Spotlight Job Fair

Today was the spotlight job fair. Luckily it was only for liberal arts private schools, so it wasn’t completely flooded with people. I originally went in with only one or two places to look at but ended up seeing some surprising additions to the guest list, and visiting more than expected. Overall it went ok. My friend Bob made a good point in looking back on the helpfulness of the fair. A lot of the groups represented just kept referring you back to their website. They might say a little and hand you a brochure but in the end would say “It’s all on our website, make sure to check out the website.” Blah blah.. Yes, that’s very helpful, but not for those of us that have already been to the website. We were there to actually talk to someone that could tell us more. They didn’t end up being as helpful as I had anticipated. However, I did learn a bit about those areas I had been pursuing.

A broad description of what I’m looking at now would be to get a masters in anthropology. Even better would be to also learn and then hopefully be able to specialize in the Arabic language and Middle Eastern culture. What would I do with that? Well I have been thinking I’d really like to work for the government, possibly in intelligence. I don’t mind moving around and would love to travel and go international. I don’t have any ties to hold me back and have moved all my life (and I love it!), nothing new. The first stop was the Peace Corp. What would be great about that experience is you get trained in language and culture of wherever you will be serving for three months, then you go and live in and work in that culture. It would be great experience, I think, and a great way to get that language and culture background I’m looking for. Plus, the 12 months after you finish you are given preferred standing to work for the federal gov. Although where exactly that is I don’t know. You can also start your masters, go over after your first year and serve your two years and come back to finish. That would be great! However, you do not have any say in where they place you. It will be strictly based on what you would be doing, and where that is needed. Soooo… I don’t think I’m going to go that route. I also talked to both the CIA and FBI. I am going to go ahead and apply and get my resumes into them. But it takes quite a while for their background research and I also need to get some experience before that would even be an option. The last place I stopped was the army. Yes, that’s right, the army. I think many would agree that that is definitely not what comes to mind when they envision my future. However, I have considered it a lot. The lifestyle would be wonderful, change and moving and traveling (different once I have a family, if that happens). Plus, he said they would pay me to go to language school, which is the best in the country. And, they would pay up to $70,000 on my student loans. That won’t cover it, but it would certainly help!

So there you have it. I will be looking into those areas and meeting with someone to talk about the army. I am also going to look just at the idea of going strait into grad school. I have a little time before definite decisions need to be made. But I will be praying and waiting for that push and opportunity that guides me in the way I’m supposed to go.