What to do for a year?

December 21, 2007 7:26 AM

I'm graduating but want to do something unconvential before I start my business career. What?

I'm graduating college in May with a business degree but I'm not ready to settle down into a business career just yet. I'm still looking for new experiences, but I really dont know what new things I would want to do. Help me find that job/activity that I'm going to do for a year. Also, I want to be in NYC next year, so whatever this thing is, it should be do-able here (girlfriend is here.)

I'm probably going into business eventually, but I want to do something else--anything, I'm looking to DO more things then I have--for a year or two before I settle into a career in the business world. Obviously, If I find something I love, I could do that for good.

The kinds of suggestions I'm looking for are things like, "Become a baker! It is a wonderful recipie for one year of happiness and thinking about life!" or "do Teach For America, it changed my life" etc.

I would love to hear any suggestions or stories about past experiences that have impacted your lives or careers. My mind is open to ANYTHING. Please share!

(posted for a friend)

posted by milestogo to work & money (16 comments total)

What resources does your friend have available to him or her? For example, if he/she has a lot of money in the bank, a different course of action might be recommended than if he/she is near poverty-stricken, etc.
posted by WCityMike at 7:40 AM on December 21, 2007

try starting a business for a year. if it works out, you'll never have to work again :-P
posted by maulik at 7:46 AM on December 21, 2007

Do you know what kind of business you want to go into? That could influence what you choose to do with your year. If you think you'll go into working (and I'm obviously making this up) in the corporate offices of a hotel chain, try working as bellperson. If you want to go into education consulting, do Teach for America or something. If your future business career is something you have a passion for then doing something related might be both enjoyable and give you really good experience to use at your next job.

I think anything where you work around people from different walks of life is especially valuable but YMMV.
posted by pointystick at 7:48 AM on December 21, 2007

After college, I went to work on a fishing boat for a year. It was a terrific experience, in all the usual ways (romance, novelty, adventure, experience). And it paid better than anything I had done prior.

I think your friend is making a mistake asking others what his adventure should be. Whatever it is, if he commits himself to it while he's doing it, if he actually tries to become a good fisherman, or a good baker, or a good do-gooder at the park, the experience will be worthwhile and valuable and his own.
posted by notyou at 7:54 AM on December 21, 2007

the friend wants to work, and earn money, but it isnt because he's impoverished. The focus here is the job, not the salary. Thanks for all the responses so far btw.
posted by milestogo at 8:20 AM on December 21, 2007

Be a bartender. I actually left my job, as a college professor, to pursue the art of mixology. It has been a fantastic experience!
posted by AlliKat75 at 8:46 AM on December 21, 2007 [1 favorite]

reading stories of other peoples' life changing experiences is certainly heartwarming, but it doesn't do much to help you decide on a course of action. just because so-and-so had a great, awesome, and mind-blowing time doing such-and-such activity doesn't mean you will have the same experience. likewise, if someone had a horrible time trying something out, that doesn't mean you are guaranteed to have a bad go at it as well.

my advice? think about your passions. what is the one project you want to do? you know, that one thing you always wanted to do but somehow never made time for? go do that project.

it takes some serious soul searching, but the answer is different for everybody.
posted by tastycracker at 9:03 AM on December 21, 2007

My brother just got a Bachelor's in accounting business something. He has decided to work at a local landmark hotdog restaurant for a year before he starts his real career.
posted by 517 at 9:28 AM on December 21, 2007 [1 favorite]

Join the military.

It's what I regret not having done before I started my career.
posted by Argyle at 9:43 AM on December 21, 2007

I also just graduated in May, and I'm also interested in pursuing business school down the road. I'm currently an Americorps VISTA, and I highly recommend it.

Couple of reasons:

-the obvious, post graduation perks: loan deferment, basic health care, 1 year commitment, travel reimbursement, and an education award at the end (if you can handle making like, roughly $3 an hour. which sucks, but is doable. also - it's adjusted based on standard of living in the area, so NYC shouldn't be any more of a problem than anywhere else)

-VISTA is good business experience. Essentially, the program is doing business-y stuff within a non-profit. Don't know if that's your thing, but I want to go into business consulting for non-profits, and being a VISTA has been perfect for that. VISTA is based on doing "capacity building" for organizations. Which means, unlike most Americorps programs, it's not direct service. Rather, you'd be going to work at a non-profit (and essentially be just like the rest of the employees at the non-profit, except paid by the federal government) and helping them to improve their ability to achieve their mission. I do things like grant-writing, fundraising, building partnerships, etc. for my job. Also, I happen to be working specifically in a non-profit that is in the process of starting a social enterprise, which is essentially a small business within a non-profit. It's a hot trend nowadays, and you could probably find a non-profit in NYC doing something similar (the Center for Employment Opportunities comes to mind.) You can search the Americorps website for VISTA positions available.

-Working in a non-profit doing business-building stuff is very different from working in a for-profit. I've had both experiences, and I recommend working in a non-profit at least once to get a feel for how things are different. And, IMO, there's a growing trend in non-profits to be operating more like businesses anyway (largely, in my mind, due to the Bush tax cuts of funding streams available and the need to create built-in sustainability)


If you really want to do something unrelated to business altogether and you don't mind travelling, I would recommend Americorps NCCC, which is sortof like the peace core, except domestic. That program involves doing direct service at several different program sites (and locations across the U.S.) throughout the course of the year, and the people I know who have participated have nothing but glowing experiences to share.

Good luck!
posted by lunit at 9:47 AM on December 21, 2007

Join Blue Man Group.
posted by jeffamaphone at 10:40 AM on December 21, 2007

Teach for America is a two year commitment, but as noted above, Americorps has other programs, most of them in the 9 mo. to 1 yr. timeframe.
posted by solotoro at 10:57 AM on December 21, 2007

I have some friends who went to work at an organic farm coop (one in Peru) for a while and had a good time. If nothing else, it'll be a good joke that you have experience shoveling bullshit.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 11:24 AM on December 21, 2007

If nothing else, it'll be a good joke that you have experience shoveling bullshit.

Heh. The resume practically writes itself: "Shoveled bullshit in a multilingual setting."
posted by notyou at 12:06 PM on December 21, 2007 [1 favorite]

Within a week of graduating university, I was working as an Urban Park Ranger in the Bronx.

Urban Park Rangers are lovely people, and you're beset by absurd adventures like breaking up cockfights, adopting baby skunks, performing canoe rescue, teasing preschoolers with red-spotted newts, or chasing illegal vendors who are lugging fifty pounds of cotton candy. If you can get through the summer in a starched uniform, and know how to handle the occasional crackhead, you're set. I had to move out of NYC to help family, but I know folks who are still there for the long haul.

It was absolutely ace, and was an ideal jumpstart for the science teaching and environmental research I've done since. I really couldn't have asked for better.

You even get a hat.
posted by laughinglikemad at 2:29 PM on December 21, 2007

it's fairly easy to teach English in Asia after graduation. There are quite a few programs, like mine, that are catered to people just wanting to spend a year in-country before heading back home.
posted by trinarian at 7:59 PM on December 21, 2007