The title basically says it all. What would you do differently if you were freshly out of school today versus back when you started your career if your goal was just to make as much money or be successful as possible? Curious to hear from people on WSO who are further along in their career then most.
| +106 | When you can’t measure up | 13 | 1d | |
| +82 | Zoomers are doing life wrong | 25 | 1d | |
| +52 | How to get rid of prestige obsession | 24 | 20h | |
| +44 | How to develop a thick skin? | 22 | 3d | |
| +36 | Analysts & Crying | 13 | 2d | |
| +33 | Insurance as High Finance? | 10 | 2h | |
| +29 | Would you rather live alone in an outer borough or with roommates in Manhattan? | 21 | 3h | |
| +27 | Framed Photo of CEO on desk. | 14 | 2d | |
| +23 | BO -> ??? | 14 | 3d | |
| +20 | Anyone ever invest in a gym? | 10 | 6d |
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I'd probably go for being a Connect 4 champion. Not just to gain local fame and dominance in bar games and bar chicks, but to discover what it truly means to connect four.
sorry to kill the dream: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solved_game
I was a first gen-student at any ivy league school, and I didn't even understand what the difference between hedge funds, IB's, PE were, or how/when they recruited at my campus. I guess that's what happens when your parents didn't attend college and were poor lol. I wish I knew all the shit I know now when I was a college freshmen back in the days.
lol why the monkey shit??
Because people on here want to believe you didn't make it and they did because they're better than you. Something something personal responsibility something something started from the bottom now I'm here.
I would have majored in engineering in college. Doesn't matter whether you go to a target or a non-target, engineering is an impressive degree.
I probably would've studied aerospace engineering like I had planned to, but likely would've ended up in consulting anyways. Alternatively maybe continued down the applied math route and done a PhD
would've gone to med school to be a medical examiner / coroner.
I was a practicing MD (medical doctor), did a rotation in Forensic Pathology with a Coroner many years back. The job gets old pretty fast. Being surrounded by dead bodies, and then cutting them open for an autopsy, is not something I'd want to do for rest of my life. However, a rotation there does give you a perspective on life.
Also, a few of my friends found the environment pretty queasy.
wouldn't change dick edit: should have fucked even more before marriage
Who did you fuck ?
have a few, one that comes to mind: lived near Shanghai after graduation (2005-06), entrepreneur opportunities seemed wide wide open back. we started a business teaching business-english at companies for ~30/hr, couldve scaled that easily imo, no one was doing anything similar in my city at the time
This... had I started a chain of private preschools in Beijing in 2009 I would be on 30-under-30 by now.
yeah it was easy easy money back then, but I wasn't ready, no regrets. not sure what the environment is like now, and i'm sure there are other countries with this type of potential (eg Myanmar) just depends on your willingness to hunt it down
Very interesting.
Bought Bitcoin
Second this.
Lol I sold fake IDs in high school and a few years I had a few bitcoins when they were trading at like 200-250 a coin. I sold them all thinking my few thousand profit was amazing. If I'd only held on for a few years......
buy now, you're so funny :')
I fucked up here... started looking into it in spring 2013, around $60 per bit coin...
I would have done the PhD route.
Investment banking at a top BB or EB out of undergrad. Without a question.
Lol I love the subtle prestige-whore trolling you do on here.
Out of high school - I would remain a Professional Gamer, or at least rotate to some other role in the industry.
Out of university - I would not change my career path. Probably would reconsider choices made about a year ago, but even they taught me valuable lessons.
Graduated in Electrical Engineering first and always wanted to work around my passion - cars, trucks, motorcycles or anything like that. After IBD I had a few years in the automotive industry but ended up back in finance.
My other interest area would've been casino, hospitality and gaming (innovation). Needless to say that opportunities in this space are rare and very much depending on the region.
Bump
If money wasn't an object, I'd become a college professor with some small entrepreneurial projects on the side.
My old professor did that for years (he sold mobile technology and patents to large blue-chips in the 1990s/2000s) - it is very lucrative but also low-stress. Also not very competitive because you are one of the few in your area of work.
don't you mean AND, that can't be a bad thing
Probably would've been an Econ, IT, or management major. Finance dept is dog shit at my school lol. From a curriculum standpoint it really makes no difference considering you can learn everything you need from Rosenbaum, WSP, WSO, etc. I still would've ended up in the same spot. Accounting is really overkill outside of the major courses relevant to finance. I'd probably have more fun with the non-finance students. Finance students here are weird hardos who think frats will get their low gpa and zero experience to GS IBD or something even more difficult like HF/PE.
Pro cyclist
I definitely would have golfed more as a kid, but I doubt it would have made a difference.
Honestly, I would aim for the exact same goal, I would just go about it far better and achieve it faster as a result.
Three things:
1) I would've applied to more universities. I only applied to the best in my province.
2) Taken the opportunity to go abroad during my studies / in general travel more.
3) Learned a second language earlier.
Cared to find out if I had gotten into my top choice where I was on the wait list lol.
I would have put more effort towards figuring out what I wanted to do in life while I was in school. I pretty much just focused on grades and having fun without networking and working on career stuff. I kind of 'woke up' after starting work. My friends at school were all non-finance majors so I didn't think much about my career in finance, and I regret not putting more time in
went to community college for two years. Go to the best public college I could. Majored in Info Sys, minor in Econ. Go into tech sales right out of college in NYC/SF
Oh, and avoided love in college and just worried about studying and smashing.
I know a lot of people end up going to CC before and then transferring into good schools, but do you need more than just stellar grades? I'd imagine you'd need to do something else to stand out from other applicants, but idk what sorts of extracurriculars CCs offer.
Oh shit this one hits me spot on! I've been having regrets lately. I'm 23 years old and ~2 yrs out of college, had a stint as FX Trader in Int'l Treasury. Graduated at 20 since we start early here. I didn't have my head in the game so I burned out and resigned. Now I realized I wanna be in IB but even though I'm from a target school my grades are not stellar - GPA 2.9. and how I fucking wish I could go back to college, set my academics straight, practice financial modeling and making pitch books, network like hell and get IB internships.
I was actually interviewed in a boutique IB here back in college but I wasn't dead set so I didn't actively follow up or anything and just took another non-related internship offered to me. It's not to late but I got a lot of catching up to do. Shit
Gone to my home state school to study engineering for half the price of my useless poly sci degree from a private liberal arts school.
Would have been a patriots fan ;P
Dentist or Oral Surgeon. I am going to strongly imprint on my son that being a dentist is the way to go.
Why so? What do you do now?
My dentist was a financial planner before. He clearly made the right career transition.
Assuming I retain full knowledge of my career to date, and can re-start now, in 2017?
I’d return to school - either primary or secondary - and get my dyslexia diagnosis as a child, rather than as a 44 year old career changer.
This would get me the support I need to excel in my favourite subject (mathematics) instead of washing out with an average grade. I’d then do a BSc in Mathematics, possibly with a Cognitive Science minor/elective to harness my interest in psychology and computer science (this was possible only by a long and twisted route of MSc.s in the 1990s). Then I’d go straight into a neuroscience PhD, probably specialising in neuroinformatics (which pretty much didn’t exist until after I had completed my PhD and begun post-doctoral work).
I’d be doing post-doctoral research at about 24 instead of 30, and - because I’d have got the support I needed for dyslexia - I’d have had a work-life balance instead of spending 100+hrs per week in my underground lab, painfully working through the mathematical side of my research, to the detriment of my health. As a result, I might have had a social life in my 20s and 30s, and probably wouldn’t have been an elderly prima at 39 - and my one-and-only babe might have had the brother or sister he longs for.
Huge, major changes. I might even still be doing research, instead of being disabled.
If you could start over... - What would you do differently? (Originally Posted: 07/28/2010)
If you could start over, right from the 9th grade, what would you do differently?
Would you still go into your career in banking/consulting/finance - and if so, what kind of decisions would you make to maximize your chances and set yourself up for the future?
I understand that a lot of efforts begin early, and an early start gives a HUGE advantage to students who start off knowing what they want to do. If you were to have another chance, or the opportunity to talk to yourself when you were just beginning high school, what advice would you have for the younger you?
Might help if you describe your current background as well.
I've done fairly well, but I know there's certainly a lot of things I would change in retrospect - for starters, determining a major earlier, reaching out for work opportunities, and working my ass off (as the benefits of partying diminish very quickly).
The title of this thread makes it seem like you're a middle schooler asking for advice, haha. I was about to freak out.
In order:
High School: -I would have picked one of my two HS sports to do and done only that one. I was good at both of them but never truly spectacular at either. Furthermore, they both killed a ton of my time. -With the new found time from quitting one of my sports, I would have studied way more. -I would have taken the SAT one more time. -I would have volunteered more. -I would have tried to get a summer internship at my Dad's AM firm.
-I would have petitioned one of the schools that denied me and gone to a better University.
First year of Undergrad: -I would have taken a few econ/accounting classes sooner. -I wouldn't have worked at a Law Firm or a non-profit the summer after first year.
Second year of Undergrad: -I would have done better. Taken a couple classes more seriously, etc.
I would've bang as many 16 year olds as I could
+1
What exactly does being back in high school have to do with banging down 16 year olds?? Still seems achievable to me.
Regards
I wouldn't have been a huge jerk to the hottie who I could have gotten with. I would have done homework. I wouldn't have broken a girl's heart junior year, as I'm stuck in the friend zone now. I would have hit up the CEO of an MM that went to the same HS/ Country Club for an internship. I would have hooked up with the 2 MILFs at said country club rather than being conscientious.
I would've tried, actually done homework, and probably finished top 10 overall in my class if I gave any effort. I was lazy and finished top 10% but not that high at all. Oh yea, then I would go to a target school instead of this current non-target.
I would change absolutely nothing. Wouldn't be who I am now if not for the fuck-ups/mistakes/bad-decisions I made.
agreed!!! only thing would probably have to be is not have stayed with my girlfriend for as long as did...missed out on other poon
^ o ya if I had actually tried in HS and early college I would still be trying to do Biomed engineering/pre-med... haha I quickly realized that wasn't the path for me.
I would of played lacrosse and joined a frat.
Thats probably it.
I would have had sex with erica, vanessa, sandra, skai, melissa, melissa, maja, kate, laura, larissa, jenna, courtney, alessandra, liliana, amy, martina, martina, nicky, katie, bianca, magda, natalie, taylor, steph, paula, natasha, and mimi....
I'm sure there are more but I can't think of them off the top of my head.
Oh and I would NOT have had sex with krisha.
Joining a was one of the best decisions of my life.
I would of gone out with this girl who I later found out was a virgin at the time she liked me. She later lost her virginity to her next boyfriend. The best part of it all would of been 4 years later interviewing with her dad at a financial advisory firm before I actually knew what they did there.
I would of tried to convince my parents to send me to a top notch prep school.
You would have dated her solely because she was a virgin? What was wrong with her when you didn't know that she was a virgin?
I would have studied harder freshmen year and join either a business or social frat.
High School:
I would have actually pushed harder for my case to play football, since I knew all the coaches and all my friends played too (my parents would only let me play one sport- basketball)
I pledged a frat and I wish I hadn't. Guess it's one of those grass is greener things.
I had a pretty dazed and confused type of high school - no question it shaped who I am, and I've had a great time from hs to college. Prob would have gone to a bigger party school for college - but ive done pretty damn well career wise so i cant complain (and I got a huge scholarship, so debt free living in nyc now)
Kids - banking will always be here for you - your youth and period of carelessness will not. When I was an intern, I had every miserable associate and VP tell me how lucky i was to go back to college for a year. When I went into M&A full time - the only times I felt good were when I thought about the fun I had in high school and college.
No job, degree, salary can seriously replace the fun, carelessness, recklessness and joy of being in high school. The shenanigans I pulled and insane stuff (for a 17 year old) is priceless - and most importantly, those experiences shape who you are later in life.
For the record - in one of my interviews, an MD asked me what was the craziest thing I had ever done. Story about some absurd high school prank had him in tears laughing - offer shortly after.
Nice - care to share?
i would have aced every class, regardless of the partying
-I would have done all my homework in HS to get all A's since most of our grades came from it and I never did any of it. -I should have banged the teacher that asked me out to dinner. -I wish I took all my engineering courses at an acredited school, never thought I'd be persuing finance until I got a partner position at a Mechanical company and realized I wanted way more.
This thread just makes me sad.
I would've went ahead and got that prescription for adderall back in 8th grade.
I think I would apply to HYP...
Tell parents to send me to a prep high school that places well into top universities Know about the field of consulting or finance in high school Study hard in high school and go to a target univ on a scholarship, grants, minimized loans Major in economics/finance Graduate with no student loan debt Meet more girls
I would have used a condom..
-Stuck to my internet business instead of selling it for a couple thousand bucks back in the 10th grade. The guy who owns it now is rolling in dough...that piece of shit. I wouldn't even need to be in I-Banking now (probably wouldn't even be working at all).
-Volunteered more during all that free time
-Taking up a major that I would have found enjoyable (Astrophysics, history, philosophy, etc..) instead of finance
-Be nicer to all the kids I picked up
-Not be a complete jackass to my parents during my teen years
Theres more but those are the major ones.
This is probably the only regret-worthy thing I've read in this whole thread (well, apart from the condom thing...but that's just plain stupid too). Guys posting about not going to HYP or getting average grades - you do realize 95% of the population regrets not being in your position, yea?
Actually drove by a Delorean yesterday. Past is prologue. This weekend I'm baggin an 18 year old and punching some random in the grill. Long live testosterone and acting "stupid".
I thought about this and I really like it. +1 for Shakespeare reference.
I would have worked harder in college. My undergrad GPS has created an uphill battle since, though I was able to overcome it.
I am depressed now
I wouldn't have pumped 80 grand of my parent's money into the dot-com bubble while experimenting with salvia one night....
I wouldn't have been a Bills fan.
Just kidding. Go Bills!
LETS GO BUFFALO BABAY! TRENT EDWARS + CJ SPILLER + FRED JACKSON
I would've done everything exactly the same. Except for clicking in this thread.
I still bang 18 yr olds just because its legal
Established stronger bonds with my buddies Made more female friends More strategic in my dating selection Take 9 hours a semester in college instead of 15 hours Play more basketball, spend less time just lounging around Take boxing lessons
I really regret impregnating Troll's mom. I'm sorry WSO, I am the reason Troll posts here.
I would borrow money and buy google like a mofo.
Seems like the general consensus is getting grades and playing around... I'll have to dissent and say there were two girls I'd really liked to have to settled down with. That being said, there's a ton of experiences that have shaped who I am and none I truly regret - though it's difficult to say except in the very long run.
I would have hid those bodies in a better spot
I'd have learned more languages sooner. If I were to reallocate just a fraction of the hours I spent watching tv / playing video games growing up, I'd be fluent in multiple languages.
Outside of that, I really can't complain too much.
Would've taken more CS classes to see if I was good at coding. Working in tech sounds so much nicer than finance.
What would you major in if you could go back? (Originally Posted: 10/23/2017)
If you had to redo undergrad, what would you major in? I'm interested in banking or consulting and am planning on studying finance but I also like econ, history, stat, and math. However, some of these are more practical than others.
So what would you study if you could do it all over again? Most versatile degree?
In general, the more quantitative, the more versatile. People will be more impressed and take you more seriously if you have a more quantitative/difficult degree. So CS or Math recommended
It really just depends on where you want to get hired. I am in the least quant degree imaginable (interdisciplinary liberal arts) and I received an offer for an internship within a BB IBD. If you're smart and they like you, the BB will train you.
Just some food for thought so you don't get locked into something you don't like
being an econ major at my school is like taking upper-level math classes, and i knew i wouldn't get a good GPA in it once i started taking departmental courses. so i'm majoring in english and getting a good GPA, playing to my strengths. if it were offered at my university, i would have considered majoring in business or finance.
i will say that i have no regrets about majoring in english though. definitely made me a more interesting, introspective, thoughtful person than i was before, and i think i'm better at communication.
Assuming I could have gotten into an Ivy, I would have majored in either English or history.
sounds suuuuper boring I don't know how people do that stuff
then again my dad studied english at an Ivy, but redeemed himself by playing football there and becoming a Navy Pilot
If I could go back, I would major in either Finance or Econ/Math from a Target School. Unfortunately, I am still suffering from the Non-Target curse and have to get a Masters to Redeem myself.
If you were to start all over again, what would you have done differently? (Originally Posted: 08/09/2011)
If you were to start all over again, what would you have done differently in college or jobs or relationships or whatever?
I would have found this site and M&I much earlier and networked a lot harder
This x1000
i would have studied computer science and gotten at a silicon valley startup.
You already know.
I would've started juicing earlier.
This one I didn't miss. Thanks, coach!
I might have just started a nice sports bar and grill in Chicago or a suburb. A few times now I've said something about the lack of a good place to go in a specific area and sure enough, each time a place has come in and been very successful. Plus, I know its not all glitz and glamor, but I'd love to have a place to call mine and be able to enjoy a nice cash flow from a successful place.
I know it's not too late, but with a wife, house and good salary I'm getting pretty risk averse these days.
Otherwise, I would've networked a lot more and pushed my own boundaries.
Ohh, and studied abroad/traveled more.
I would have gone to an Ivy league college and then military OCS. I took the advice of people I liked but didn't really respect and became one of them: I wasted the period of life from 17-26. Never again will I let anyone make ANY decision for me, or choose a relationship over my own development.
You and I are so similar it's scary.
Does that mean you're breaking up with me?
Funny, I would have done pretty much the exact same thing. I didn't want to go to college at all in high school, so I never had a really remarkable GPA or high SAT scores. I would redo high school, get killer grades, go to a top university, 4 years in the military, and then apply to MBA programs. I'm still considering OCS, but I'm a lot more unsure now since I'd be almost 31 when I finished b-school if I go that route.
Not waited this long to go to college :-p
Started networking during high school.
I am still an undergraduate student, but if I could do everything over again, I would get my head together in high school and make sure I get into a target. My problem was not that I was not intelligent enough, it was more so me not knowing anything of the real world. I would also make sure to find this website a lot earlier than I did.
The bottom line is that you can't "start all over again and do something differently." All you can do is change now.
I completely understand where you are coming from though, because I've definitely thought about this question (I mean hindsight is, well, 20/20). I'm just saying it's an unhealthy road to travel and only detracts from your current pursuits.
I am NOT travelling this road NOR am I dwelling too much. Once in a while, I do think about it, so I was just thinking what other people think.
I think it's important to look back to see where you fucked up and evaluate your current position based on that in order not to fall under the same path once again.
I would have taken the SATs and tried my best at getting into an industrial engineering program at a place like UCal-Santa Barbara or UIUC
double post
-Applied to more targets / Ivy league schools -Found this site and M&I earlier -Networked earlier -Shorted the S&P last Friday
I wouldn't change a thing. Went to a CUNY school and graduated with no debt, in fact 5k in my bank, got a job immediately, then got a wall street offer and I've been here for 5+ years now. Alhamdulillah.
I'm with you shera, four years irrational social exuberance at state school. Still got to wall street and got paid to go to school. Wouldn't change a thing.
I would change my high school girlfriend's face.
Not waste high school years being a christian
I would have came up with the idea for this website, kicked my ass in school to get into an ivy, and network my pants off.
Started a website were college kids could post drunk pictures of themselves and "poke" their classmates.
hahaha
LOL. Brilliant.
Nothing. I might not be in the best job I could have. But I'd rather be where I am than have regrets.
-chosen a different major -studied abroad / traveled more -networked wayyyy more
Honestly? I would have gone to a strong, public, in-state liberal arts school like UVa or the College of William & Mary and opted for 1 of 2 paths:
1) Would have majored in history and anthropology and become a history professor 2) Would have majored in history and political science and gone to law school to become a real estate attorney or a corporate lawyer
My strengths are in the "left side" of the brain stuff but for some reason opted for a mathematics heavy direction and now I do stuff in that. It is what it is...
Took things a lot more seriously in high school, learned a bit more about myself in college and figure things out sooner, not cheated on my ex, etc.
If you could start your career all over, what would you do? (Originally Posted: 10/22/2013)
So I am about to graduate college this spring and I was just wondering for those already in a career, what would you do differently? What area of finance/banking would you want to get into after the experiences you have now?
And of course any other comments/suggestions would be awesome.
Thanks!
I would probably go into some form of engineering instead of banking because it seems like there is such a strong demand for those skills these days. I don't know much about the pay scale but I imagine it can be pretty good.
This
I probably would have done an engineering undergrad (civil or materials science) and then go to b-school and concentrate in finance or quantitative finance.
Still what i'm doing now, but would have gone about it a whole lot different.
this
Still on wall street but as Oreos said, gone about it much differently. I remember thinking if I applied on 15 company websites I'd have numerous job offers...
I would have focused more on what company I would have wanted to be with for a few years as opposed to opting for a few extra thousand while knowing I was going to hate the firm and jumping ship early. Money is alot but it isn't everything about a job. Funny to be making that statement on this board.
Oreo, Bobb how would you have gone about it differently!?
Stronger internships and better networking. I had a few strong finance related internships but they weren't in the area I was targeting post graduation. I also didn't understand the value of networking until after I graduated. Basically, I wish I was aware of this site back when I was in college.
I'm a Big 4 auditor, so obviously, I would have tried to do consulting out of undergrad. But this is the proverbial rabbit hole, because to do that I would have had to go about college differently, which means getting into a different one, which means doing high school/volunteer work differently, which means likely erasing and rewriting a lot of what makes me who I am.
This is depressing...Big 4 auditor isn't so terrible in the grand scheme of things man.
I never really thought about this. Of course I wish that I was much more applied in high school and early college as well, but the experiences I had have made me who I am today, and I like who i am today. So that comment really made me think..
I probably would have been even more aggressive, covered more in less time, gotten to where I am now 2 or 3 years ago.
I probably would have stayed in college an extra year or two.
I wish I started reading WSO my freshman year of college or senior year of high school. It's been the best resource so far in my career.
I feel like I just read the testimonials page. If this comment isn't already there you should look into it!
I agree though. I just regret lurking for a year before posting.
work harder so I could be a megafund pe analyst rather than having to go through ibd first.
This dates a bit back, but:
I would have started networking when I was 16.
I would have also liked to take the entrepreneurial route to the top rather than finance. I still want to start a HF one day but that's not typically something you can do while you're young and most people that start HF's are rich by other means before they started. I'm talking about the feel good stories about the guy that dropped out of high school and and is now worth $10+ million from a business he built with his own hands. Think house flipper, construction, etc.
I wish I knew what I wanted to do about 1.5yr earlier so I would've prepared better, hit fewer bumps along the way and stressed a little bit less. I have to admit, though, that I made it as far as I wanted to so these are just "minor nits", as they say.
Step 1) Take loan, buy TSLA and NFLX futures Step 2) Retire
Seriously, though... I would've worked harder in school. You know how they always say your GPA doesn't matter or it only counts for that first job and after that everyone only cares about your performance?
Bullshit.
Go out more than I did during training. I remember coming in kind of nervous wanting to impress and not going out as much as I could have. Granted, I still went out 2-3 times a week but there were times I held back/said no 'cause I was worried about this or that assignment or thing we had to do the next day. In reality, no one really gave a crap as to how we did in training (as long as you weren't failing the tasks).
Petroleum Engineering > Big Oil (while working less than 50 hrs week) > MBA > Profit
Go to a top public school and not give a shit about "how nice the campus looked."
Start driving towards finance from the getgo, and not "explore" other majors.
Rest would have fallen in line...
Gone to one of the top targets H/W and tried to enter the buyside post undergrad as a MF PE analyst. I would have been so glad I would have skipped IB be4 finally landing a role of my choice at a MM pe firm.
I have been told that IBD is the main way to get into PE. What would you have done or could advise me to do to go straight into PE or get an internship as PE analyst.
I would have gone into technology.
Petroleum engineering
i throw a 3rd out there for petroleum engineering. Basically exactly what Texas Tea said.
I would not have eschewed the girl of my dreams for my career.
Oh wait, we're talking about professional career - well I would've been the biggest tool in the world in order to earn million and buy my way to true happiness.
Change nothing. Not kidding. Butterfly Effect man, don't wanna miss with that sh*t
I am graduating in the spring as well and landed a job at a top boutique. While I always worked extremely hard in school towards keeping a high GPA, I certainly took the time to "explore" other career paths before deciding that I wanted to do IBD. My route went from pre-med to accounting and then to IBD. I had a Big 4 internship which I absolutely hated and then had an IBD internship which I absolutely loved. It is easy to look back and say that you wish you had focused more in one area but I believe that is was very beneficial for me to explore multiple career options and I think that current and future undergrad students should as well. I am genuinely excited about the place I will be working knowing that I have had multiple work experiences and was able to evaluate each one based on past experiences.
I would agree with what everyone else said about having a good GPA, maintaining a strong network, and using this site as it has certainly been an asset in determining my career path. My advice for younger undergrad students is to explore any career interests that you might have while in undergrad because this is the easiest time to do so in your life and it is also the time when changing your mind creates the smallest setback. No matter what you think your career path will be in undergrad, strive towards a strong GPA from the first day you get to school and also develop a network as early as possible and start developing relationships with people that can boost your career.
I wish I figured out what I wanted to do earlier and had a clear focus from the beginning. I wasted a shit ton of time exploring majors that I wasn't interested in at all. However,mistakes like these make me more aware of the choices I make now so I avoid doing something that I will regret in the future.
Gone to a different university. For sure.
I would like to add one more onto Petro Engineering. Upstream oil and gas is damn good money with a much more relaxed culture.
I would have been more serious about extracurriculars, athletics, and other opportunities to practice my teamwork/leadership skills. Even (to some extent) if it came at the expense of my grades. This would have left me better prepared to hit the ground running when I started working, instead of feeling like it would be months before I could gain respect as successfully as my peers do.
Also, fighting bad habits like the plague. Relax all summer long? Go out drinking 4 times a week? Addicted to poker? Never exercise? Once you go down these roads you just start digging a hole for yourself - in worse performance of your responsibilities sure - but even more importantly, in repeatable decision-patterns stored in those neurons in your head. You then have to work even harder to rid yourself of them.
Having said that, it's all one continuous journey. We all make mistakes and we make them consistently. Then we wake up early the next morning, set a new action plan, and get it done now.
Just an observation, wisdom comes too late for action. But that's a good thing. If you aren't hacking your way through the jungle without a map you aren't living. And if too many things go right you never find out who you are.
Tried harder in high school.
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