New, I think I am grasping at straws here.

Hey!
My name is Zack and I am 21. I'm going to be graduating from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a BS in Business and Economics this December. I have a 4.0 GPA here including A+'s and I am currently taking a semester in Japan. I never thought I would make it to University and while I was in school the only goal I worked towards was Japan. I am nearing the end of my semester in Japan and will be returning to the U.S. shortly. I had assumed I would just attend the Economics master's program and then take employment through a recruiter at UNCG because this would be easiest. Due to various reasons, I have taken on extra courses this coming semester ending in Dec so I can graduate and move to Chicago. I was pretty much given a guaranteed acceptance to UNCG, but since I will be in Chicago I am rethinking my goals. I really have no idea what corporate life is like, both of my parents have worked in retail as lower management or sales associates most of their life. I am kind of lost as to what I should do after December. I made an account here with the hopes that some older members could possibly share their experiences or offer advice.

 
Best Response

first off, welcome. I think it's hard to know what the corporate world is like until you actually try it. It sounds like you are graduating early in December? If that is the case (or even if it's not), I would immediately read as much as you can on the various industries and see what interests you. the markets, trading, M&A?

In parallel with that you should be building out your network on LinkedIn and in real life. The goal being that when you are done in December, you can do an extended internship if needed or rotate through a few internships.

For someone with your grades and not a great idea of what you want to do, an FLDP program might be a good fit since you get to see a variety of functions within a large corporation. Our Corporate Finance guide dives into these FDPs into great detail to give you a feel if it's for you: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/guide/finance-development-programs-an-ov…

Good luck and welcome! Patrick

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