Do you have plans for after college?

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...And if so, please briefly explain them.

Ever since I started my first job almost 4 years ago, I've realized that easily a lot of people -- the large majority of my co-workers -- do not have plans for after college graduation. That is exactly why they're working as waiters and waitresses; it's like a transition period, making money to get by. I don't think any of them had plans for a career or a steady living situation, even the servers in their 30s and 40s. But I am actually working on a career plan, and I'll make sure to follow through.

What are your ideas of your future career? How about grad school? Internships? Would you rather just get a part-time job?

If you've already graduated, please tell me what your intentions/plans were and whether or not you are living the life you wanted. Do you think you will go back to school, to continue your education? Is having a career important to you? Any advice would be appreciated, too.

I will be graduating for my Associate's degree fairly soon!

Thanks in advance!

I don't even plan to go to University (college). I live in Australia and degrees aren't considered as necessary for jobs as they are in the USA. I have the grades for it so far but I just don't want to spend so much time and money on a University education, I plan on going to the local TAFE institutions to get some qualifications in electrotechnology and then apply for an apprenticeship to become an electrician.

My sister's 21 and she's already buying her own house and she has a car that came off the production line only a few months ago. My father earns $85k a year without a college education and he got it by working his way up in manufacturing.

Still, I know people who haven't even considered what they want to do, out of my four friends, one has thought about it, he said he would like to be either a carpenter, or an architect and was leaning towards carpenter. Two of the other three said they don't know and the other said University but didn't give a degree he wishes to get or job he wishes to do.

I think I'll enjoy my life, there's no reason why I can't learn without a degree. The internet is full of information, so is the library and the bookstore.

I believe that around 20-30% of graduating students in Australia go to University, I don't know how many get degrees though. I just don't think the degree is worth it. Neither is the "experience", neither is the "education". It become a money matter when they started charging so much for tuition.

There is also a shortage of tradesmen in Australia, people look down on manual work and their beliefs go on to the next generation, people aren't trying to get into skilled work anymore. They all want the office on the tenth storey with the secretary and the co workers.

Overall, I would just prefer a job where you go home at the end of the day and you're finished. That's it. No more. Done for the day.

Sorry if I'm ranting but this is pretty much all I've thought about lately.

My goal is to get a PhD in physics or mathematics or both. Then I want to become an astronaut or I want to become a aerospace technician.

Good luck with it. How far are you to reaching that goal?

My plan is to finish my A-Levels and then go to Cambridge University (Churchill college) to study Clinical Medicine and become a consultant neurologist, so that I can help other aspies and other people like me (AS and TS especially) through my experience. I am slightly precise, but I am focused on my goal, and if it fails, I will become a languages teacher of German, Italian and Spanish...

At the moment I just want to finish my A-levels but I do want to go to university. I'll probably study a language. I was thinking about Chinese or something similar....I figure it'll be a useful degree and after that I was thinking I might join the civil service...Not sure yet.

Thanks for the responses; it's nice to see some people thinking ahead in life. gemstone123, I'm not sure what A-Levels means, but it sounds like it may be high school...?

TheEntertainer26, it sounds like you have a sure-fire plan and you know what you want. Awesome!

ursaminor, both the astronaut and aerospace technician goals are so cool, and I hope you'll have fun!

Avarice! Although you're not going to go to a college, the apprenticeship is a really smart idea. I also have only one friend who has thought about what he wants to do in life, and he's in college now. At least you have an ideal job, and one that is in need of tradesmen; that's how my dad works for a living and he is very happy with it. Actually, depending on what you want to do, getting experience is important. But for you, that shouldn't be a problem as you will start out as an apprentice anyway.

I completely agree, life doesn't require a degree to be happy! The only reason I am going to college, though, is for the experience and to build my portfolio with professional help. The experience helps prepare me for the career that I want. Also it's too bad that the cost of universities is discouraging you... what about scholarships?

Feel free to share more ideas, everybody.

I just don't have an interest in University, even if there are scholarships. The cost in time is just as big as the cost in money. Four years of my life...

I might even be able to get a job in the countryside eventually, I would love that, I'm always happiest in the open air and around plants.

What do you mean "experience"? And what job are you hoping to get that you'll need to go to college for help with your portfolio? Good luck with it, whatever it is.

Sadly, this is my last day of Summer holidays, tommorrow it's back to school and torture...

I've been involved in the performing arts since I was a small kid and I am looking into the B.A. in the NAU Theatre Department.
After that, everything is up in the air. I really, really hope to become an actress; whether it is on stage, on TV, in the movies, or as a voice talent.
I also have a back-up plan in case that fails: A degree in Graphic Design (under the Visual Communications program.)
I mean have a knack for drawing cartoons. I also have thousands of ideas for comics, TV shows, animated films, and video games. So, it will all pan out.

It will be five years out of life for me. Then I will go onto graduate school which will be another two years(At minimal).

That was the biggest mistake that I made at age 18: Expecting to actually get a quality education just because I was going to College.

But what else would I have been doing? Most likely working at a dead-end job in America doing mindless, routine physical labor.

If I was more ambitious I would have started my own company or something similar- But that would require work (If anything, I've been more lazy in College than in High School).

All I really want to do is get out of the state that I live in and move somewhere else.....If graduate school is one way of doing this then it will work out all the best.

If I fail; I would probably live at home and leech off of mom and dad. Which doesn't seem an uncommon things nowadays in society.

I want to work for the NSA (National Security Agency), and hopefully obtain a doctorate in physics.

Get into any financial/accounting profession or IT work, these are my dream jobs after I get a Bachelors.

When I've finished college I want to go to uni to study psychology. Eventually I want to work with mainstream school special needs kids as a learning mentor if not I want to be a child psychologist.

By "experience," hmm, I generally mean testing the desired field and learning its background. This can be done by shadowing/observing someone at the job, using the tools, helping out with projects, and being in the work environment. I'd say that any job which requires hands-on work or client interaction should encourage experience with that job. Having experience will let you know your strengths and weaknesses, and whether or not you'd actually enjoy it.

For me, I'm interested in joining the broad field of 3D computer animation, like, for either movies or video games. I'm also interested in graphic design (as in magazines, web sites, brochures, posters) and 2D animation (short clips and interactive multimedia, usually for games and interfaces) but not as much. By now I have focused my interests, but it took experience for me to do this. I tried web design with a local web company, I've tried architecture downtown, I tried working with a motion capture* studio, and I've taken many classes on all these subjects. All of those were with help from my school. It's important for me to know the appropriate computer programs, the fundamentals of design, and how to draw. But it's difficult for me to explain "experience" in my case because I have been passionate about my ideal job ever since I was little.

I'm trying to create a portfolio because I would like to be in the art department (as opposed to technical) in 3D animation! This means I need imagination rather than technical skills (which could simply be shown with a résumé). Actually, I will sooner or later start to develop a reel, in addition to my portfolio. My reel will just be a compilation of animated clips.



Wow, now I can definitely tell you're in Australia -- summer! It's still winter here. Hope you do well in school.

*Motion capture is a method to create realistic CGI animation and postures, especially used for body movement and facial gestures. It's what they used to create the characters in Avatar. Link, link, and link.

I just started an M.Sc. program in Earth Science at a Canadian university. When I eventually graduate (hopefully in ~2 - 2.5 years) I hope to go for my Ph.D in volcano science. I see myself in academics for pretty much my entire life.

~CGKings317

Plans after college? As soon as I finish college, I'm getting a temp job so that I'll be earning money immediately. I'm not doing regular job hunting at all.