Post college grads come here

[Aldaron]

Or if you didn't go to / dropped out of college, that is fine too (basically not interested in people still in undergrad or younger)...I guess soon to graduate people can respond too...

It's kind of a lullish week at work, so naturally I'm curious about...smogon.

What're you all doing with yourselves? I'm not gonna bother talkin about myself cause most people who talk to me already know and I'm more interested in what you guys are doing.

If you're in grad school, tell me what you're doing, why you chose that academic pursuit, what interesting researching you're working on; if you're working, tell me where, why you chose that organization, where you see yourself in 5 or 10 years (or whatever).

If you're doing nothing...tell me why and what you're looking to do in the short and long term.

I'm really curious to know if there is a particular trend or trends for where smogonites go with their lives.

 

[Arch]

Welp not usually a regular on the forums but anyhow...

Graduated like 3-ish months ago. Got a job as a Graphic Designer / Digital Specialist (which really means they slap me on projects anywhere under the entire Adobe Creative Suite sun). Pretty chill, saving up money to pay off the little debt I have left. Hoping to get a Subaru WRX (hatchback awww yis 2 go do things n shiet) within the next year and probably gonna try and pursue making music and playing some live shows in my spare time and on weekends. Fairly steady going over the next year or two, hoping to move to Austin or New York eventually.

 

[SOMALIA]

Graduated in July in Mechanical Engineering. Was debating whether to follow a research route (PHD) or just get an engineering graduate job and get some experience under my belt as I lack any. I don't want to do a Masters degree simply because I want to end up with a PHD at the end of the day and a masters is just a waste of a year if I already know exactly what I want to be researching. Still haven't got an engineering job and waiting for replies to my research applications. Currently working as Mathematics & physics tutor. What frustrates me is that i never done an internship during my bachelors degree (due to circumstances then preventing me to do so) meaning that it will be pretty damn hard to get a job as a) most graduate jobs require a year or two of experience in the industry which is pretty stupid 2)many other vacancies are for graduates..BUT..BUT, with a masters degree (Msc, MEng)

By the looks of things, I am hoping to hopefully get accepted by one of the universities I applied to, finish my researching then get few years experience in the gas & oil industry.

 

[Acklow]

Hoping to get a Subaru WRX (hatchback awww yis 2 go do things n shiet)

Yes please.

Working with my uncle as a general contractor. Mainly administrative support functions, but also as assistant manager of his company. We do exterior work on homes and businesses. It's an interesting gig so far but I hope to do something different two years from now. At this time it is an important step for me as this kind of experience is good on my resume.

 

[theamericandream38]

Graduating in May with an undergrad in Philosophy.... currently praying that my girlfriend can carry us financially because my degree is utterly useless and I have no idea how I will obtain any sort of respectable employment.

 

[Spinda]

currently praying that my girlfriend can carry us financially

Ah, the american dream.

 

[jeb4]

Graduated a year ago from undergrad as a cs major and got a pretty good job, I already have 2 years reserve. At this rate I'm pretty sure I could've been fine not going to college and just worked at a normal job. I don't really spend the money I make so freely so it's kinda just looking pretty and that's about it.

 

[Jorgen]

Grad student in Neuroscience. Just started. I like scientific thinking in general, see myself being a scientist, and want to hone my skills in the art of doing science. Cheesy, I know, but true nonetheless.

Neuroscience in particular is my chosen field because the nervous system as a whole (not just the brain, although it's obviously the most complex part) is so complex and has so much that's only hazily understood about it right now, plus it only really started being a big science fairly recently compared to, like, Physics, so it's cool to jump into a field with so much potential. Oh, and nervous system disorders are, by and large, things you mitigate (if that!) rather than actually fucking fix, so it'd be cool to contribute to a field that can be drawn from to yield treatments down the line.

It's a bit premature to say what research I'm doing because I'm still rotating and am still kind of orienting myself with what I'm doing in my current lab, so yeah.

 

[GatoDelFuego]

Am I doing it right

 

[Style_Dota]

Graduated with a Mathematics Degree in May and have the per-requisites for Med School.

Currently working as a Tennis Coach and a High School Mathematics Tutor while studying for the MCAT. The hope is to do decently well on it and get into some med school within the US.

 

[VKCA]

Graduating in May with an undergrad in Philosophy.... currently praying that my girlfriend can carry us financially because my degree is utterly useless and I have no idea how I will obtain any sort of respectable employment.

if you don't mind me asking the obvious question
why'd you get into it in the first place? just interest?

 

[ginganinja]

graduating this december in Political Science, History, and International Relations. IDK what ill actually do now, hopefully government policy work or something but guess ill take whatever job I can and get some money flowing in before going on a part university funded / part own income trip to China late next year.

 

[theamericandream38]

if you don't mind me asking the obvious question
why'd you get into it in the first place? just interest?

Yeah, it was one of the few fields that I was actually motivated enough to finish the work for, so I figured I would rather graduate with a useless degree than drop out =p

 

[Fortuit]

Fresh out of philosophy graduate program at the Sorbonne. Apply to self: where is life headed?
From theory to practice.

 

[omgocd]

I graduated in May this year (biomedical engineering). Right now I'm applying for jobs and preparing for the GRE (which I'm going to take soon). I plan on going to grad school for molecular biology next year. I kind of wish I would've decided I wanted to go to grad school earlier and just started this year, but I had no idea what I wanted to do going into my last year of college.

 

[Aldaron]

As usual Justin8649, you are wrong. I'm not going to infract you but this topic is semi serious, don't be a dick, as hard as it is for you.

Really interesting to see the engineering kids (I'm a BME myself); as for whoever said they didn't want to do the masters...do it!

Even if you want to do phd track, you can get a masters during it (at least in the states), and then if you ever feel the total track is not for you, simply go into industry with an advantage over most of your peers.

As for the philosophy majors...good luck :X

Masters in computer science maybe?

 

[Misty]

Graduated with a Master's in Computer Science in 2010, got a job doing software in the local government sector. It's a shitty sector. x) Mostly I took the job because I was kind of worried about job prospects given the economy in 2010. That said, it's been a good job, the people I work with are cool, and the pay+benefits are excellent. Hours are a bit long though, and my bosses are pressing me to work more :| In 5 to 10 years... I'll be somewhere between 32 and 37 ^___^

 

[Brammi]

Should have graduated by now but I was doing a bit of part time and shuffling of courses. Plan to do Postgrad though.

 

[Soul Fly]

Hi, nowhere near graduating but a freshman doing undergrad in English. What kind of fields and options are open after doing such a degree beyond the patent, Masters+PhD, Law, etc etc etc?

 

[Brammi]

Hi, nowhere near graduating but a freshman doing undergrad in English. What kind of fields and options are open after doing such a degree beyond the patent, Masters+PhD, Law, etc etc etc?

Academia is always there. Especially if you plan on doing Masters and PhD, because you'll likely get hired before you finish then get given an offer when you finally finish and then you either take it or hope to god you find something better quickly.

 

[biggie]

I'm currently an accountant; I've been working at a school for children and adults with developmental disorders for 5 years now. I like what I do and where I work, but am debating going to get my masters or looking elsewhere for other opportunities.

 

[Fishin]

Finished my 2-year Computer Engineering degree earlier this year and got a job at a server hosting company. It's a pretty solid job and I like my co-workers and I'm learning a ton, the more I learn, the more I realize I don't know.

I have some concerns about it long-term due to recurring wrist problems (evidently spending virtually all of both your work and leisure time in front of a computer isn't the best idea) but w/e.

 

[billymills]

Really interesting to see the engineering kids (I'm a BME myself); as for whoever said they didn't want to do the masters...do it!

Even if you want to do phd track, you can get a masters during it (at least in the states), and then if you ever feel the total track is not for you, simply go into industry with an advantage over most of your peers.

Finishing Bachelors in April and this kinda applies to me. I really want to go away for graduate school but don't really have a project or program (or school) in mind. There seem to be so many options when it comes to grad school that it seems near impossible to narrow down alongside a full undergraduate course load.

 

[Mr.E]

Started in 2004 for pharmacy. Got screwed over by my advisor being bad and a professor with an unprovoked grudge against me, ultimately carried on and graduated in May 2011 with a B.S. Biochemistry. Had part-time work in an environmental lab for almost exactly six months before being fired over "trust issues" (i.e. a co-worker was badmouthing me to management, then they fired me despite no actual evidence and without allowing me to rebuff the allegations), spent over a year unemployed and only recently picked up full-time work in a crummy factory doing shitty manual labor for menial pay and requiring none of the skills I went to school for (or much of any other skills, for that matter).

Life's great sometimes.

Should've been leaving school as a doctor already in a job making six figs, instead graduate with a bachelor's, about four times as much debt (because I lost my scholarship after leaving the pharmacy program) and I can't even find a god damn job let alone one that pays something more than I can make with a high school degree.

My mom is an accountant for the local government, so I'm hoping my life turns out like hers. She worked "crummy factory job" for 18 years before going back to school for a degree and now has a respectable career. I hope it doesn't take me that long to get somewhere decent in life, considering I went to college right out of high school and not in my mid-30's, but you know what I mean. I really liked my lab job, so I'm trying to get certified as a wastewater operator and maybe next time a position opens up at the local wastewater treatment plant, I won't be their second best candidate.

 

[Myzozoa]

As for the philosophy majors...good luck :X

Masters in computer science maybe?

Ph.d or it isn't worth it imo. At my uni, philosophy undergrads might take a maximum of 4 classes in logic and none of them require programming. To acquire the programming skills necessary and then get an MA probably wouldn't be more than a year or two quicker than a ph.d