Just a couple of days ago, Baker University senior Jake Landis, a business major, decided what he is going to do after he steps out into the “real world.”
Landis, who has secured a position with a Topeka human resources firm, said his job search evoked many different emotions.
“It’s the excited-nervous mix,” Landis said. “You’re excited to do something new but you’re a little hesitant at getting out there and being able to support yourself. … Obviously, going to college is the first step to getting out of the house, but you can still ask for money or for food (from your parents), but once you’re on your own, it’s all out of your own wallet.”
Unlike Landis, many seniors are still unsure how their lives will map out once they receive their diplomas. One thing is common among most seniors: the anxiety and nervousness of branching out into the world independently.
Senior Lori Seidl, also a business major, said she feels ready to go out into the “real world” in some ways and is unprepared in other ways.
“I feel prepared intellectually, just not so much psychologically,” Seidl said. “College was kind of a preview of the ‘real world.’ Mostly, my parents still managed my finances and stuff. I had a gas card, so I didn’t have to pay for that, which was nice. Now I have to figure out how to balance my money.”
In addition to the scare of financial matters, Seidl said she is not ready for an eight-to-five workday, as opposed to sleeping in occasionally while in college and walking to class in whatever clothes she feels like.
“I like waking up at 11 every day, and I don’t really want to have to get up at six in the morning and work eight hours a day, five days a week, but I don’t really have a choice.”
Seidl said she is excited about living alone and decorating her own apartment, but she said she worries about getting lonely because she has lived in a sorority house her entire time at Baker, with 40 girls around all the time. In addition, she said she does not know if she is ready to be completely let loose on her own.
“I like the idea of living alone; I just don’t know if I like all the responsibility that comes with it. I have time management issues already, and that makes things harder,” she said.
Seidl changed her major from biology to business her junior year. She said she originally wanted to go to dental school, but she switched paths because she didn’t think she would want to be in school that long.
“I wish I would’ve stuck with it because I’d still be in college,” Seidl said.
Seidl said she chose business as a major because it’s broad, and she had not set idea of what she wanted to do after college.
“My long-term plan is to go into the workforce for a year and then figure out what I want to do and then to go to graduate school,” Seidl said.
Seidl recently finished an internship in which she helped with marketing research, but she said it was not in an office-style setting.
“It was very laidback and relaxed,” Seidl said. “It wasn’t very office-structured so I didn’t really have a sense of a real job.”
She is also one of five seniors in the Bayor project, a student run management project that gives students experience in the business world. She said they started in February, and while Professor of Business and Economics Kevin McCarthy watches over the project, it is mainly student-run.
Landis said he got his foot in the door with his upcoming job with the internship he did with the consulting firm last summer. Though he’s glad to have his post-graduate plans in place for now, Landis said he has higher aspirations than sticking with his first job out of college.
“Taking the job (in Kansas) doesn’t mean I’m not going to go anywhere else,” Landis said. “You can take your first job, but it’s not like you’re going to be in the same place the rest of your life. You can still do whatever you want, like go see the world and that sort of thing. For business people, you want to go move to New York and run the world, so that’s definitely still in my mind.”
Where are they now?
Will Krebs, ’06Major: psychology with emphasis in businessMinor: EnglishCurrent Job: teaching adults with developmental disabilities life skills and academic pursuitsSoon-to-be Job: will move to New Mexico to work for Teach for America, which tries to close the gap between bigger schools and less advantaged schools “I’d encourage people to not be in such a hurry to start their career. It’s important for your growth as a person to give yourself as much experience as you can.”
Erin Zirbel, ’05Major: mass communicationMinors: sociology and businessFirst Job: Western Container Company, customer service representative “I used it as a starter job to get experience.”Current Job: works for Burns & McDonnal as Marketing Coordinator of Aviation and Facilities Division
Zack Middleton, ’06Major: sociology with an emphasis in criminal justice “I was always going to apply for law enforcement.”Current Status: began Jan. 1 at Border Patrol Academy in Artesia, New Mexico, graduates April 30After academy: Will work full-time for the Border Patrol, unsure where he will be stationed
Need some extra help?
Read First, Break All the Rules by Marcus BuckinghamRead his sequal, Now, Discover Your StrengthsAttn: Business Majors: read Kansas City Business JournalSearch the Web for ideasNetwork by talking to people in your interested fieldPlay on your talents when deciding a direction