Answering questions at Boston College O’Neill Library
Wow. That’s quite a lot. I wish I had the answers for you, and I really wish there were an easy and quick nugget of insight that would help. I will be thinking of you and all BC students as we head towards May. And, I know you said you don’t have time for counselors, but if that changes at all, here are links for the Connors Family Learning Center: bit.ly/BC-connors and BC’s counseling services: bit.ly/BC-counseling
Will it harm you or others? Does it compromise your principles? Will failure be too difficult to overcome? If you answer “no” to these questions, then sure, go for it.
I miss people watching too, it’s such a messed-up year. I think right now I’d recommend looking anywhere but clubs. Tinder is doing some stuff with video right now, but if you’re not into dating apps the old school advice is to do things you really enjoy where you can meet new people. Likely outdoors or online.
It is certainly not the situation you would want, but people are starting new jobs even in the pandemic. The job search may take longer, and you should probably cast a wide net. By all means, if you’re a BC student or alum, contact the BC Career Center bit.ly/BC-career
The future is unwritten. “Let everything happen to you/ Beauty and terror/ Just keep going/ No feeling is final” – Rainer Maria Rilke
One handy place to begin is the business career resources guide: library.bc.edu/careerresources. I would also recommend contacting the BC Career Center (bit.ly/BC-career), and contacting all of your business professors. They often have very up-to-the-minute news about strengths of programs. Good luck!
You can do this life direction thing! It doesn’t always happen right after college, and that’s not necessarily bad. And good news: the Career Center (bit.ly/BC-career) offers free career coaching appointments to graduates of degree-granting programs who graduated within the past five class years. Talking with them is a great first step.
For many positions, your GPA is just not the deciding factor. Schedule an appointment with the Career Center (bit.ly/BC-career) to discuss how to proceed with a GPA you don’t want to highlight. And take some comfort in the latest BC Outcomes data, which does not talk about GPA, but must cover many people with less than stellar grades: http://bit.ly/EaglesLanded18
It’s really nice that you are sensitive to your brother’s employment struggles. I suggest that you tone down your excitement (just a little) when you tell him, and follow his lead whether he would like to discuss his own job search or would just like to celebrate yours without drawing comparisons. Don’t worry too much, though — he’s your brother and will be happy for you.
You can submit an application through the links to the form here: library.bc.edu/student-employment. Best of luck – I love working here. If you don’t get hired this time, keep trying each semester.
I’m not eligible to do that (being an inanimate wall, and all), but I recommend talking to the Office of International Students and Scholars at bcis@bc.edu or 2-8005, as well as the Career Center (bit.ly/BC-career) for their advice. Also, try GoinGlobal H1B Plus (bit.ly/HB1GoinGlobal), a database that provides listings of American employers seeking to hire international employees in the US.
It is paid. You can tutor for one or more courses. To become a tutor for a course, you need to have gotten at least a B+, and have a recommendation from your professor. The CFLC suggests you talk to the professor about the recommendation first, and then drop in to the center to fill out a form. It’s serious work and you will need to get some training, but it seems like a very worthwhile and rewarding job.
Your major does not limit you to a particular career. A few careers require a particular major, but even with some of those you can go back and fill in necessary classes later. It’s worthwhile to explore what you can do with a philosophy major with a counselor at the Career Center (bit.ly/BC-career). You may appreciate this interactive site on where BC grads land by major: bit.ly/MajorToJob. The #1 answer may surprise you!
Totally agree. Philosophy blends well with lots of careers. Stop by BC’s Career Center and talk with a coach about what sorts of things philosophy grads do. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. http://bit.ly/CareerCtrMajors
Studies have shown that that’s only true up to a certain dollar amount – and not a very large one at that (See this article in Nature Human Behaviour: http://bit.ly/CashJoy). I would recommend trying to find work that meets at least your basic economic needs, interests you, and has a good forward path towards better pay and opportunities.
The Career Center can help you find jobs that would almost certainly be a better way to go: bit.ly/BC-career
Makes me so grateful to live here, rent-free… Strategies to get by in NYC might include: having a lot of roommates, living in a less expensive borough like The Bronx or Queens, keeping to a tight budget and learning about personal finance to minimize your other expenses, and possibly having a side hustle.
The BC Career Center can help you out with your job search in many ways. Why not set up a meeting with them: bit.ly/BC-career. Best of luck!
That depends on your goals. Want to go work for “big law” and make fat stacks? Then prestige is what you need and hope that the debt thing will work out. Are you looking to do public service work or working in any other area of law that will provide a good-but-not-insane paycheck? Then choosing the best school that you consider affordable is the right choice. Note that low-average or poor quality schools might offer you full scholarships: that’s still a bad idea.
YouTube has a huge community of people with exactly that set of interests, so that’s one obvious place. Psychotraveller has good series on travel basics, for example. http://bit.ly/bc-travel. There are websites like Her Packing List that focus on how and what to pack. https://herpackinglist.com. Guidebooks like Rick Steves or Lonely Planet are an old-school way to check on destinations before you go, and they have digital versions…and they’re a little more consistent in tone and quality than TripAdvisor. Try a few of those and let me know if you have more questions..
Jimmy Carter’s post-presidential life of authorship, shunning cash cow payouts, and community service is widely viewed as a life well lived, and not “messed up.” Take a look at this entry, Life After the Presidency, Jimmy Carter (bit.ly/millercenter-carter), from the Miller Center at the University of Virginia for an overview. For more on the post-presidential lives of other U.S. Presidents visit, U.S. Presidents, Miller Center (millercenter.org/president).
