Ok, this is an anonymous account because I don't want others knowing/have some friends on this board. Could be tl;dr but whatever.


I graduated high school as the typical "never studied but still managed awesome grades" person, and did not want to go to college. I wasn't sure what I wanted to major in, I didn't think I was ready for college, etc etc. Heavy pressure from my parents (plus my dad was paying for my college) made me go, so I went in undecided, with a lean towards a math major (scored 700 on math section of SAT, always did well in it without ever studying)

Freshman year started, and I failed calc. I did ok in my other classes (1 A, 3 B's) but it seemed like that was the start of a terrible trend. Every semester, I would do well in every class but one, where I would get a D or C.

In the second semester of freshman year, my friend introduced me to the website bleacher report, and so I started writing on that for ****s and giggles, because sports have always been a huge part of my life and I wanted to write about them and talk to others. Well, going into sophomore year, one of my articles was linked onto cbssports.com, and in my mind I was set that I could make a future out of sports journalism, so when I got back I declared my major to journalism.

That went fine and all, except once I got to the higher level of journalism classes, that's when professors were being more open with the students. Thet would let us know that it was a low paying job, you were constantly on the move, you couldn't start a family, etc etc, and that is the total opposite of my personality: I want to be in one place, I want to start a family.

So now I'm set to graduate this May, and I'm in terrible shape. My overall GPA will be around a 2.8 (my Journalism GPA stands at around 3.5) I have nothing on my resume except for past jobs, as I never got an internship.

I was a late bloomer, it only took my until this year to actually get my **** in focus (fall semester I got a 3.2 GPA while taking 6 classes, and so far this semester I'm doing well in all of my classes), but still, that won't show unless I get an interview.

But I still don't know what I want to do. I know many people are like that, but I'm going to have a lot of pressure from my parents (especially my dad) to get a job in the city and start that type of life. I've been saying since I was young I do not want to have to commute to the city wearing a suit and tie for a job, but I know more likely than not it's what is going to happen.

On top of all that, I want to move soon. My girlfriend is going to be going to grad school (she's actually not a screw up!) and we've been dating for four years, so I guess you could say it's serious, and I'd be willing to move with her across the country to wherever she got into school.

But still, for the time being, I would need to try and get some type of job and all that. I've been talking to my parents, and I personally would rather get a full time job at somewhere local, like a Home Depot or IKEA or even as a bartender, and then do things on the outside (like volunteer work, etc) to put on my resume. My dad is already against that, but obviously it's my life and it comes down to what I want to do.

If I were to look for a job in the city (from NY) I wouldn't even know what to look at. What type of job would a journalism major (who doesn't want to really "do" journalism for a full time job) go for? Marketing? Advertisement?

Along with that, wtf could I put on a resume? I would put that I was linked onto cbssports.com (and I have the e-mail still saying I was, if that was asked) but what else? I feel like my resume is at such a disadvantage compared to others that I wouldn't even get an interview.

I just recently took the FDNY test, but that could be a 2-3 year process before getting on (if I did). That's something that I could see myself doing, as I would get much more satisfaction doing something that gives back to the community and feels self fulfilling rather than sitting at a desk.

For those who are going to ask: I love sports writing. I can see myself trying to start an online website for sports writing, or even getting attached to one and work as a part time writer. But I just can't see myself doing it full time as a living.

Early in fall semester I got into weight lifting, and love it. I've studied about the human body/nutrition/ basic biology on my free time just to get a better understanding for myself. I'd love to be able to help others out in regards to that, but I can't see myself going through another few years of undergrad to get a different degree. I could see myself possibly getting a job and going to a local community college to get a degree in something of the sort.

So I guess this might just turn into an advice thread or something. Don't really know. Might of just been a place for me to semi-vent.

If marketing is interesting to you that might be a place to look.

get internships. tell them you want to be a writer. contact tv stations, newspapers, or anyone with a sports department tell them you want to learn. I suggest you just throw yourself in there, you more than likely won't get paid, and evaluate after you finish. you got nothing but time on your side, don't trip.

Prepare to eat a lot of **** over the next few years.

Yo OP,

Realtalk, no doors are closed shut for you. If you don't have a summer job after graduation, start looking for something now. There are tons tons tons of oppertunities. Plenty of people would be willing to let you intern at their firms/businessess. Let me tell you a little secret, outside of big corporations, almost nobody gives a **** about your grades. You will have to hustle more than an ivey league grad for that "foot in the door", but after that, the playing field is leveled. Don't get me wrong though, you will have spend hours on your resume, cover letter, interview skills, and job searching. i had a 3.1 in college, took the lsat and now going to good law school. my roomate dropped out for a year, re-enrolled, graduated with a < 2.8 and got into a stock trading program. Don't sell yourself short and do some bull**** just because you think that you won't be able to get anything legit.

Are you still writing sports journalism pieces?

If that's the love, I'd keep churning those out in a centralized place (BR, your own blog, etc.) while doing whatever else you end up doing in the meantime. Hopefully, someone else will take notice.

^ I agree you should make a blog.

Apply to a ton of jobs/interships, even if you may not be qualified, just to get the interview and show them you are a smart person and versatile and options will come to you.

Forget everything that everyone else said, just move to AC and start grinding.

With this link it to your resume with a hyperlink i read somewhere that in this day and age people are impressed when you have a blog/twitter on whatever your passionate about. It demonstrates your writing abilties and passion towards something where you arent getting paid to write

Dear god, dont get stuck in a minimumish wage job at a retailer. Try to get a job in sports that you enjoy. If that fails try something else that involves writing or marketing. If that fails maybe look at getting a personal trainer certification or seeing if you can get a job as a writing tutor. Either way you should def start your own blog. If you can get it big enough you will def get noticed.

I would say stick to what you want to do these pressured jobs that are irrelevant to what you want in life can't be healthy for you in the long run. Stick to what you love and it can never hurt. Gl in future endeavors--

It wouldn't take as long as you think.

Btw...I seriously started college at age 39. It's never too late.

b

lol at getting a degree with a decent GPA being "totally screwed up"

Yeah, I opened this thread expecting see a sub-2.0 GPA or expulsion and maybe some delinquent student loans.

you mention being interested in sports but also dont want to be a fulltime writer.

look for opportunities in the sporting industry.

That could be working at gym in sales, maybe try getting certified to be a personal trainer? You are in NY they have plenty of pro teams, look for opportunities that interest you there.

Freelance on the side.

Id assume you have great grammatical skills. Possibly try to be an editor?

And your resume just embellish, exaggerate it. As long as its nothing an employer can research you will be fine. make everything you did seem like you were the ****. U arent the **** (no offense, im not and most recent grads arent either) you just got to convince an employer you are.

Find some jobs/careers that interest you then embellish, lie, exaggerate, BS till you get the job you want then after that as long as you hold that job for a decent period of time (and hopefully you like it) you can let the resume speak for itself.

OP,

What kind of nerds do you hang out with to the point you consider yourself a college screwup? I had two college roommates with <1.0 GPAs. And I have a ~2.0 GPA through 6 semesters. That 6th semester was in 2009 btw

< 88% right?, not so impressive imo


lol, more of a pipe dream than shipping the ME

Hey, OP, FYI your story is exactly like mine. except for that I most likely took longer to graduate and have almost no job experience.

I have about a 2.8 overall, and 3.? in my degree. I wasted alot of my life not knowing what degree to get, and grinding poker. While I don't really regret it, I kinda feel like I ****ed up.

I have learnt that it is easy to get the impression that you need a 3.5 gpa in a top school in a science field to succeed. If you have modest expectations, this is not true. It seems like you come from a nice family and are not an idiot, so I think you are not as screwed as you think. Once you get your 1st real job, regardless of how low the pay is, you will get more opportunities and have a clearer image of where you wanna go w/ your life.