The International Student Blog

Not ready to commit to a single career path quite yet? Don’t worry, it’s normal.

As an international student it’s easy to feel pressured to choose your college major early and work constantly towards achieving your dreams, but choosing a path and sticking to it isn’t always that easy.  Luckily you’ve already taken a huge leap for you career, simply by choosing to study outside of your home country, so now is the time to slow things down just a bit and “date” your future career!

Balancing your schedule can be tough, but there are ways to test out potential careers while abroad.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Ask a Professional: Regardless of the school you’ve chosen to continue your studies, there will likely be a professor on campus who worked in the field that you would one day like to become a part of.  Even if they weren’t performing the exact job that you would like, they will still have great hands-on experience that could help you decide if your chosen path is right for you. Anyone with experience can offer you great advice; all you need to do is ask.

• Expand your Class Schedule: If you are even slightly considering a different career path other than the one that you’re currently traveling on, an easy step towards making a permanent decision lies within your class schedule. Instead of strictly taking classes related to your current major, throw in a class or two that isn’t related at all, but could lead to a career that you love. If worse comes to worse, the class can confirm that you’re on the right track after all!

• Expand your Internship Search: This option will require the most dedication, but if you are seriously contemplating a change in major, internships are ideal. They provide hands-on experience in a real working environment, and can easily help tip the scale of your future career path. Even if your internship doesn’t leave you wanting to switch majors, it will still look great on your resume, and can help employers later on realize how dedicated you will be to the field that you’ve chosen.

It may be hard to believe, but many people, even those who love their careers, didn’t originally plan to enter the career field they actually got into. “It’s like it just kind of fell in my lap, and I love it,” they might say. Regardless of how far you may be into your major, if you are even considering a change in careers, now is the time to do your research and try dating a few options.  As an international student, remember that it’s okay to date your future career before committing!

This entry was posted on Monday, April 11th, 2016 at 5:40 am and is filed under International Student, Study Abroad. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Written by Sutherland Beever

Sutherland joined the team in early 2014 after receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from the University of North Florida. She has had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout Europe, which instilled an unwavering passion of international travel. This, combined with her strong interest in Marketing, led her to join the Envisage team.

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