"What do you do outside of school for your major?" I've been asked this question at every single interview that I've had for a job this summer, and my answer was simple; school is my entire life right now, and with 19 credit semesters there is no such thing as time outside of school for me! This school year was absolutely crazy for me and nearly drove me insane. I was taking 7 lectures and one lab class, trying to keep up with all of my homework and studying, and working every weekend to help pay for school. Notice how I didn't mention sleeping, because that always came last. I could tell you the number of nights that I got more that 5 hours of sleep on 1 hand! So my answer to the above question was simply that I didn't have time to do anything for my major outside of school. I would've loved to research many things and read about everything that I possibly could to prepare me for the real world, but I simply didn't have time. I think this could've hurt my credibility in job interviews. Most people out of school don't understand the time that it takes to get through a day, a week or even a semester for that matter. In my major I eat, sleep and breathe school, and the sacrifices that I've made this past year for school should have been more than enough to show my interest and dedication to my studies. I almost feel that it wasn't enough in the eyes of the interviewers and recieved no call backs despite my extra efforts to show my interests in a company. A lot of the companies that I interviewed with were looking for someone with a previous internship or some kind of prior work experience. How do you get prior experience if no one is willing to give it to you??? I have nothing but time this summer and I'm trying to use this time to catch up on hobbies while doing a little independent research. My hopes are that I can create some kind of experience on my own because no one was willing to give it to me. If I can manage to pull the right research together and use it effectively then I won't have to worry about that question and I can show them just what I've done for my major. This is my plan and finally my time so I'm trying to use it wisely!
That sounds like a pretty crazy schedule! What is your major? Furthermore, was it really necessary to take ALL those classes? I understand the idea that you are very interested in your studies. However, if all you do is take classes I think that you are missing out on one of the most important parts of college; the whole learning how to have fun and live a well rounded life outside of school without help from family or friends... Just a thought : )
This is so true! I've been missing out on a lot of the other important college experiences because I was so concerned with taking a lot of classes to graduate on time. I could have spread t out and taken an extra year, but I was trying to save myself the expense. After last year I can't do that anymore, so I decided to go ahead and stay another year. Engineering classes are way too hard to cram 19 credits of them in 1 semester. I guess life is a learning experience and I definately learned what not to do, and what's really important to me. And what's wrong with another year away at school? I love Penn State so I'm not complaining!
That sounds like a pretty crazy schedule! What is your major? Furthermore, was it really necessary to take ALL those classes? I understand the idea that you are very interested in your studies. However, if all you do is take classes I think that you are missing out on one of the most important parts of college; the whole learning how to have fun and live a well rounded life outside of school without help from family or friends... Just a thought : )
-AThought355