Where to work

This week there is a feature on page 10 (it’s one of my picks) about internships. The basic idea is to interview a few people who have done city internships and some that have done third sector work. The plan is to see what similarities and differences there are. Obviously, this isn’t some survey from the survey fetishists over at Ipsos MORI, so it’s not the largest most scientific set of data. What’s interesting is the general trend: we like internships (and you can extrapolate jobs) where we gain some kind of valuable experience, and where we feel like we are actually a valued and important member of the team. Of course, if your long term goal is to just work for the company, then you may be more interested in networking during an internship, and there are many other situations where you may want different experiences. For example, horny people may be seeking multiple sexual partners while also wanting to be valued for their hard work – but I wouldn’t put down “sex drive of Russell Brand” on your CV. The point is that we obviously want to feel wanted in some way. Nobody wants to just be the person updating a calendar or reformatting a word document.

When reading the feature, you can make up your mind as to what you think and which of the jobs sounds best based on what they liked and hated the most. The reason I write this is because elections are on their way. That’s when I’m deposed and someone else takes a crack at it.

What do I do after this year? Journalism? Science? Science journalism? Do I apply for a job in the city? I’ve been thinking about it. Don’t lie and say you’ve never entertained the thought, we all have had that “hmm, maybe” thought. For some people, they really do find finance and economics fascinating. Or they just really like the environment of a company. Perhaps they like the fact that there is sense of camaraderie. That’s absolutely fine if you do. Personally, except for the fact that you get to meet a bunch of new people, I don’t think I really have much interest in that sector.

You may then reasonably think that it seems odd to even think about starting a career in a job you don’t really care for too much. Thinking about it a bit more, I realised that the reason for this sudden, strange urge to wear a suit and tie every day was the security it could potentially offer. The job not the suit – that would probably rip fairly easily, and so wouldn’t be that safe. A job at a big company brings with it a guaranteed salary and a stable structure to your weekdays. Some people really hate not having a structure, some love it. I remember a friend from halls being very excited about becoming an accountant (I know, my friends sound like a right laugh). I found it amazing that you could really want that, but he insisted he did. He disclosed the reason: the fact that you wake up and go into an office, then you go home at a similar time each day was the real reason he enjoyed it.

I think I quite like being able to choose a structure to my day, but also having something to aim at is always a good motivator.

Then what about being an entrepreneur or doing something a little bit different without a guarenteed salary? Well, it really is a risk/reward (uhoh this sounds like economics) game. You risk having no security and being tired and stressed. That’s not to say that the city,and jobhunting, is not stressful, but, you know what I mean. The reward would be doing a job you really love. If you don’t love the city, then think about other careers and decide if you want to take the risk. I’ll be doing so.

That leaves me back at the all too common university student problem: “what do I want to do when I grow up. Oh, shit, I’m grown up. What do I do now...”