilities you have that you wish to sell. Look for work in different areas that you think will help you enhance your own personal brand. Unpaid internships, volunteering with non-profits and offering yourself up as a freelancer for occasional work can all be good ways to get a foot in the door.

Never mind the 'job market' stuff -- your University time is a once in a lifetime experience...gather as much as you can and remember Joseph Campbell's advice: Follow your bliss. You are a human being, not a carrot that needs to get shipped to market on time. O, by they way: "follow your bliss" isn't a touchy-feely slogan. It's a recipe for long=term mental and emotional health.

Ah for Pete's sakes. A Phys Ed major wants to teach or coach. A law student wants to practice law of some sort. An engineer undergrad is good at math and loves building things and wants to practice same. A medical student, after pre-med, wants to practice medicine. A commerce student wants to becaoem a CPA or go into business. Have I missed any?

General Arts and Science students may not know, but many end up teaching.

To me, this finding ones self after graduating with a University degree, pertains to only a few lost souls.

Richard (33 years as an engineer at Dow, followed by 14 years as a lecturer at UWO. Loved both careers.)

Hi Richard,

I would disagree about General Arts and Science students. A large proportion of students are in Arts and Science programs. MANY go on to work in business, as professionals, etc.

Enjoyed this post. I know a number of people who found books such as "What Colour is Your Parachute?" helpful in finding a good fit for them. Many university career centres also offer services for recent graduates to help them identify the type of work they want.

For those who go on to a Masters or PhD, this question often comes back at them! When I left a graduate program, I did as many informational interviews as I could to get the real story on all the jobs I thought I would like. So glad I did! I'm now working as a personal and professional development coach, which I love, and I get to help other people sort through what they want to do too. (http://readyforchange.ca)

Richard mentions his 47 year career as a working and teaching engineer and suggests that people should know what they want to do for the rest of their life.

That seems very ironic to me. His text doesn't give any indication of how his profession changed, due to computers, for example.

When my freshly graduated son stared kindergarten in 1990 the principle at his school kept droning on in meetings about "life time of learning", "multiple careers" and so on.

It really put my back up, but I couldn't say why, since what she was going on about was exactly what my wife and I had lived since getting out of High School.

Then at a library discard book sale I came across a copy of "The Engineer", published by Time-Life in 1966. I had first read it at age 13 in a high school library.

Opening it to the Table of Contents I saw a chapter called "Education without End", turned to it and saw a picture of a Graduate Engineer in the same 1965 MIT Transistor Theory Class as his undergraduate son.

What had bothered me was that it took Teachers a quarter of a century of catch a clue I had found in a High School Library in 1967.

High tech, value added, jobs are constantly changing. The careers today's grads will retire from don't exist yet. Even auto mechanics have to be literate, numerate, and savy at using digital diagnostic equipment.

Expecting to train once, for a life long career, except in generic terms, is unrealistic.

I've gone from being a Biochemistry undergrad, into institutional finance, to a masters in healthcare, quit that, went to wealth management, then to a hedge fund, and back to wealth management. I'm now interning as a research associate for a venture cap firm focused on the water sector (so a nice mix of my 2 passions; Science and Finance).....and I've found my calling.

Darren - life is a box of chocolates!!!I've learned so much from 'jumping around', mainly from the mistakes in the choices I have made.

My advice to new grads is to not allow your degree title to pigeon hole you, and don't ever let anyone make you believe that it should. An undergraduate degree shows a level of aptitude and potential more than anything else.

Richard, who is this Pete you speak of? ;)

Lauren - Ya youbetcha - many BAs go into business - including my daughter with a BA in Pysc - she went into Dow Chemical's computer group because she hung on my back while I worked at home and she learned the computer by osmosis. However, most BAs are lost souls and should have travelled for a year or two to learn what they want to do.

Kelly - At Dow I was on the leading edge of technology. Installed the first computer in a chemical plant. I was the manager of Dow Canada's Computer Group, thereafter, and we kept right up to date on this technology. At 76, I still have four computers on the go and have a virtual Plant Design course on the go with my students at UWO.

Nicole - she asks who is Pete? "For Pete's sakes" is a Minced Oath. Look it up on Google. Yopu need to read more.

Ok... so to everyone that has posted here...

I am definitely that "lost soul" that everyone speaks of through here haha!!
I graduated from college end of 07' and have been working in GM since then... I received my Associate in Applied Science concentration in Web Design and a Bachelor in Business Admin. concentration in Marketing... I was a production planner for a new facility in MI for GM which I actually liked doing, then of course, was laid off.. then landed another position with GM at their SPO HQ in MI in their military/government department doing marketing... all of which have some what revolved around my degrees in a sense..
Now, I'm sitting here on the verge of getting let go again with the way GM is going, and doing some "soul searching" ...
So... I throw out the question just like everyone else has, how do I find my niche, what I truely love? I have lots of things I love doing, was very active through school between sports, student council, and other programs.. I sold cell phones through college and was a head camp counselor at a YMCA during the summers... I'm still very active and constantly on the go... on my down time, I've designed a few websites on the side, love spending time with kids (esp. my nephew), and scrapbooking...
So... I've tried quite a bit.. but still lost..
Any help? I'll continue to read everyone's posts!
Thank you!

Hi Abby,

Wow - you sound like you'd make an excellent candidate for lots of different types of jobs and industries.

One tactic for assessing what it really is you want to do might be to read job postings that you see online and identify what about them excites you/doesn't excite you. That may help you determine what parts of a role/industry you really enjoy.

Also, as a side note, it seems like you're the type of person who likes to do LOTS of different things, so maybe that's something you should look out for...the type of opportunity that allows you to touch on lots of different aspects of an organization.

I'm a Canadian in her final year of Uni at the University of Manchester doing a BSc(Hons) in Management (Marketing). Living abroad has been amazing but I miss Vancouver and would like to return home for work - however, beyond the usual panic of 'omg what the heck am I going to do with the rest of my life' I'm now finding all sorts of difficulties in living abroad and trying to apply back home. Finding a website like TalentEgg has been enormously helpful but I'm still struggling with applying for companies that want to interview me in person or start at the end of May when UK final exams are in June. I noticed you (Lauren) had worked in the UK - did you encounter somewhat similar difficulties when applying to another country? If so, how did you overcome them? Also, in anyone who's posted here's opinion, would my degree be at all recognised in Canada?
Sorry for all the huge questions I'm just frustrated and a wee bit nervous about trying to decide the rest of my life and do finals!
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thank-you :) Ali

Hi Ali!

Thanks for the comment. Are you asking if it was hard to apply to jobs in Canada when I was still working in the UK, or vice versa? I had a kind of strange situation, because I graduated from my masters in the UK and then stayed there to work. When I came back to Canada, I had already decided to start TalentEgg. That being said, I've come across some examples since then of people looking for work while abroad and can informally answer your questions:

- Yes your degree will certainly be recognized here
- It's a good idea to start networking and 'planing the seed' in Canada before you move back... When you get back, it'll make it a million times easier to get interviews.
- Check out CareerEdge.org... They're a great non-profit that helps new grads secure paid internships. They also work with recent immigrants to help them find paid internships. Either of the programs might work for you.

Hope this helps. Feel free to email me anytime directly lauren at talentegg.ca !