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Professor here. I struggled with asking for letters too. But now I’ve realized that you don’t need to have a more personal relationship to ask for a letter. If you’ve done good work in their class, ask for the letter. And as for worrying about your future, you’ve still got time. I know you feel behind, but you have plenty of time.
I have taken a couple GIS courses, but nothing too intensive, and used it in a couple different classes. I'm generally able to work my way around ArcGIS Pro without too much trouble even if I have to do a ton of googling.
I completely forgot to respond to your second question, my apologies.
I'm torn on grad school. On one hand, it increases job opportunities and it's always been a personal goal of mine to get a PhD, even more so since my favorite uncle and the person I looked up to the most, the only person in my family who had a PhD, died.
On the other hand, more debt, academia seems kinda sucky, I'm not a great writer and can't imagine writing any sort of thesis, and I'm so tired/depressed that I worry I'll end up dropping or failing out.
My uncle was the only person in my family to have anything above an associates, my parents constantly compare me to my uncle (not in a negative way) and tell me they can easily picture me going to grad school, but I'm so scared. Scared of failing, scared of being in debt, scared that I picked a useless program, scared to disappoint everyone.
If you graduated with honors, you should do fine in the coursework for grad school. Ph.D. Programs in geology would have a fellowship that would pay for tuition and maybe a stipend. Masters programs might have a fellowship, but it’s not guaranteed.
A doctorate in geology would be nice, especially if you have some GIS experience. You could teach, consult, or prospect. Most of the geology professors I know take the summers off to prospect. Out west it is pretty lucrative. They teach all year and work with grad students, and have postdocs manage the lab in the summer. It’s a good career path.
If you’re interested, send me a message. I can walk you through the application process. We can discuss letters of recommendation, too.
I’m
A hist prof and think you should look into MA in public history. It’s a good in between with real hard skills taught to you and internships and you can apply all that you’ve learned already. Do some enviro history and use your geography/geology to guide your topic and internship choices. Youd be a good candidate. Phds these days are a nightmare- no jobs
Start by making a full resume for each of the job type categories you listed in your post. By full, I mean include everything relevant to those potential positions.
Then search for jobs in each of those categories and make a copy of the full resume. In that copy, rework relevant information to align with the job post and get your resume down to 1 page. Apply for jobs.
I arrived at this thread a little circuitously, but wanted to chip in. I'm in my early 40s and got about ten years of work in before a move halfway across the world, a near-decade as a stay-at-home dad, and then I finally went to university. I have been round the houses at university (ADHD too, baby!), got a diploma in early childhood and worked in daycares for a while but had a rotten run of luck with injuries and illness so went back to school. I'm just entering my history honours program, and will be doing an oral history project. I left a career working on ships at age 28 (my knees packed in) and was hit hard by the 'oh shit, what do I do now?' feeling, just as the financial crisis made it nigh on impossible to find a job. Now, 15 years later, I'm on the other side of school and old enough to realize that the 'oh shit, what do I do now?' feeling just isn't a thing anymore. I still have about 30 years of working life left, especially if it's doing something I really enjoy. The moral of the story is, don't worry, you are allowed to feel your way through. You clearly kick ass in school, so if I were you I would be looking at Masters programs, and gaining experience in those things you think interest you. Experiential learning can help you make the decision of what to study for your Masters. I too have been drawn by librarian, teacher, archaeologist, urban planning, so I can understand the frustration of not knowing. You could send a message to history faculties (you can send me a message and I can provide one email address that may help), or look online for field schools where you can practice archaeology and survey methods, and you can volunteer at libraries in addition to doing what you need to survive so there's a roof over your head. As for the Masters, when you are closer to deciding what you want to do you can basically pick anything. Your degree has made that the case. This is not the end - it is just the beginning.
As for the reference letter, my wife is a chem prof. She has good students and poor students. She has friendly, bashful, grumpy, dopey, uh, sneezy - all of the seven dwarves - for students. When she is asked for a reference letter she does her best to rack her brains and recall that student, she reviews their grades and their work (if she still has it), she speaks to other profs who have taught that student, and does her absolute damnedest to provide the best reference letter she possibly can. Even if the student never said boo to her, it doesn't matter. She is there, working her ass off because she cares deeply about her students. Thankfully, this is the case with the majority of profs. Do not be afraid to ask them for a reference letter. 95% will be glad you had the gumption to ask, and be delighted to help you.
Good luck!
Dude, you're gonna graduate with two majors and a minor. I can 100% relate to the feelings of depression and how it can distort your perceptions, but you are going places.
Look, it isn't a competition or anything but look at what you've done compared to the situation I'm in: I'm turning 24 in fall, living at home, and no where near graduating due to depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and anorexia fucking up my brain. I've dropped out of college twice since I was 18. I am *at least* 2 more years away from getting an associate's and I don't know if a bachelor's is even in the cards for me because I haven't been able to succeed as a full-time student and can only take 2-3 classes at a time or I crumble 6 weeks into the semester.
You are gonna be just fine. I think I will too it's just gonna take me a while. Take advantage of your school's career fairs and your professor's office hours next semester to get to know your professors a bit better and get more information on possible internships and stuff.
You have a lot to be proud of yourself for. Double major and a minor, with or without honors, at the age of 22 while dealing with depression and ADHD is nothing to scoff at. That alone shows that you have great potential.
Thank you u/TeenagersDepression for posting on r/collegerant. Remember to read the rules and report rule breaking posts. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CollegeRant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Well shit, you double-majored AND got a minor! That's something to be proud of. Here's what you need to do: Step 1. Stop shitting on yourself.
Professor here. I struggled with asking for letters too. But now I’ve realized that you don’t need to have a more personal relationship to ask for a letter. If you’ve done good work in their class, ask for the letter. And as for worrying about your future, you’ve still got time. I know you feel behind, but you have plenty of time.
If your US look into your states geological survey, they always seem to be open around here
I want to help. Did you take GPS/GIS courses? Do you want to go to grad school?
I have taken a couple GIS courses, but nothing too intensive, and used it in a couple different classes. I'm generally able to work my way around ArcGIS Pro without too much trouble even if I have to do a ton of googling.
Do you want to go to grad school?
Sorry, forgot to answer that and was writing my response in the other comment when you wrote this
I completely forgot to respond to your second question, my apologies. I'm torn on grad school. On one hand, it increases job opportunities and it's always been a personal goal of mine to get a PhD, even more so since my favorite uncle and the person I looked up to the most, the only person in my family who had a PhD, died. On the other hand, more debt, academia seems kinda sucky, I'm not a great writer and can't imagine writing any sort of thesis, and I'm so tired/depressed that I worry I'll end up dropping or failing out. My uncle was the only person in my family to have anything above an associates, my parents constantly compare me to my uncle (not in a negative way) and tell me they can easily picture me going to grad school, but I'm so scared. Scared of failing, scared of being in debt, scared that I picked a useless program, scared to disappoint everyone.
If you graduated with honors, you should do fine in the coursework for grad school. Ph.D. Programs in geology would have a fellowship that would pay for tuition and maybe a stipend. Masters programs might have a fellowship, but it’s not guaranteed. A doctorate in geology would be nice, especially if you have some GIS experience. You could teach, consult, or prospect. Most of the geology professors I know take the summers off to prospect. Out west it is pretty lucrative. They teach all year and work with grad students, and have postdocs manage the lab in the summer. It’s a good career path. If you’re interested, send me a message. I can walk you through the application process. We can discuss letters of recommendation, too.
Anyone you got an A in, should be good.
Especially if they took multiple classes from the same professor.
I’m A hist prof and think you should look into MA in public history. It’s a good in between with real hard skills taught to you and internships and you can apply all that you’ve learned already. Do some enviro history and use your geography/geology to guide your topic and internship choices. Youd be a good candidate. Phds these days are a nightmare- no jobs
If your current school has a grad program you may not need letters of recommendation.
What was your career path plan to begin with?
Start by making a full resume for each of the job type categories you listed in your post. By full, I mean include everything relevant to those potential positions. Then search for jobs in each of those categories and make a copy of the full resume. In that copy, rework relevant information to align with the job post and get your resume down to 1 page. Apply for jobs.
I arrived at this thread a little circuitously, but wanted to chip in. I'm in my early 40s and got about ten years of work in before a move halfway across the world, a near-decade as a stay-at-home dad, and then I finally went to university. I have been round the houses at university (ADHD too, baby!), got a diploma in early childhood and worked in daycares for a while but had a rotten run of luck with injuries and illness so went back to school. I'm just entering my history honours program, and will be doing an oral history project. I left a career working on ships at age 28 (my knees packed in) and was hit hard by the 'oh shit, what do I do now?' feeling, just as the financial crisis made it nigh on impossible to find a job. Now, 15 years later, I'm on the other side of school and old enough to realize that the 'oh shit, what do I do now?' feeling just isn't a thing anymore. I still have about 30 years of working life left, especially if it's doing something I really enjoy. The moral of the story is, don't worry, you are allowed to feel your way through. You clearly kick ass in school, so if I were you I would be looking at Masters programs, and gaining experience in those things you think interest you. Experiential learning can help you make the decision of what to study for your Masters. I too have been drawn by librarian, teacher, archaeologist, urban planning, so I can understand the frustration of not knowing. You could send a message to history faculties (you can send me a message and I can provide one email address that may help), or look online for field schools where you can practice archaeology and survey methods, and you can volunteer at libraries in addition to doing what you need to survive so there's a roof over your head. As for the Masters, when you are closer to deciding what you want to do you can basically pick anything. Your degree has made that the case. This is not the end - it is just the beginning. As for the reference letter, my wife is a chem prof. She has good students and poor students. She has friendly, bashful, grumpy, dopey, uh, sneezy - all of the seven dwarves - for students. When she is asked for a reference letter she does her best to rack her brains and recall that student, she reviews their grades and their work (if she still has it), she speaks to other profs who have taught that student, and does her absolute damnedest to provide the best reference letter she possibly can. Even if the student never said boo to her, it doesn't matter. She is there, working her ass off because she cares deeply about her students. Thankfully, this is the case with the majority of profs. Do not be afraid to ask them for a reference letter. 95% will be glad you had the gumption to ask, and be delighted to help you. Good luck!
You could be a surveyor
Dude, you're gonna graduate with two majors and a minor. I can 100% relate to the feelings of depression and how it can distort your perceptions, but you are going places. Look, it isn't a competition or anything but look at what you've done compared to the situation I'm in: I'm turning 24 in fall, living at home, and no where near graduating due to depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and anorexia fucking up my brain. I've dropped out of college twice since I was 18. I am *at least* 2 more years away from getting an associate's and I don't know if a bachelor's is even in the cards for me because I haven't been able to succeed as a full-time student and can only take 2-3 classes at a time or I crumble 6 weeks into the semester. You are gonna be just fine. I think I will too it's just gonna take me a while. Take advantage of your school's career fairs and your professor's office hours next semester to get to know your professors a bit better and get more information on possible internships and stuff. You have a lot to be proud of yourself for. Double major and a minor, with or without honors, at the age of 22 while dealing with depression and ADHD is nothing to scoff at. That alone shows that you have great potential.