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mentor@psu.edu

“Business,” my uncle said to me at Thanksgiving dinner. “You want to get a good, solid degree in business. Pass the potatoes.”

“Business?” I asked. “Uncle Mike, I don’t think that I ...”

“No, no. Phlebotomy is the next big thing,” Aunt Molly said from across the table. “Phlebotomists are really in demand right now. The field’s wide open.”

“What’s a phlebotomist?” I asked.

“Laura, don’t listen to them,” Aunt Ellen said. “Think about what you want to do every day for the rest of your life. Do you want to work with people? Answer phones? Sit in front of a computer?”

At Thanksgiving of 1996, I was almost finished with my first semester at Penn State, and my relatives, all PSU alumni, were eager to give me advice. I was enrolled in the Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS), a unit for students who have not decided on a major. My problem was not that I didn’t like these ideas, but that I liked them all. I wanted to do everything, but I did not want to do one thing for the rest of my life.

I thought about going to law school, becoming a lawyer, protecting the rights of the innocent and prosecuting the scum of the world, but the job probably isn’t as interesting as it seems on “Law and Order.” I thought about becoming an anthropologist, traveling to South America, sleeping in a tent, living with an exotic tribe, and studying its behavior. But I couldn’t stand the thought of taking a statistics class – and, besides, I don’t mind roughing it every now and then, but at the thought of months of bugs, not to mention wild animals, I gave up on anthropology.

My mother often said, “Why don’t you become a writer and write about those things?” The idea was appealing, but writing is not a steady career. I thought that becoming an English major would make sense for someone like me who enjoys reading and writing, but at the time, I thought the only steady thing I could do with an English degree was teach English.

I imagined that declaring a major would lock me into one or two career options, sort of like selling my soul to a devil cleverly disguised as a helpful adviser. (In fact, I used to have a recurring nightmare to this effect, after which I would wake up in a cold sweat, screaming, “But I’m not sure! I’m just a kid!”)

In reality, my adviser was very helpful. He encouraged me to enroll in a wide variety of classes, from political science to genetics, to see if I had an interest in the subject matter. One class my adviser recommended was Career Decision Making, which I took during the spring semester of my first year. The purpose of the class was to help students discover their interests and abilities and to explore methods of deciding on careers. I was skeptical of how helpful the class would actually be. My parents, on the other hand, hoped I would emerge with a lucrative career plan all mapped out. Well, they were disappointed; I finished the class no more sure of what I wanted to do than when I started. But I did acquire valuable skills and learn some important lessons.

I learned that before making a decision I would need to have an idea of what I wanted out of life. I realized that I had to consider not only what I was good at or what appealed to me, but also what my long-term goals were and how a certain career would fit with those goals.

I also researched various professions I was interested in and interviewed professionals about their career histories. This was very enlightening. One person I interviewed owns a small advertising agency, but majored in English. She said she always loved to write and was a reporter for her school newspaper, but she was also interested in advertising. She belonged to the advertising club in college and worked on projects through the organization but didn’t take advertising classes. She values experience over formal education. So, when she evaluates a job applicant, she is likely to hire the person with experience even if he or she did not take advertising classes.

Although the decision-making class was very helpful, I still wasn’t sure about a major by the end of my sophomore year. But I’d reached the time limit for DUS enrollment, so I had to decide. All I knew was I liked to write; I’d taken two fiction-writing classes that year and loved them. I wanted to be a novelist. But I knew I would need something to fall back on. Many of my favorite authors began as creative writing teachers at universities; teaching would keep me in the world of creative writing and allow me time to write for myself. So, majoring in English made the most sense, even though I was not completely certain, and the answer hadn’t fallen into my lap as I’d thought it would.

During my junior and senior years, I was exposed to other options for someone who wants to write professionally. The summer after my junior year, I had an internship as a technical writer. It was a great introduction to business, and I was amazed to learn that many of the other writers had not majored in a technical field, but were trained by the company after being hired.

During my senior year, I took an editing class and had an internship that involved a great deal of editing, something that I’d never considered doing. It’s very different from writing papers or stories. But after having the actual hands-on experience, I’ve decided that editing appeals to my sense of organization and order. I realize I am interested in the process, and I may pursue it as a career or at least the start of one.

In my search for a potential career, through classes, interviews, and internships, I’ve learned a lot about myself and how I might find fulfilling work. Although I was not sure when I declared my major, I’ve discovered that my degree in English will not limit me to one type of job but can lead to many exciting possibilities. I chose English in the first place, however, because I love to write. And perhaps the most important lesson I’ve learned is that all the money and prestige in the world can’t compare to having a job that I love.