My 5-Step Guide to Get From Class to Career—As If I Planned It

My class to career experience can be summed up as a series of rewarding accidents. This guide will walk you through how to make the most out of undergrad to secure a job and get on the road to a rewarding career path.

Step 1: Do internships that sounds even remotely interesting

This is kinda the point of this ~4 year period. Try stuff. Experiencing what any given career path can look like is a win-win:

1. You love the experience and want to do more of it.
   
2. You get turned off and can check off another experiential pathway on your list.
   

I started my first internship in the second semester of my freshman year and held about one internship per academic year until I graduated.

NYU's ROSES Program let me be an advocate for 11 weeks. I was paired with a young girl—involved in the juvenile justice system for truancy. I didn't become a full-time advocate but this experience became the first of many centered around education. I didn't know it then, but I had found my through line.

Step 2: Find your mix of productive content you can't put down

You're already reading and watching a lot in your classes. But getting to select your major and a handful of electives doesn't mean you're guaranteed to love all of your homework:

• Find that newsletter that makes you feel smarter each time you scroll to the end.
• Subscribe to that podcast that you can knock out while you clean your room.
• Take a chance on that series you've seen advertised over and over again.
  

When the pandemic whisked me to my childhood home for the sophomore and junior year I read what felt like half of my family's home library.

The Nanny Diaries is about a nanny who's an undergrad at NYU majoring in early child education. The parts of the plot that talked about her studying Piaget and memorizing psychology terms really interested me. Co-authors Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Klaus were NYU alumni. I felt like this was a sign.

This tip of the iceberg led me to changing my major.

Step 3: Pivot to your hearts content—it's never too late

Until you're tossing your cap at whatever arena your college called dibs on, you are allowed to change your mind. (You can then, continue to do so after you graduate).

Reading that book and creating a service project in summer 2020 (more on that in a future article) made me realize I wanted to change my major to study education.

It didn't matter that I was exactly halfway through the college experience. If you aren't happy or see a glimmer of a future elsewhere—make that jjump.

Step 4: The interviews—Make all your experiences make sense

By the time I started applying for full-time roles I had a string of education-themed experiences under my belt, from policy research at a think tank to a generalist gig at a startup.

I wanted a role where I could write a lot and champion products doing good in the world. Product marketing for an edtech product it was.

While my experience was limited I spoke to my passion for the industry and the transferrable skills I had that would mkae me a strong hire.

Education technology was the through line that took me four years in the making to discover. What's yours?

Step 5: The interviews part 2—Dig in the archives

Growing up in San Francisco gave me an edge championing learning products. Today's giants were scrappy startups making me a better student from that infamous valley of innovation.

From cradle to career prep I've learned with it all, from Leapster cartridges and BrainPOP videos to Quizlet flashcards and Khan Academy lessons.

I mentioned this in my interviews and was able to stretch my education through line even longer.

Conclusion: Now's your time to be trier

You have a limited amount of time. Just do it.