How to get busy? What should I do?
I'm a junior in college. well, kind of. I transferred to Northeastern University after finishing my 3rd year, and am considered a junior here cos of course requirements. Changed from an econ major at previous uni to a combined econ/business major here. Haven't decided on my concentration. Transferred because I felt like I needed more time to figure out what I wanted to do, and also to look for more opportunities. Little/no real internship experience.
Every now and again I see my friends land this internship or that role on linkedin or whatever, and I get this itch that I should be doing more than just study for my classes. Saw a guy get an IB internship, and I was for a brief moment interested in it but I didn't really do anything with that small interest. Recently heard that one of my friends has just landed a consulting job at one of the top firms. Asked him how much he's gonna be making, said 100k base. Now I have this feeling of "I wish I was in consulting" or "I wish I did this or that" - the same feelings I had when I was interested in investment banking. My friends have all internships here or there, and now some of them are at the stage where they're getting jobs, and then there's me: still doing nothing, just on track to graduate a year later than everyone else.
Now I'm basically asking, "what do I want to do with my life?" and the answer is pretty much IDK, but I've come to the conclusion that I can't wait to know what I want to do to start...doing stuff. I need a good plan to default to, I need to get somewhere before I want to do anything. But, at the same time, I don't know how to even take the first step.
The reason I was interested in IB, and now consulting, is not anything deep. I could probably attribute it to random chance, comparing myself to my peers, and obviously the surface-level prestige that surrounds these industries. But, I do know that the people in these industries are usually driven. And I think that's the center of all this. Whatever the route they take, the industry they're in, the school they went to, they're all driven enough to make something of themselves.
So, what should I do?
What can I do, starting from right now, at this point, to really make a change in my life that I won't regret? I don't go to a top university that recruits people, I don't know anything about getting internships, I don't have any practical skills or knowledge in business, finance, consulting, or really - I got nothing. I don't even know if I want to get into these industries and if I'd be walking into a trap of a life I don't enjoy. I just want to have this path where I work hard and make something of myself.
I don't think I'm that passionate about any kind of work in particular. But, since I don't really have anything else going for me, and I'm this deep into this thing called college, I think it'd probably be a good insurance policy for me to aim towards a good paying job. At the end of the day, I just want to not fall behind in life, y'know? Like, the last thing I want is to graduate out of college unemployed or employed with a low-paying job and be stuck in that for years and years and who knows what after that. I probably sound so bitchy rn but those are my feelings.
And then there's another side of me that thinks these feelings are stupid and I shouldn't pursue these things just because society says you should, cos it might make me really unhappy in the end. But IDK man, I'm already unhappy RN and I'm starting to think society's right. But, again, these feelings of "don't do it for someone else", "you're gonna live a life of unhappiness doing this" is also there.
I think, in the absence of something to pursue, successfully getting into a top firm in one of these industries, getting paid, and getting good work experience + good exits is just a generally good thing to do. So, I feel like, right now, I should be aiming to do that. But, where do I start?
I'm studying remotely right now. About to get back on campus tho. I have like 1.5-2 years until I graduate. And I've gone through these episodes of existential crisis and guilt for lack of productivity several times now, and want to stop them from happening + just get my shit together career-wise. I also don't want to ignore these feelings and want to make sure this time round I actually do something with my life and follow a plan that brings me somewhere.
So, what should I do?
sorry if this was a mess. if anyone read this, thanks i guess.
All your points and feelings are valid and you're definitely not alone at all. I would say the majority of college students have felt this way at some point. No one actually has it all figured out, except for people who start private equity recruitment while they're still in the womb.
What you need to do now is start talking to as many people as possible. Talk to your friends about what they're interested in and why they're interested in it. Sometimes hearing people talk about things they're passionate about can rub off on you, and after talking to a lot of different people in different fields maybe you'll really connect with someone. Get on LinkedIn or Handshake or Northeastern's career site and start sending messages. "Hello, my name is blank, a junior at Northeastern. I noticed you work in X industry at Y Company and I was wondering if you could offer any insights on your experiences there and what got you started in that industry."
Literally send some shit like that and you'd be surprised how much people like to talk about themselves. Then once you discover something that really sparks your interest, really push yourself to get an internship for the summer going in to your senior year. There's plenty of forums on WSO about how to get internships with zero experience that don't involve having your dad be an MD at Goldman. Just whatever you do don't sit around feeling bad about yourself. Time to get to work. Good luck king.
thank you. just curious, is it too late for me to get internships for this upcoming summer?
dude it’s never too late. just put the time in and something will work out
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