If I could say anything about my college experience, I'd say this, I wish I had kept a closer eye on the fact that you have to go somewhere after graduation. I think I always knew I'd wind up here. Employed in nice, and poorly paying job, trying to figure out how to use what I have and get where I want.

So, what do I have? I have a high tolerance for absorbing information. Any information. I can read math equations, biology books, and vampire novels on end. I have an addiction to google that boils down to an ability to put an unusual and accuarate phrasing on any search and get faster results. I have one BA in English, currently upstairs and gathering dust.

So, what do I want? A job with lots of respect, that I can take anywhere and be employable. I want approximately forty hours a week. I want to be paid enough that I never resent getting out of bed in the morning.

I know now that I should have been honest with myself long ago. Honestly, what do you want? Do you want to love your job? Can you deal with low pay? Do you want summers off? When you look at yourself in the future, do you need respect from the masses or a certain amount of money?

Also, be honest with yourself about your skills. I can learn, research, and interact with people all day, but I CANNOT work at QuikTrip. (For those unfortunante people who have never been inside a QT, it is the most fantastic gas station known to man.) It looks easy. You don't need much education, the benefits are incredible. But you do need the ability to flip your attention span to something new at least once every 60 seconds. It's a job that takes people with ADD and allows them to kick everybody else's butt at doing the job.

If I could go back in time, I would have spent my summers in between school looking at jobs. Seriously, think of a few jobs and go to the US Government's Job Outlook prediction site-- "http://www.bls.gov/emp/". This site is run by the US Department of Labor and will give you serious statistics on any job. It will tell you how much money you can make, or how much education you would need, or just a general description of any job you can think of.

After serious thought about my needs, I am exploring the medical field for positions I would like to have. One thing I have recently learned is that with medical jobs it is common practice to shadow, follow around, someone that already has the job you're thinking of before you pursue the education.

I am currently considering becoming a Physician's Assistant. It's a job with high prestige, good pay, tons of job openings, and you can get 9-5 M-F hours. It needs a high tolerance for education and good organizational and people skills. But the best part is that the first program I contacted gave me a list of PA's in my area that I could talk to about shadowing.

So, if I could say anything to myself, entering college four years ago, it would be "get a plan, or at least look into jobs and think about what you want from life." To anyone now entering college, good luck, enjoy it, and don't forget--it can't last forever.