As a senior reflecting on my four years at Duke, I’ve embarked on a lot of adventures. I picked up a minor I never expected, lived experiences which completely changed my perspective, and decided on a career path that I didn’t even realize existed four years ago. So here’s a short bucket list to guide you in your exploration of all Duke has to offer.
Picking a major is an exciting part of your college career! It is one of the first big decisions you make when getting to school. Some students know exactly what they will major in when applying to college whereas others want to explore a variety of departments before choosing.
When I was a first year, I had a fear of resumes. I did not know how to do the formatting, what experiences to include, or how to describe my experiences. I went the entire first semester of college ignoring that resumes existed because I was lost. However, one day I mustered up the courage to go to Drop-in Career Advising at the Career Center.
Duke is a breadbasket of opportunity and all it takes is a quick perusal of the class Facebook pages, DukeGroups, or really any bulletin board on campus to find countless experiences that bill themselves as transformative or life-changing.
Have you found a subject that you’re really interested in and then find yourself thinking, what can I do with a major in this? If so, trust me when I tell you that you are not alone. To be very honest, I posed that same question to my adviser when I was in undergraduate school.
First years, as you continue to navigate Duke and explore various resources, the Career Center would like for you use your Duke Career Center website as a valuable resource. In doing so, we would like to share with you the top six places you should visit on the site. This information can be helpful as you are trying to understand the services the Career Center provides, updating your resumes, and thinking about major selection.
First years did you know that the Career Center has a program exclusively for you called Fyrst Contact? Well, we do, and it is an amazing program. This program connects first-year students with companies and employers who are interested in engaging with first years. Fyrst Contact is offered virtually and it is more of an information session versus a recruitment session. Keep in mind, some of the companies who participate are looking for interns and will provide that information during the session.
You can view and register for these sessions through CareerConnections.
Are you thinking about attending graduate school after Duke? It’s never too early to start looking or thinking about what you would like to study. If you are thinking about going to graduate school, whether it’s right after Duke or you decide to take a gap year, here are a few tips to help you along the way!
Sophomores did you know that the Career Center has a program exclusively for you called Sophomore Conversations?
April was supposed to be my time. As someone who had decided to pursue a future career in policy and public sector jobs, I always knew that I wasn’t likely to start getting traction on the job front until late in the Spring semester of my senior year. For those of you who don’t know, for your average policy job, most seniors don’t get hired until April, May, or even later.
