Last Thursday, I attended GRF Magdala’s event “How Not to Choose a Career” with Professor Filiz Garip. This event was definitely very eye-opening for me and the other students in attendance. Coincidentally, many of us are considering careers in academia, and as such it was very helpful to hear about Professor Garip’s own career path.

On a more personal level, I had (and still have, to some extent) a few concerns. The first of them, which I think if likely relatable for many students, is the concern of finances. While I do have my own personal career goals, my primary aim is to be able to provide for my parents and pay off my student debt. Going directly into grad school might make this difficult. My biggest takeaway with respect to this issue is that going into industry for a few years first might lighten that burden some, in addition to reaffirming whether or not academia is really where I want to be.

My other major concern was making sure I’m pursuing the right field. I am studying Environmental Engineering, and I definitely enjoy what I’m doing in my classes, but I’m also really enjoying the courses for my minor in Environmental and Resource Economics. I’m unsure which field I’d eventually like to go to grad school for, and I’m unsure how to choose. Similarly, there’s so much I still don’t know about how to choose a program that’s a good fit for me. I know Magdala mentioned hosting another event at some point next semester about preparing for grad school, and I really wanted to reiterate that I would absolutely love that!