When asked what my frequently asked questions were, the one that resonated the most with me was one that I am often asked both at home and meeting people here in Texas. That question is ”What are you going to do after you graduate?” Personally this has always been a tough one for me to answer because I am just entering my  sophomore year in college and I don’t know enough about myself yet to know. In today’s work environment prospective students are forced to make decisions about their career within their first two years of college because of how important internships are. Which is why this question is one that is hard to answer because it is both important and incredibly hard to answer. I believe that this shouldn’t be this way and that college is a time where we figure out our passions as future employees which is why I tend to prefer the startup route due to the larger amount of time to find exactly your niche and where you can bring your best to work everyday. I believe that this would benefit the companies looking to hire as well ensuring they get employees who are excited to go to work every day and will be there for a long time. 

 However I feel as the more I experience here the more I find out about myself and what I am passionate about. So where I stand I would answer the question as follows. Opening with a form of I am not sure yet because I am unsure of what exactly I am passionate about along with the second point of I do not know where I want to move after college to start my career as these go hand and hand. Location is a large part of the hesitation location is a big part for choosing my field and where I can work. It is important to me to be close to my family as well as a great place to start a family of my own. I feel as if many people overlook the importance of finding a great place to start a family when taking their first job. Location will be a top 3 factor in determining the answer to this question.

 I then assume the person asking will ask me to elaborate on what interests me. I will tell them that I love the business world and interacting with people, leading into what has attracted me so far through one year of school. I have thrived in working in groups with others and being in an environment that promotes collaboration. I think this could be because of my philosophy background along with the fact that I have been on teams my whole life and that is where I am comfortable. Being able to build confidence in myself enough to be fully sure that I know where I belong after I graduate college. I think that understanding of myself leads me to find the consulting industry interesting especially on the management and tax side as I have watched the collaboration that is used to achieve a common goal in both of those industries. So far in my short experiences with these fields and being able to lean on my brother who is in tax consulting has allowed me to take an interest in consulting as a whole. I appreciate the teamwork that I see in his projects along with the structure of the companies he has worked for as it seems like an amazing environment to join. 

I think a crucial aspect of being asked this question is being able to converse with the person who is asking you. Most of the time when asked this question it is someone who I would want advice from. I think asking them about their process and how they came to enter the workforce is a great opportunity to build my understanding of what I need to do. Gathering as much information both about possible fields they think I fit into as well as what they did will help me narrow down my passion and refine my answer to the point where one day hopefully I can say with full conviction that I know exactly what I am going to do after I graduate college. Taking advantage of the people around me has been a hallmark of my success in anything I have done. I will continue to do this in my life and use every resource that is available to me. Answering this question is no different and will be a great way to navigate this chapter of my life.