Now that I’m a full year out of college, I’ve had some time to think deeply about my college experience, and there are a lot of things I would have done differently.
I went to a small, private liberal arts university in the south. It’s well-ranked and was very expensive, but luckily I graduated with no debt thanks to my very supportive parents and a few small merit-based scholarships. (I also supported myself as much as possible by holding jobs on campus all four years.)
One of the reasons I chose my school was because they had a program which guaranteed me admittance to their law school if I maintained a certain GPA due to my standardized test scores. [The ACT was my best friend during the college admissions game. :) ]
Yes, for some strange reason, yours truly thought he wanted to go to law school. Ha. A year working for the law school admissions office cleared that right up. Who wants to be a headcase for three years and then enter a suicide- and depression-laden profession? Not this boy.
So, between my freshman and sophomore years I decided what would really make me happy would be becoming a veterinarian. So, I officially declared myself a biology major and eagerly signed up for 8:15am genetics. Luckily I had enough AP credits from high school so that I would be able to complete the biology major coursework even though I began as a sophomore.
Halfway through junior year (after having spent the summer as a veterinary assistant), I realized that although I do feel strongly about helping animals, it wasn’t something I was interested in as a career. [Factoid: Did you know veterinarians have a much higher-than-average suicide rate due to their high-stress levels and easy access to chemical euthanasia agents? More importantly, why was I attracted to high-stress, depressive professions in college?]
In May 2007 I graduated college without a firm plan for making it big with my B.S. in biology and my history minor.
Luckily, my experience as a website manager for one of my university’s schools’ websites was enough to get me a position in online ad operations (though that job didn’t last long).
These days I’m much happier in my current role as a semi-technical hire at a web development company. But it pains me that I could be much further along in my career had I done college differently. I certainly could be making more money, for instance, if I had a stronger technical background.
If I was granted a magical college do-over while retaining all the important Life Lessons I’ve learned, here’s what I think I would do:
- I would have picked a major that aligns with my interests and has the possibility of paying well. I did love the biology major (molecular bio and organic chemistry excepted), but entry-level jobs for a biology B.S. degree are competitive and pay poorly. The good jobs in biology all require an M.S. at the very least, and even most of those aren’t well compensated. I would have been better off with some combination of business and web technology, and probably just as happy since I am also interested in those subjects.
- I would have gone to a more prestigious school. Don’t get me wrong, my university was ranked well and has an excellent academic reputation. But I received an application from Princeton out of the blue during college application season, and I think a part of me will always wonder, What if…?
- Failing that, maybe I would have gone to a less prestigious school. With my AP credits I’d probably have been able to finish in 3 years at a less challenging school, saving my parents lots of money. Also I’d probably have a lot more free time to work on building my professional skill-set rather than poring over useless Calculus 2 problems.
- I would have gone to school in a large, liberal city, like D.C., San Francisco, or maybe Miami. Being gay in a small, southern city isn’t much fun. Partly, it’s a numbers game, because there are more gay people to meet in a large city than a small one. But it’s also about being in a place where people hate you less for being different—and let’s not forget that gay friendly cities tend to have better economies (pdf).
- I would have tried to find a corporate internship for the summer before senior year. When I graduated college, my resume only included a few campus jobs plus my summer with the veterinary hospital. Some first-hand corporate experience would have been good preparation for the business world because unfortunately, few entrepreneurs recognize the inherent character-building that comes with drawing blood from a Basset hound.
- I would have started applying for post-college jobs long before February of senior year. Even the few months’ head-start I gave myself was not enough time. I didn’t accept a job offer until August after graduation, which meant three insufferable months of living at home with my parents. I simply had no idea the job search process would take as long as it did. (To give you an idea how slow some of these companies move: An HR representative from Target.com called me in December to talk about a position I applied for in July. Wow.)
- If in my do-over I failed to get a job immediately after graduating, I would have moved to my desired city and started temping right away. Instead, I stupidly waited for months until I found a “good fit” which turned out not to be such a good fit after all. And though D.C. slash NoVA isn’t terrible, I let the city pick me rather than the other way around.
- I would have had more sex. Because… well, why not? Apparently it’s more important than making a lot of money.
One thing I won’t do is beat myself up for my respectable-but-not-4.0 GPA. Who wants to hire a kid with a perfect GPA anyway?
What about college do you wish you could redo?
One year ago today I had no idea I’d be living in Northern Virginia. (But then again, I had no idea where I’d be. Maybe California? Or Wisconsin? Or North Carolina?)
For my next car, I’d like to get a used Toyota Prius or Honda Civic Hybrid. I’m not so concerned with the cost of fuel— I just want to make an environmentally conscious decision. Also, both cars have good ratings with Consumer Reports.
My livelihood is made in the internet industry, and then I blog on my own personal website in my spare time. So yeah, I’m kind of a computer nut.
Upon reading this saving goal, many of you will scoff and promise never to visit this blog again. “How can he say that he’s trying to be frugal when he’s planning one of the most superficial indulgences money can buy? Is he really that shallow?”
