Help me while away my early 20s
July 28, 2010 9:25 AM Subscribe
Graduating from college in 9 months. Willing to travel anywhere, do (almost) anything. Suggestions?
I spent a lot of time thinking after my last question along these lines. It occurred to me that if pretty much everyone from my family to my professors to my friends in law school were telling me it was a bad idea, it was probably a bad idea. So that's out.
And I'm leaning toward taking some time off before grad school. (Even if I don't and go ahead and apply this fall, I've had some very intelligent friends get rejected from every school they applied to, and I realize the same could happen to me.)
So, now it looks like I'll probably need something to do with myself in 9 months. I have a couple of internships/fellowships I'm applying for, but they're selective. So I want to have some other possibilities as well.
I'd be perfectly happy bouncing around from 9 month stint to 9 month stint for a bit right after college. What I need, though, are meaningful or useful 9 month stints. So, for example, good: teaching English in Japan, assisting at a research station in Alaska, etc.; bad: shift manager at Arby's, ski bum, etc.
So, my question is: what are some specific opportunities I should be looking into, and what are some resources for discovering others?
A few notes: I'll have precious little in the way of capital when I graduate. I'm a philosophy + russian double major. I have few "practical" skills other than web design and a little Excel (unless you count "critical thinking" and "problem solving" - har, har). I have no geographic ties.
I want to do the kind of stuff people always say they wish they'd spent their years right out of college doing instead of locking themselves into 9-5s.
I spent a lot of time thinking after my last question along these lines. It occurred to me that if pretty much everyone from my family to my professors to my friends in law school were telling me it was a bad idea, it was probably a bad idea. So that's out.
And I'm leaning toward taking some time off before grad school. (Even if I don't and go ahead and apply this fall, I've had some very intelligent friends get rejected from every school they applied to, and I realize the same could happen to me.)
So, now it looks like I'll probably need something to do with myself in 9 months. I have a couple of internships/fellowships I'm applying for, but they're selective. So I want to have some other possibilities as well.
I'd be perfectly happy bouncing around from 9 month stint to 9 month stint for a bit right after college. What I need, though, are meaningful or useful 9 month stints. So, for example, good: teaching English in Japan, assisting at a research station in Alaska, etc.; bad: shift manager at Arby's, ski bum, etc.
So, my question is: what are some specific opportunities I should be looking into, and what are some resources for discovering others?
A few notes: I'll have precious little in the way of capital when I graduate. I'm a philosophy + russian double major. I have few "practical" skills other than web design and a little Excel (unless you count "critical thinking" and "problem solving" - har, har). I have no geographic ties.
I want to do the kind of stuff people always say they wish they'd spent their years right out of college doing instead of locking themselves into 9-5s.
Personally, I'd get a working visa for Australia or New Zealand and travel and work down there. It's quite common, and while maybe not exactly useful, I can't imagine it'll be something you regret doing when you're stuck in that 9-5 job ten years into the future.
posted by backwards guitar at 9:33 AM on July 28, 2010
posted by backwards guitar at 9:33 AM on July 28, 2010
Response by poster: Also, one note: I pulled 9 months out of thin air. 3 months, 6 months, 24 months - doesn't really matter. Hell, I'm open to career suggestions. I'm just not looking for a corporate ladder that starts at the copy machine and tops out at middle management.
posted by resiny at 9:37 AM on July 28, 2010
posted by resiny at 9:37 AM on July 28, 2010
You can't go wrong teaching English in Asia. You'll make great money, get good life experience, and have the opportunity to travel throughout the region when you're done. Best thing I ever did.
posted by fso at 9:41 AM on July 28, 2010
posted by fso at 9:41 AM on July 28, 2010
go WWOOFing if you want to travel :) Or, seconding going to New Zealand and Australia - lots of 20-somethings do that, it's fun and pretty easy to make friends along the way (my sister did this).
posted by lizbunny at 9:43 AM on July 28, 2010
posted by lizbunny at 9:43 AM on July 28, 2010
fulbright. Use your Russian skills and do it! I can attest that The Caucasus and Central Asia are not competitive for Fulbright apps.
you'll get paid, could conduct research, it looks great on a resume, have an adventure, etc.
me mail me if you want to chat about this.
I was Fulbright Armenia.
posted by k8t at 9:54 AM on July 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
you'll get paid, could conduct research, it looks great on a resume, have an adventure, etc.
me mail me if you want to chat about this.
I was Fulbright Armenia.
posted by k8t at 9:54 AM on July 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
If I wasn't so attached to Mr Shotglass and our pups, I would totally go for a stint at Raytheon.
posted by mrsshotglass at 9:59 AM on July 28, 2010
posted by mrsshotglass at 9:59 AM on July 28, 2010
2nding Fulbright. You might be a little late to be starting your application so I'd move quickly.
Besides that, I'd just encourage you to think BIG. Want to intern at the White House? Volunteer in a refugee camp? Help rebuild Haiti? The opportunities are there and if there are challenges, you are young enough to make it work and figure it out. If there's a place where you really want to intern but you need to make money, intern part time and work part time. Good luck!
posted by kat518 at 10:00 AM on July 28, 2010
Besides that, I'd just encourage you to think BIG. Want to intern at the White House? Volunteer in a refugee camp? Help rebuild Haiti? The opportunities are there and if there are challenges, you are young enough to make it work and figure it out. If there's a place where you really want to intern but you need to make money, intern part time and work part time. Good luck!
posted by kat518 at 10:00 AM on July 28, 2010
What about a domestic service program, like AmeriCorps? There's a huge variety of programs all across the U.S. doing everything from manual labor (building houses or clearing trails) to education. I did *NCCC, which is a traveling program during which you work with a team doing different types of projects and it was a great experience. Other AmeriCorps programs have you in one place doing one type of job, and those positions tend to be better for resume building. It doesn't pay much, but you get an education award to pay off student loans at the end of your service term.
posted by SugarAndSass at 10:21 AM on July 28, 2010
posted by SugarAndSass at 10:21 AM on July 28, 2010
I did a six-month work abroad program in Britain immediately after graduating from college in 2004, and it was one of the best experiences I've ever had. I paid a small fee to a company that obtained my short-term work visa, and the rest of it was entirely up to me in terms of finding my own job and accomodation, and there was plenty of time left over for travel.
I was even lucky to find a job in my chosen field, so it turned out to be meaningful professionally as well as culturally, and it's always the first thing people notice on my resume.
The company I went through has programs of varying lengths in Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, France, and Canada.
MeMail me if you'd like more information!
posted by anderjen at 1:09 PM on July 28, 2010
I was even lucky to find a job in my chosen field, so it turned out to be meaningful professionally as well as culturally, and it's always the first thing people notice on my resume.
The company I went through has programs of varying lengths in Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, France, and Canada.
MeMail me if you'd like more information!
posted by anderjen at 1:09 PM on July 28, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/shortterm/farm_jobs_agriculture.shtml
I would get some first hand accounts before anything else, though.
Also: if you don't mind paying, I've heard good things about language immersion programs in other countries. It wouldn't be the full 9 months, but it might be interesting.
posted by codacorolla at 9:32 AM on July 28, 2010