"Planning My Future," or "What in the F am I Doing?"
As most people who read this know, I graduated in June of 2008 and have yet do do any real work in my field, or even choose what field I'd like to have as mine. I'm not sure how I feel about my lack of direction, and I get conflicting messages about it.
Some think I'm way behind and should be taking the steps to start on a path right now - this includes my parents (no surprise) and many like them, adults with established careers and/or life experience and/or a tendency to think about the practicalities and worry about the future.
Others - especially those in my cohort of young adults, recent graduates, and people beginning their first or a new career - seem to find nothing wrong with the pace at which I'm already moving and think that the best course of action is to take things step by step, look for work where I find it and learn what I can from what I do.
Then there are the people who haven't tried to influence me, but who themselves are an example of more drive and ambition than I think I have ever felt! I have friends who are studying medicine, getting published in economic journals in England, or in some way or another taking major life steps that intimidate the crap out of me and make me feel like I'm not doing nearly enough and that my accomplishments mean comparatively nothing!!
I miss how my life worked before graduating college, where there was a pretty straight-forward path to follow, and as long as I stuck with the program I would be going where I wanted to go. I knew I wanted to go to college and get a 4-yr liberal arts degree, and I succeeded. But what the fuck do I do with it now? Anthro is wildly flexible, and one could conceivably end up in education, politics, public health, medicine, human resources and the private sector, museum work, law, and a ton of other things. I repeat, the above list is all things that I could choose to prepare for and begin a career in.
Now what?!
Some think I'm way behind and should be taking the steps to start on a path right now - this includes my parents (no surprise) and many like them, adults with established careers and/or life experience and/or a tendency to think about the practicalities and worry about the future.
Others - especially those in my cohort of young adults, recent graduates, and people beginning their first or a new career - seem to find nothing wrong with the pace at which I'm already moving and think that the best course of action is to take things step by step, look for work where I find it and learn what I can from what I do.
Then there are the people who haven't tried to influence me, but who themselves are an example of more drive and ambition than I think I have ever felt! I have friends who are studying medicine, getting published in economic journals in England, or in some way or another taking major life steps that intimidate the crap out of me and make me feel like I'm not doing nearly enough and that my accomplishments mean comparatively nothing!!
I miss how my life worked before graduating college, where there was a pretty straight-forward path to follow, and as long as I stuck with the program I would be going where I wanted to go. I knew I wanted to go to college and get a 4-yr liberal arts degree, and I succeeded. But what the fuck do I do with it now? Anthro is wildly flexible, and one could conceivably end up in education, politics, public health, medicine, human resources and the private sector, museum work, law, and a ton of other things. I repeat, the above list is all things that I could choose to prepare for and begin a career in.
Now what?!