Forks in the Road

I have so much ambition that I am not sure where I will be going with my career.  To help myself determine what I want to do in life I’ve broken my career options into four categories: Marketing Research, Entrepreneurship, Academia, and Miscellaneous.

Marketing Research

This is what I’m gearing towards.  I’ve taken a couple market research courses, I have an internship at a research firm, my resume portrays me as a market researcher.  This is my goal and I believe my internship will solidify it.  I need only to find a career that will take me with my undergraduate degree, continue to educate myself in statistical software, and much more undoubtedly.

Entrepreneurship

I’m a creative, intelligent, and reasonable individual (let’s not forget humble).  I have studied a bit of business and put my hands on several projects in the real world.  I see a few places which I may be able to fill the gap with an idea, a service or a product.  I know that being an entrepreneur is something that intrigues me, though the key importance for me is Multiple Streams of Income.  I simply need the initial knowledge and the initial capital to get an idea or two off the ground.

Academia

Ever since a professor of mine made mention of this idea it’s been stuck in my head.  Many thanks to PhD Comics for being a hilarious look into the world of PhD candidates!  I like the idea of academia as I do enjoy being at a university, surrounded by people attempting to improve their lot in life, receive an education, and change the world (results may vary per undergraduate student).  I like the idea of performing research and doing statistics.  The field of Quantitative Psychology is something that really intrigues me.  It’s also a field which apparently has a need for more students.  For this I need to get some more research experience I believe, as well as do very well on the G.R.E. in order to hopefully receive a great deal of financial aid (i.e. the kind which I don’t have to pay back).

Miscellaneous

This compromises everything else that I want to do, have interest in, or think of it as a backup plan.  Freelance web design, traditional marketing, interactive marketing, becoming a German teacher, working as a translator, etc.  Some of these double-dip with Entrepreneurship, but are not my main focus when I think of being an entrepreneur.

The most aggravating problem is that each of these paths requires a great deal of preparation and specialization!  Unfortunately, one is never sure what they will be doing in the future.  In the least I have an idea (several in actuality) of what I want to do after my graduation.  I’m banking on the fact that my internship will greatly help me with my decisions.

Presentation Complete!

I completed my first professional presentation in front of professionals and academics alike.  This was my first presentation where it mattered and not in front of students.  We had put in over 800 hours on the project and it all came together with five parts and in a little over half an hour we provided our best recommendations and put our best foot forward.  The client and the audience seemed satisfied.  The one thing that was disappointing was a lack of questions.  I was truly prepared to answer as much as I could for them but now I’ll never know if I could.

It’s the experience that really matters here.  It’s one more step I’ve taken in the world.  A little bit more experience a lot more confidence.

The Calm Before the Presentation Storm

Just today I finished working with two of my fellow teammates on perhaps the most important “assignment” I have ever had the privilege of working on. We completed our 127 page report including 77 pages of appendices. We were in our “Pod” (imagine a cubicle with more open space and plenty of light) since 9 a.m. and finished around 2 p.m. We have put so many hours into this project and for it to be finally “complete” is an amazing and liberating feeling.

We still have to present in front of our client, which means there’s still plenty of practicing for my part. Also binding of the presentation and everything needs to be done too! At least I can enjoy tonight and the majority of tomorrow (along with completing assignments, which have been long neglected since the start of this project).

Eller Ethics is a No Go

Unfortunately I did not make it into the Eller Ethics Case Competition.  Apparently there was some strong competition and I didn’t make the cut.  At least I took a chance at an opportunity!

Eller Ethics Case Competition

I’m applying to represent my university at the Eller Ethics Case Competition.  The competition sounds like a very interesting experience as well as being able to meet other Business students from across the country is something you don’t get to do every day.  I sent in my application at my university today and I now await a response as to whether or not I will receive an interview.  Here’s hoping!

How Minty Are You?

From the amazing I Will Teach You To Be Rich Blog I was directed to an equally amazing website.  This site can keep track of your credit cards, your savings accounts, your checking accounts, investments, assets, even your student loans!  This month it has created a personalized budget for me based on my previous spending habits.  It will keep track of how much I spend on those sort of items and alert me as to how I am doing on the budget.

This sounds a bit of an imposition but it can be a godsend if you’re looking for help financially.  I myself do not spend a great deal of money within a month.  I have kept an electronic “check balance” in a spreadsheet.  Mint will do all the bookkeeping for you.  I’m also a numbers person.  I enjoy having aggregate data on my behaviors so that I can see my own fiscal faults.  Mint provides you with trends of your spending and offers ways for you to save.

I strongly encourage you if you are a student such as myself and want to take control of your own finances rather than waiting for graduation to roll around and see the debt you are in.  This is the site for you.

Check out Mint.  Devote an hour to spend the Five Minutes to create an account and the remainder of the time to setting up your online accounts for Credit Cards and Bank Accounts.  You will not regret it!

I’d Like to Thank…

I am the incredibly fortunate and grateful recipient of the Millward Brown Marketing Research Award!  I received the scholarship today at a Marketing Scholars’ Presentation Ceremony and I am incredibly appreciative of the recognition as well as the reward.  This only further encourages me to pursue Marketing Research and achieve further excellence both in the academic world and the professional world.

Thanks again to Millward Brown!

Internship Search Blooper

Note:

When sending out your resume you should double check everything.  I accidently sent out a resume with a cover letter for a different company.  I just feel very silly for having done so.  I then sent them an e-mail apologizing for it and hopefully it’ll be enough of a recovery…

Smile! You’re on the World Wide Web!

I am a Resident Assistant as well as a young business student.  In both situations I am constantly reminded of the impact of my actions on my future.  As a Resident Assistant I am always told to be careful of what I put on Facebook or any social networking site.  We even have had training sessions showing “Do’s and Don’ts of Facebook”.  There are even pre-made bulletin boards to explain the dangers of putting everything you do on Facebook.

From the business world I’ve been told by many employers at “Meet the Firm” nights that future employers may or may not look at social networking sites.  Whether it’s the employer or the data mining company the company hires does the looking at you’re still going to be evaluated by your online profile.  Seth Godin shows a real-world example of your Online Presence Affecting your Offline Future.

This makes things a bit more positive and empowering rather than making people feel bad about using social networks or putting their work online.  One presentation I attended recently was by Bob Dean.  His presentation was amazing but not my point.  Instead the first thing he did was show us his VirtualCV.  Initially I was unamazed.  So he put his Resume online.  Big deal.  He explained that it was not just a resume, but instead a portfolio of his work, giving concrete examples of his activities.  That’s something worth putting online.

Frustrating Figures!

On the WordPress homepage I came across a post discussing “SAT Scores vs. Music you Listen to“.  I’m currently trying to track down the original creator (It was appear to be a Virgil Griffith).  What frustrates me most about this post is the lack of context.  The original poster is presenting this without any disclaimer stating “This does not show causation“.

The first thing people think when they see this is that “Listening to Beehtoven makes you smart and listening to Lil’ Wayne makes you dumb.”  This is absolutely false. We cannot say that a person who scores the highest on the SAT does not enjoy Lil Wayne.  There are infinite circumstances which can explain for the results.  For example, people who listen to Lil Wayne may not have resources such as SAT prep courses readily available.  Another being people who listen to Beehtoven force it upon themselves in hopes of stimulating their minds more.

Listening to a certain band or genre of music makes you neither intelligent nor idiotic. I am not contending against any possible benefit classical or other music has.  It’s simply music.  It can never replace studying or prep courses or practicing for the test.  Next when facts and figures come about be sure to question it.  Do not believe a correlation shows causation!