The Tri-Lite

Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: Opinion

I can't remember the first time I heard someone mention graduate school, but I'm sure I disregarded it because it surely had nothing to do with me. As a college freshman, I didn't care about the future, I only cared about the present (if that at times.) I told myself that getting through four years of college would be very difficult, but also rewarding, as I would be the first person in my immediate family to graduate from college. At the end of my college career, I knew everything would just fall into place - with no special or apparent help from me.

As a high school senior, I procrastinated. I waited until November and December to visit campuses instead of getting a jump on things in my junior year. The reason I waited so long was because I didn't know I wanted to go to college until I received my first acceptance letter. Last semester, I told myself that I didn't need to go through that process again. I just needed to get a job. Because, as college students, we are adults who make our own decisions. There is no mandatory meeting with the guidance counselor to attend to discuss our future plans; if you want help, you have to ask for it yourself.

As always, I had no idea what to do next. I went to see Don in the Career Center to talk about my options. He gave me the names and e-mail addresses of Holy Family Alumni within my field, looked at my resume, and - because I had been considering graduate school - he gave me a copy of the 2007 edition of Graduate School Guide. Although his encouragement and positive attitude was helpful, I still had a lot of my own research to conduct.

Since the beginning of the semester, I have been asking friends for job searching tips, and searching the internet for information about graduate school - what to expect and how to pay for it. If you're like me - a somewhat clueless senior who is a little unsure - or if you're an underclassman just looking for some helpful peer advice, read on for the best websites to get you started.

If you have yet to check it out, log on to Craigslist.org for interesting job postings in the Philadelphia area - as well as postings for just about everything else. Even if you're not ready to begin applying for positions, Craigslist is a great source to research prospective job titles and categories. Also, don't be discouraged by the minimal amount of job categories because there are many different kinds of jobs under each section. For instance, under "education," there are postings for curriculum developers, tutors, and camp counselors, and under "writing," there are postings for bloggers and even resume writers. Also, if your ideal field isn't listed, just type a word into the search box for specific results. My only gripe is that you must reply to an e-mail, and a phone number is almost always never given.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools