Career Paths
Graduating Jobless
I graduated from Cornell with a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering in 2016. Not only did I graduate without a job offer, but I never even had an interview. I certainly applied to plenty of jobs and I went to all the career fairs. Overall, I think I had a relatively normal and…
Read MoreDoes anyone really know where they see themselves in the next 10 years?
“Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?” The question is a favorite among job interviews and icebreakers for elementary school teachers and college professors alike. “What are your hobbies? What’s your major? Oh, and I know you’ve barely reached the legal drinking age, but what will your life be like when you’re…
Read MoreThe Ivy League Breeds Obedient Capitalists
Prestigious universities like Cornell are, in theory, institutions where talented young people receive the education, ideas and skills needed to tackle the world’s most pressing issues. A closer look into elite culture reveals that these conceptions are fantasies that serve privileged, wealthy sectors of society that equate their own interests with those of the rest…
Read MoreFrom the Interviewer’s Seat: What to Do and Say to Win Your Next Job
I just announced my retirement after 45 years in education. For the past six years, I’ve been the head of lower school at The Bolles School (FL) and am currently part of a team that’s hiring for my position. As I close this chapter in my professional career, I’m reflecting on my time in independent…
Read MoreConsider the ethics of companies where you want to work
We have a moral imperative to avoid enabling unethical behavior It happens every fall at Penn. Corporate representatives flock like vultures to our campus, eager to take their pick of the brightest students here. From engineers to financial analysts to consultants, they search relentlessly for the students who will create the most value for their…
Read MoreMore black journalists are needed to tell stories for us, about us and by us
On July 14, President Donald Trump went on Twitter, and in a series of tweets, he attacked four politicians of color: Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA). He explicitly told them to “go back” to the “broken and crime infested places from which they came.” Later that…
Read MoreDon’t let your parents determine your career path
It’s up to you, not your parents, to decide what you do with both this summer and the rest of your life There’s something about going home for the summer that initially seems so satisfying. It’s been about two months since your last break, and you’ve just finished a grueling round of finals, so you…
Read MoreTough on trade (schools)
The bias against blue collar is hurting the country and its students When Aidan, who requested his last name be omitted, graduated from north Seattle’s Roosevelt High School in 2016, he knew almost nothing about vocational schooling. “I feel like Roosevelt was pretty focused on getting students into college,” Aidan said. “Most of the time…
Read MoreSailing Through High School: A Nautical Alternative
When my kids were little and needed to get out of the house, I took them down to the water. There was much to do: skip rocks, play in the sand, and make dams to hold back the tide. If the tide was low, we looked for creatures under the rocks. We had a dory…
Read MoreWhy I’m happy with my useless majors
Impracticality matters much less than you’d think when the alternative is a practical field of study that’ll lead to lackluster and underwhelming performances and interests. I have a useless major — two of them if you ask some people. As a cinema and political-science major, with a creative-writing interest, I feel as if I’ve…
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