College Students: Don’t Be a Bum, Get a Job

While I was toying with the idea of majoring in information systems, I spoke with someone who graduated from the same program I did. He said, if I want to see how the industry is, get a part time job in this field. I took this advice and got a job for a local IT firm with honestly zero experience. Lucky for me, it was the best decision I have made in my professional career so far.

It’s hard to choose a field, but why not get a part time job while going to school. Here are some considerations:

• Does a 4.0 GPA matter that much?
• You really want strenuous student loans biting you in the end?
• Do you want your only perception of the industry to be the 5 year old material that school can offer you?
• Do you want to graduate with a degree and no experience?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, feel free to stop reading, because I have already wasted your time. For the rest of you, I will answer these questions.

Does a 4.0 GPA matter that much?

No. On many occasions I have heard stories of 4.0 students that just can’t cut it in the industry because either they have been stuck in a book and can’t work with anyone, or they need someone to tell them what to do. While grades are important, they aren’t the end all be all. You can still get good grades and get a great job.

There is also the other argument of awesome GPA = scholarship. The ideal would be to have a part time job and a scholarship, then you have money to kick around for those 4 years as well as some pretty sweet experience. Unless you want no social life, this is probably not the best option and I would argue that a good GPA with a part time job is more beneficial than a great GPA and a scholarship.

You can make just as much with a part time job in industry as you can with a scholarship, and the time you would spend working on your grades in school goes towards “real world” experience. When I interviewed for my “corporate job” out of college, they didn’t care about my average GPA, but were more interested in the 3 years of experience I had in the industry. In fact, I wasn’t hired into the corporation as a student, but someone in the industry, which makes for a much heftier salary.

You really want strenuous student loans biting you in the end?

You better not. This is a big deal today, especially with worthwhile universities that cost an arm and a leg. While you may not be able to completely avoid debt in school, you can avoid a big part of it by taking on a part time job in the industry that you are pursuing. I do agree that it’s important to have the social experience that comes with going to school, but just remember: you will pay for the college experience eventually. At the very least, pay for a bit of it now. It’s always important to find ways to have your cake and eat it too.

Do you want your only perception of the industry to be the 5 year old material that school can offer you?

It’s true, school can’t stay cutting edge, especially in the technology industry, because it is too costly for professors to constantly change their curriculum semester to semester. While I’m sure there are some that do (though I have yet to find any) the best way is to educate yourself and I’ve always said, if you have to do something, you may as well find a way to get paid for it.

A side note of advice when picking your tech classes, try to pick professors that are adjunct. They tend to be hit and miss, but they often have a wealth of knowledge in the industry they are working in. They’re usually excited to expound on these industries when asked too, and heaven forbid you learn anything while going to school, better to try to get your money’s worth out of them.

Do you want to graduate with a degree and no experience?

Connan O’Brien put it best when he said to the 2011 graduating class of Dartmouth “You are getting something that 92% of the population already has, so you have the cutting edge against 8% of the population.” While this is probably a false statistic, there is a lot of competition in the market for the job that you want. The best way to compete is to do something no one else is doing. Most people don’t think they can get a job in the market they want to have a future in, but this (as I’ve stressed) is false.

After all is said and done, the easiest way to find out what you love to do is try it out. It’s much less expensive to quit a part time job than change your major two years into your college experience. I’m not saying this is the best option for everyone, but it never hurts to try a few things out before landing a stake on your career.