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Hi everyone,
Cliff's notes: what career? skills listed at bottom I warn you it is kind of long. I think this forum has been used for career advice b4, so I thought I would give it a shot, move it if it needs. Im finishing college this fall with a degree in Int'l Relations. GPA: ~3.71 I did coursework towards a minor in International Business, but I decided I didn't want to go another semester just to get the minor. I have about 12 hours in IB. My major emphasis is Latin American studies, I speak/write Spanish and will possibly learn Portuguese. I know choosing a career is mostly about what I want to do with my life, but I still have way too many options and could use some help narrowing stuff down. I have a strong interest in International Business and Investing. I have maintained my stock portfolio for a few years. I have strong computer skills with experience in all Office products, Dreamweaver, HTML, some javascript, a little bit of C/C++ programming, computer repair, networking, etc. I have held student assistant jobs with computers, and did computer consulting jobs on the side (with references) I don't have certificates, but could get them if needed. Id like to get into an International Business kind of job that involved traveling&investing, but I don't know where to start with that. Im in the Bay Area. I do not want to move to Washington, D.C. to get a government job. I would work for government elsewhere though, I just hate D.C. I am willing to move out of country. I am also willing to work long hours at a job short term to earn good money, although long term I would prefer to work an easy job for less pay, I can easily live off 25k/year while saving. I could go to grad school. Options are PolySci Ph.d at Stanford, Berkeley, or Rice; Master's of Intl Economics at USF, Master's in IR from State, M.B.A. from anywhere, or Or Ph.d in Economics from one of these schools, but I would have to take 2 more semesters of math, currently just have Calculus. Ph.d programs are extremely difficult to get into. I have good odds at Berkeley, but longshot at Stanford. One professor who did Phd at Stanford says it wasn't worth it. The program takes 7 years. My dad also thinks polysci degree is fairly worthless. He is a successful businessman, but had an undergrad in polysci. Other options include taking one of the jobs below or going off and joining PeaceCorps. I did Americorps in Boston and enjoyed it, but PeaceCorps is longer and more difficult. My current job at my school has offered to take me full time for about 45k/year to start, but the job is computer documentation work which I don't enjoy. It is flexible though if I wanted to do a Master's and would give me free tuition. One old boss has had an offer on the table for me to come back to my home state and take over his business as he slowly works towards retirement. It is a self-owned HVAC business. I worked there 2 years, but would have to get certified to run it. He gets about 80-100k/year, but does a lot of under the table work. It would only be like 25k/yr for we to work there to start, but I would pull in around what he is getting after he retires in 5-8 years. I enjoy the work, but not to a great extent. Also, I have about 16k in savings. I could use this to start a business with my dad's help. Not sure of the viability of that option though. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated, as are questions. I listed relevant facts below to help. Thanks!!! relevent facts: 3.71 GPA IR major, with IBUS coursework Lots of job experience Skills in Computers (started out as a CompSci major before switching) also held 3 computer jobs Previous bosses are very happy with me, have given me good recommendations and will continue to do so Generally, at top of most of my classes, professors will supply very good recommendations. Languages: Working on Spanish fluency, currently intermed. |
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