Translating My College Experience Into Employer-Desired Experiences

Howdy, howdy, y'all!

    I hope y'all have been doing good, I've been sort of bouncing all over the place right now (I say that as I type this late in Chicago). 

    This week, we were asked to consider how our college experience will translate into our work later down the line. In the scope of how I interact with my employer, I think being in programs like the S-STEM program where I, as a member of a team, get to express myself through a team-sanctioned platform is a huge bonus and something I would like in my work later. Not only does the blogger portion of this internship allow me to express myself, but I also get to read what everybody else is up to and get a better understanding of my teammates. If I could get into the workforce and experience something like this, I would be super stoked!

    I think another experience I have had not only in this program but from college as a whole is the opportunity to immerse myself in a team with a diverse spread of skillsets/majors. I think a lot of folks might interpret the later workforce as a centralized discipline, but from working with other students who come from a wide range of interests I feel that actually primes you for a career environment. With the work I've done that is at a career level, I could be on a single team that incorporates statistics, biology, web development, and mathematics. This, very predictably, requires a certain level of flexibility that can really only be nurtured organically. Looking back at it, I realize that I was able to thrive in an environment like that because of my time in college, and I think that's an experience you can't always fine hammering through your major.

    Lastly, I would say the most valuable experience I have had in school that I hope to take with me into the workforce is boundary setting and employer expectations. Maybe when I say this I sound like I'm lazy or a "quitter", but I really think there is a lack of self-care for people in the workforce. Because of the dynamic of schools, there is give and take with work expectancy and capability. Not all professors are super cooperative of course, but for the most part, professors try to meet students in the middle regarding subject understanding or accommodating when "life happens". To have a relationship like this with my employer would be a dream, but I must admit that it shouldn't be a dream, it should be the standard. That being said, I think having it set as the baseline can prime students for understanding their own individual needs and later communicating these needs to their employers.

    Overall, I couldn't speak any more highly of college providing experiences for students entering the workforce, and I hope that other folks have taken away similar experiences.