Career Services -First post

For my fist career post, I will write about the counseling appointment I had in substitution of attending one of the seminars or workshops because none of them had interested with me. I met with a woman for about twenty minutes about the options and possibilities that were out there for people getting a degree in Public Administration.

I told her about my plans to try and get my Masters degree in Public Administration after I graduate in December, and that I didn't necessarily plan to go straight in to a full time job - unless a particularly special one offered itself. She told me getting a Masters in this day in age is not a bad idea and that people in government will think highly of it- its not one of those accomplishments that will go unnoticed in future careers.

Getting passed the idea that I thought I didn't need to be looking at internships or careers right now because of my plans, we moved on to talk about what interested me in a job. I told her I wasn't exactly sure. I knew I wanted to do something that was involved- I never wanted to become locked behind a desk filing policies or filling out budget forms. That part of the job or a job that only entails that would send me of a cliff. I told her I wanted to be outside, which is why I got involved with parks and recreation. I want to lead people through the mountains on tours or show people the joys or white water rafting. I want to be in charge or a workforce that runs the day to day operations of a National Park or- maybe some day in the far off future- be the person within the federal government campaigning to keep those National Parks protected.

I have big dreams, according to the career services. She didn't discourage me though, she told me things like that take time and a lot of work and good luck but they are not impossible - if they were impossible the jobs would not exist.

I was given information about internships involved with National Parks that could lead to careers after I graduate, mostly interpretive summer internships where I would lead tours, help out a little with administration, answer tourists questions, or work in the gift shop/front lobby in places like Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone, or Yosemite. I filled out applications for all of those and am
in high hopes.

But she also gave me one other internship choice that also has the potential to lead to a career after graduation. She gave me a brochure on internships in Washington D.C. that basically allowed you to follow someone working in the position that you would want to go in to. For me it would be the US Forest Service- and that option also interested me quite a bit.

Both options given to me are two things that I truly want to do, and I truly feel like I am at a fork in the road staring down two completely different paths. You know- one involves campfires and living in a cabin for 9 months of the year, and the other involves wearing a dress suit and the struggle of the federal government.

its scary to think that while I feel like I have this decision to make, it could also very well be up to the universe and have nothing to do with what I want. We're all just kind of swinging in between two different lives, not knowing if and when we are going to fall or on to which one.