Written by Ashley Hayford, Director of University & Alumni Relations
With this semester being my last semester at Penn State, I’ve been constantly bombarded with the age-old questions… “Where are you planning to end up after school?” “Have you started applying for jobs yet?” “Do you have a job lined up for after graduation?”
It’s very overwhelming to hear these words from not just adults, but your peers, especially as a communications student whose prospective job applications didn’t release in the fall semester like a lot of my roommates’ and friends’ did.
However, against probably all advice you’ve received from your family, relatives, friends and academic advisors, I’m here to tell you as a graduating senior something you may either find comforting or terrifying: It’s ok to not know what you want to do professionally directly out of college.
Personally, I will be graduating with a Digital/Print Journalism degree and with experience in the following fields: journalism, public relations, marketing and governmental affairs. With all these interests and experiences we all gain in college, how are we expected to go out into the world when we are still relatively young and know at the snap of our fingers what path we want to go down for the rest of our lives?
A follow-up question that may linger in your mind is, “Why did I even get a college education if I didn’t know what I want to do with my life?” While this question seems valid, let me ease your mind.
Your time at Penn State was still valuable regardless of whether you went straight into a field that correlates with the words on your diploma or if you took a few years to discover yourself. These past four years you were able to become part of the percentage of people in the world who are lucky enough to get a college education and you were able to make professional connections that will last a lifetime.
Believe it or not, people — especially those in the communications field — are constantly changing their careers. Also, our field is always evolving, which allows for us to keep learning more about communications and ourselves as professionals in the process.
Just remember there is no set timeline to your professional career. If you realize five years after undergrad that you prefer the STEM industry to communications, follow your gut. If after a few years of sitting in a cubicle you decide you want to travel the world, book your flight. If you find business more interesting than communications, go learn about it.
After all, the first few years after undergrad are some of the most valuable years to discover your interests, your aspirations and yourself as a person.
Happy Valley Comm 