USD Magazine, Spring 1999

Career C9nfusi9n? KEEP AFTER YOUR PASSION, EXPERTS ADVISE 0 ccasionally, the career path chosen after college is simply the wrong one. Some students are lured by the promise of a big paycheck

While Bree O'Shea knew she wanted to put her 1996 com– munications degree to use as a radio disc jockey, she found her– self eventually looking for a different career after landing her dream job shortly after graduation. Although she enjoyed the trappings of being a radio disc jockey - free concert tickets, CDs and new music - the solitude of working the graveyard shift alone in a soundproof booth was hard on her outgoing per– sonality. Plus, the hours played havoc with her biological clock, and the low pay forced her to get a second job. O'Shea used JOBTRAK, a Web site linked to USD for job postings, to help her find a new career path - executive recruiting. She has since been promoted. "Radio was a great experience," O'Shea says, "but now I get to use my interests and personality, I make twice as much as I did, I get to sleep at night, and I can go out with my friends." Susan Meyer '97 says she knew in her heart that her love of animals should somehow work its way into her career choice. But she admits she didn't listen to her heart, or USD career counselors, when she took her first job in guest relations for a tour company. Travel was another of her passions, but the reali– ty was she was stuck in an office with no one to talk to other than her boss. After seeking advice, she quit, and now works part time for the San Diego Zoo. While her job in food services pays little more than minimum wage, she says she knows in her heart it's the right move. "I figure I'll be moving up soon, and I love the atmosphere here," Meyer says. "I always told my career counselor I didn't want to be stuck in an office all day, and now I'm not." Sometimes, if the job isn't the right fit, the company may be. Paul Tuomainen '67 started work at Bank of America weeks after graduating. But he had no plans to stay. "I never really thought banking was going to be my career," he says. "I figured after I'd been in the real world for awhile I'd see what intrigued me and move on to something else." More than 30 years later, Tuomainen is still with the bank, and now serves as its vice president. "You ought to at least start out in a field that interests you," he says. "And with a company that you've done some research about and truly are interested in working for."

or a glamorous lifestyle that fails to materialize. Others find that their new job doesn't jibe with their interests. And some simply can't deal with the lifestyle demands - long hours that take away from family time, for example - of a certain career. These issues face not only the recent crop of grads, but those five, 10 and even 20 years removed from USD. "When I meet with alumni, one of the most common issues is they didn't realize they had to like their job," says James Tarbox, associate director of USD Career Services. "They take a job for the money, or because it is with an interesting company, and then once they get into it, they realize it's not where their interests are." To head off such problems, Career Services offers a range of consulting services, including personality and interest inven– tories, workshops and individualized counseling sessions. Staffers can help clarify career goals, map out action plans, assist in landing an internship to give a new career a try, or aid in a job search. Uncertainty about a career after graduation is common, counselors say. "Many students say, 'Well, I don't know if I want to stay here the rest of my life, but for a first job out of school, it's OK,'" says Sue Kelly, USD career counselor. That indecision can evolve into a career crisis, however, if you don't keep after your passion. "The key is to manage your career while you're at work, networking for a different job or career if something happens or you're unhappy," Kelly says. Derek Allison faced career anxiety when he graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1987. Not interested in pur– suing a graduate degree and unhappy after an unfulfilling stint as a real estate agent, Allison turned to the career center for help. "It was tough knowing I didn't want to pursue a career in my major and wanting to make a change," says Allison, who returned to campus and took a career inventory survey. The

survey revealed an ability for certain technical skills that led him to a job with a telecommunications company in Nashville, Tenn. "You have to be open to alternatives,"

says Allison, who now works as a database administrator at San Diego-based Agouron Pharmaceuticals.

M A & A Z

N E

21

U S D