The long (term) of it

I am often approached by students who want to ‘know what to do’ regarding the choices they make in the short run while preparing for their career. Should the student pursue a particular internship opportunity? What classes should he/she take? The elephant in the room during many of these conversations is that a number of students have no long term plan and cannot voice their career goals; in fact, some students may have never thought about it. In my opinion, students in this situation are asking me to ‘tell them what to do.’ Make no mistake, there are students who are not like this, but I have this conversation several times per semester with multiple students who are juniors and seniors. So, with all due respect (and students are due a lot of respect), consider the following opinions.

Here’s what should be done. First, decide upon your long-term goals. By one’s junior or senior year this needs to be the most important aspect of her/his education. Do you want a job? Do you want to study more during a graduate education? Do you want to travel abroad? Do you not know what you want? Make the process explicit; it is best to be uncertain with awareness and a sense of responsibility. Students (people in general) have a tendency to skirt awareness when they are faced with impending uncertainty, but this can be disastrous. Such dodging of reality can be costly at a point in life when a student is developing career skills and is in the process of ‘becoming qualified.’ Students simply must make career choices. A choice may be to do nothing, but through taking responsibility for the process the student can move forward with less uncertainty and more confidence.

There is a lot to be uncertain about near the end of one’s undergraduate education; however, having no awareness of the long term makes the uncertainty worse not better. As precisely as possible, one should develop a ‘mission statement’ for her/his career (this will take time, effort, and ‘soul searching’). Mine would have read like “I want to become a professor of archaeology so that I can do research and teach in that field.” This was a long-term goal that I formulated during my undergraduate career at Arizona State University; yours may be similar or different. It must be yours. Such a mission statement should be your modus operandi during this period of uncertainty.

Second, make short-term career decisions only with your long-term goals in mind. The classes one takes this semester or next matter in terms of the skills and knowledge that one gains. A particular class may appeal to you, but if it does not help build toward your mission, then it must be prioritized below taking those courses that serve your long-term goals. This type of thinking should permeate your entire education on a daily basis if you are serious about your career. For example, this thinking should influence your study habits. You should know how your professors view the world; we default to logic that reads like “if a student cares about their long term career goals, then they are serious about each day of class now.” Now matters; everything that a student will be stems from the decisions he/she makes today, tomorrow, and down the road.

Third, be assertive with your goals. When you encounter opportunities that will help you make progress toward your career goals; pursue them with confidence. Do this with a sense of respect, and if an opportunity does not pan out, be on the lookout for new ones.

The paucity of long-term thinking in today’s education system relates to social values in general. Students argue (with me) that there is not ‘crisis of curiosity.’ Yet, the emphasis of education today is ‘time to graduation’ and ‘getting a degree.’ The lifelong implications of a college education have been simplified down to ‘getting a degree pays better’ and one ‘needs a college degree to succeed.’ To what end? In my opinion, this type of thinking is short-sighted because it does not incorporate roles for curiosity and the discovery of one’s passion. It may be that a person must work at a job to ‘get by.’ Should the goal of a college education simply be to help people ‘get by?’ Or should it represent more than that?