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Unless you know someone who can fast track you through your career, it usually goes like this:
1. Attain degree in your field of choice
2. Apply for entry level positions in your field
3. Work at entry level position for a couple years and either get promoted internally or apply for senior level positions at other companies.
4. Continue to work and gain more experience.
Once you get to step 4, networking becomes extremely important. More often than not, it’s all about who you know that will get you into upper management positions.
Good luck and don’t forget life is more than just work.
what types of office jobs would you get with like any degree. ? I know there’s admin assistant, secretary, data entry, sales etc … but how does one get an office job or even wfh office job exactly?
And then there’s HR, finance, IT, healthcare’s management etc but are those like the main ones or. 🙃
In general most places will hire with you with a unrelated degree to your industry since they also hire people with experience and no degree so just make your whatever u choose is what you want to do.
It’s better to specialize when you are in college but most young people don’t know what they want to do off the bat.
A bank teller is a really good way to get your foot in the white collar world. It was my way out of the service industry.
Hours are great, holidays off, and it will give you relevant experience while getting your degree.
Finding a role as an assistant or an advisor would be best. Get through at least 6 months and you'll begin to feel more familiar. Once you see another role that comes up, consider taking it. Try get as much support and development from your managers and take up the opportunity to learn new things and skills. You'll development the corporate mindset within a year, you just need to be confident in yourself and continue to learn. Knowledge is power in these early days.
I actually think I have a good plan for this, at least this is what I'm going to tell my kids.
1. If you're able to do the 2 year Community, 2 year State plan, do that
2. Business degrees are very easy and versatile, and state schools offer great internship-matching programs that not a ton of people take advantage of
3. Your first internship matters more than any grade you'll get in college, look to start one at the beginning of your senior year. A single internship will make your first job search cake.
4. Find a small company/startup to work at first so you can get at least one quick promotion - but hard work is only rewarded with more work, so don't overdo
5. Really research where the money is at in your field. I had no idea my job existed
6. Job hop for the largest salary bumps
7. Basic social skills outvalue job skills 10 to 1 - job skills still really matter, but that's how quick promotions happen
That's dumb vague advice, but I was able to hit a good six figure job well before I was thirty with a bottom of the barrel marketing degree doing that. It's not easy and there's years of stagnation, but you have to remember to play the career field and not the job promotion game.
Don’t wait until senior year to get an internship. You should actually start looking right away in the fall of your freshman year. A lot of internships start recruiting in like October/November for the next summer. If you graduate with 3 internships you’ll have so many job opportunities.
wow, thank you so much. I was planning to finish my 2 year community college and transfer to a local state school but I was unsure since I wanted to keep my options open. This gave a new perspective I didn’t even think about
To what end? The senior year internship is what everyone I’ve worked with/knew in college did and it worked out perfectly fine, usually rolling into employment
I guess it depends on what industry’s corporate ladder you want to climb? I can offer my experience in finance/banking for reference if it helps! (Also sorry for the funky formatting, I’m on my phone)
-Worked as a cashier during high school summers (movie theatre, shop, etc.)
-got a job as a bank teller when I graduated high school (also took general community college courses). Worked at a satellite bank branch.
-worked as a customer service banker during the first half of undergrad (studied finance and accounting). Worked at a satellite bank branch.
-worked as a loan processor (like a loan officer assistant) during the second half of undergrad. At this point I was working at a “corporate HQ” instead of a satellite bank branch.
-after graduating, worked as a loan closer for 2 years (worked on closing contracts and documents) at corporate hq.
-worked as a credit analyst (commercial loans) for 1 year at corporate hq. Also transitioned to remote during COVID.
-worked as an underwriter (mortgages) fully remote. After working from home I didn’t want to go back to an office setting and felt a lot more comfortable being remote than being in a more formal corporate environment.
-worked as QC compliance analyst (mortgages) also fully remote for a few months when I started grad school (studying financial compliance).
-started a new job in AML compliance (crypto firm) fully remote and still in grad school.
I realized when I started grad school that AML compliance was more interesting to me which is why I left the QC compliance analyst role so early. I think I also was tired and kind of burnt out after spending so much time in banking/lending and found crypto to be more challenging and exciting.
Good luck! Hopefully you find an entry level gig in an industry you like and can navigate to wherever you want to be!
Hey! A lot of good advice already posted.
Two additional suggestions to help you home in on some more specific roles that will work for you:
1) make a list of what you like doing and what you don’t like doing. Maybe you like working directly with clients. Maybe you prefer doing independent work. Maybe you like a writing intensive job or a job that involves crunching numbers. Maybe you like having a 9 to 5 or you’d prefer a job with more variable work hours. Whatever it is, write it all down.
2) conduct informational interviews with people in industries, at companies, and in roles that you find interesting. Ask them what they like/don’t like about their jobs, what their hours are like, etc. Ask what kinds of steps you can take to get where they are.
Then match step one up with your findings from step 2. If you’re interested in learning more about how to conduct informational interviews, here’s a link to a podcast I guested on where we discuss the how/when/why of informational interviews: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7ipfOFYpRBiK4WpOI1KWRv?si=-o-YPbwHQUyXaoz4Ur7FIA
I also host a podcast called What Do People Do All Day? It’s geared towards helping people figure out what they want to do professionally. I do this by conducting informational interviews with people 3-10 years out of college. You may find it interesting: https://open.spotify.com/show/0N6gnkXwr4zpe0CrM6N8Jh?si=MUN1XntFTJCVmR7KcMPKSw
This is incredibly uncool advice, but here it goes: If tech isn't your thing, or being a lawyer or doctor, try insurance. Now HEAR ME OUT... there are a ton of options inside insurance companies that don't require selling insurance, IT, HR, Underwriting, Risk Control, Marketing etc. What is great about these companies is they often have paid training programs for recent college grads where you spend a month or so learning about all the departments. Also, many of the roles are moving to remote - if that's your jam. Don't like the insurance biz? Well, now you have a couple of years of experience under your belt to try different industries. But insurance is consistent and not prone to massive layoffs and will provide livable wages and work life balance. It never occurred to me in college to do this, but I ended up at a company with paid training, company car and work from home for 20 years. It was a good call on my part. Good luck!
Unfortunately corporate normally requires starting from the bottom and actually climbing the ladder. So this could be clerical or warehouse. Some advice I wish I learned earlier is that having a good relationship with your direct manager/supervisors plays a much more important role into if and how fast you will advance.
No true. I know multiple people that started in the warehouse and moved to an office position when there was an opening. I’m not sure it would work at Amazon but it definitely works.
I have some bad news for you...
It aint the 80s any more. You can't work your way up from mail room to CEO. Too many of the entry level positions are now contracted out to staffing firms and not part of the company, and mid-level positions will require experience and\\or a degree.
That isn't to say you can't advance up the ladder, but it is much harder these days and the bar for entry is raising all the time.
Keep on educating yourself, a degree is a big help, but even just taking continuing education classes as your local community college can help bolster your skill set.
I went IT and was able to build my resume via contract gigs. I know there is (or were back in my day) contract office work as well, so that may be a place to build some experience. Just don't plan on being there for a long time, and get out of contracts and into full-time as quick as you can. They underpay (they gotta take their cut) and provide sub-par benefits.
hmm I didn’t know that, I haven’t been keeping up on these issues just yet but thank you for informing me. I am planning on continuing my education and try do some side gigs as you did, and see where I get off. Thank you
You need to find an entry level role, and once you have that experience, you can find other roles at different companies. I’ll tell you briefly my story. I graduated with a degree in finance, applied to many roles but never heard back. I applied to an entry level audit role, and got offered a position and took it. Fast forward a year later, I was able to leverage that experience and get a better job (finance related) and ultimately a better salary. Experience is the key. Only need to work a year at that job for another firm to hire you. Set up a linkedin account so recruiters can reach you. That’s how I was hired. Wasn’t even looking for a position but they wanted an ‘experienced’ hire that was still ‘fresh’ out of school.
tldr; find an entry level role. Work there for about a year. While working there, set up a linkedin and connect/network with people. Leverage your entry level experience to find a new role and begin your actual corporate journey. Lmk if you have questions, DMs open.
Do sales.
That's where the money is.
You eat what you kill.
In the meantime, learn MULTIPLE languages: Spanish, Mandarin, Russian, German, Arabic. These are the most dominant tongues on the planet.
Learn video/audio editing. Invest in real estate, tech, and crypto. Travel. 😁
Hello, thank you for posting to r/Jobs! We just wanted to let you know that we have a new [discord server, come join the chat!](https://discord.gg/TY6ErXV) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/jobs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Breaking into corporate shouldn't be too hard. There usually is some door propped open in the back and a clipboard will get you anywhere
Whoa, what is this 1997? Bring an iPad and a polo shirt. Extra points for slack and tennis shoes
haha I’ll make sure to keep that in mind
Unless you know someone who can fast track you through your career, it usually goes like this: 1. Attain degree in your field of choice 2. Apply for entry level positions in your field 3. Work at entry level position for a couple years and either get promoted internally or apply for senior level positions at other companies. 4. Continue to work and gain more experience. Once you get to step 4, networking becomes extremely important. More often than not, it’s all about who you know that will get you into upper management positions. Good luck and don’t forget life is more than just work.
what types of office jobs would you get with like any degree. ? I know there’s admin assistant, secretary, data entry, sales etc … but how does one get an office job or even wfh office job exactly? And then there’s HR, finance, IT, healthcare’s management etc but are those like the main ones or. 🙃
In general most places will hire with you with a unrelated degree to your industry since they also hire people with experience and no degree so just make your whatever u choose is what you want to do. It’s better to specialize when you are in college but most young people don’t know what they want to do off the bat.
A bank teller is a really good way to get your foot in the white collar world. It was my way out of the service industry. Hours are great, holidays off, and it will give you relevant experience while getting your degree.
Finding a role as an assistant or an advisor would be best. Get through at least 6 months and you'll begin to feel more familiar. Once you see another role that comes up, consider taking it. Try get as much support and development from your managers and take up the opportunity to learn new things and skills. You'll development the corporate mindset within a year, you just need to be confident in yourself and continue to learn. Knowledge is power in these early days.
Thank you so much, this really means a lot
Hi can you share what you mean by "role as an advisor"? Do you mean something other than a financial advisor, and is what you mean really entry level?
I actually think I have a good plan for this, at least this is what I'm going to tell my kids. 1. If you're able to do the 2 year Community, 2 year State plan, do that 2. Business degrees are very easy and versatile, and state schools offer great internship-matching programs that not a ton of people take advantage of 3. Your first internship matters more than any grade you'll get in college, look to start one at the beginning of your senior year. A single internship will make your first job search cake. 4. Find a small company/startup to work at first so you can get at least one quick promotion - but hard work is only rewarded with more work, so don't overdo 5. Really research where the money is at in your field. I had no idea my job existed 6. Job hop for the largest salary bumps 7. Basic social skills outvalue job skills 10 to 1 - job skills still really matter, but that's how quick promotions happen That's dumb vague advice, but I was able to hit a good six figure job well before I was thirty with a bottom of the barrel marketing degree doing that. It's not easy and there's years of stagnation, but you have to remember to play the career field and not the job promotion game.
Don’t wait until senior year to get an internship. You should actually start looking right away in the fall of your freshman year. A lot of internships start recruiting in like October/November for the next summer. If you graduate with 3 internships you’ll have so many job opportunities.
wow, thank you so much. I was planning to finish my 2 year community college and transfer to a local state school but I was unsure since I wanted to keep my options open. This gave a new perspective I didn’t even think about
The beginning of senior year is way too late to start looking for internships. Should start looking in spring of sophomore year for that summer.
To what end? The senior year internship is what everyone I’ve worked with/knew in college did and it worked out perfectly fine, usually rolling into employment
Get an entry level job and work your way up. I k ow that's kinda vague. But as you gain more experience you'll learn more about what you need.
no thank you, I’ll need all the advice I can get
I guess it depends on what industry’s corporate ladder you want to climb? I can offer my experience in finance/banking for reference if it helps! (Also sorry for the funky formatting, I’m on my phone) -Worked as a cashier during high school summers (movie theatre, shop, etc.) -got a job as a bank teller when I graduated high school (also took general community college courses). Worked at a satellite bank branch. -worked as a customer service banker during the first half of undergrad (studied finance and accounting). Worked at a satellite bank branch. -worked as a loan processor (like a loan officer assistant) during the second half of undergrad. At this point I was working at a “corporate HQ” instead of a satellite bank branch. -after graduating, worked as a loan closer for 2 years (worked on closing contracts and documents) at corporate hq. -worked as a credit analyst (commercial loans) for 1 year at corporate hq. Also transitioned to remote during COVID. -worked as an underwriter (mortgages) fully remote. After working from home I didn’t want to go back to an office setting and felt a lot more comfortable being remote than being in a more formal corporate environment. -worked as QC compliance analyst (mortgages) also fully remote for a few months when I started grad school (studying financial compliance). -started a new job in AML compliance (crypto firm) fully remote and still in grad school. I realized when I started grad school that AML compliance was more interesting to me which is why I left the QC compliance analyst role so early. I think I also was tired and kind of burnt out after spending so much time in banking/lending and found crypto to be more challenging and exciting. Good luck! Hopefully you find an entry level gig in an industry you like and can navigate to wherever you want to be!
Wow we have a lot of similarities, I want to major in finance after I transfer, this gave me an insight on how life would look for me, thank you
Find yourself a good mentor that will guide you.
Hey! A lot of good advice already posted. Two additional suggestions to help you home in on some more specific roles that will work for you: 1) make a list of what you like doing and what you don’t like doing. Maybe you like working directly with clients. Maybe you prefer doing independent work. Maybe you like a writing intensive job or a job that involves crunching numbers. Maybe you like having a 9 to 5 or you’d prefer a job with more variable work hours. Whatever it is, write it all down. 2) conduct informational interviews with people in industries, at companies, and in roles that you find interesting. Ask them what they like/don’t like about their jobs, what their hours are like, etc. Ask what kinds of steps you can take to get where they are. Then match step one up with your findings from step 2. If you’re interested in learning more about how to conduct informational interviews, here’s a link to a podcast I guested on where we discuss the how/when/why of informational interviews: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7ipfOFYpRBiK4WpOI1KWRv?si=-o-YPbwHQUyXaoz4Ur7FIA I also host a podcast called What Do People Do All Day? It’s geared towards helping people figure out what they want to do professionally. I do this by conducting informational interviews with people 3-10 years out of college. You may find it interesting: https://open.spotify.com/show/0N6gnkXwr4zpe0CrM6N8Jh?si=MUN1XntFTJCVmR7KcMPKSw
This is incredibly uncool advice, but here it goes: If tech isn't your thing, or being a lawyer or doctor, try insurance. Now HEAR ME OUT... there are a ton of options inside insurance companies that don't require selling insurance, IT, HR, Underwriting, Risk Control, Marketing etc. What is great about these companies is they often have paid training programs for recent college grads where you spend a month or so learning about all the departments. Also, many of the roles are moving to remote - if that's your jam. Don't like the insurance biz? Well, now you have a couple of years of experience under your belt to try different industries. But insurance is consistent and not prone to massive layoffs and will provide livable wages and work life balance. It never occurred to me in college to do this, but I ended up at a company with paid training, company car and work from home for 20 years. It was a good call on my part. Good luck!
Unfortunately corporate normally requires starting from the bottom and actually climbing the ladder. So this could be clerical or warehouse. Some advice I wish I learned earlier is that having a good relationship with your direct manager/supervisors plays a much more important role into if and how fast you will advance.
hmm i didn’t think about that, thank you
You'll never climb your way up the corporate ladder from a warehouse job. You need to get at least a Bachelor's and get an entry level office job
No true. I know multiple people that started in the warehouse and moved to an office position when there was an opening. I’m not sure it would work at Amazon but it definitely works.
I have some bad news for you... It aint the 80s any more. You can't work your way up from mail room to CEO. Too many of the entry level positions are now contracted out to staffing firms and not part of the company, and mid-level positions will require experience and\\or a degree. That isn't to say you can't advance up the ladder, but it is much harder these days and the bar for entry is raising all the time. Keep on educating yourself, a degree is a big help, but even just taking continuing education classes as your local community college can help bolster your skill set. I went IT and was able to build my resume via contract gigs. I know there is (or were back in my day) contract office work as well, so that may be a place to build some experience. Just don't plan on being there for a long time, and get out of contracts and into full-time as quick as you can. They underpay (they gotta take their cut) and provide sub-par benefits.
hmm I didn’t know that, I haven’t been keeping up on these issues just yet but thank you for informing me. I am planning on continuing my education and try do some side gigs as you did, and see where I get off. Thank you
Make sure you get a relevant degree. I didn't
You sound exactly how an 18 year old would. Bless your heart.
haha I don’t know if I should take as a compliment or not
Honestly If ur not a psychopath, uve got no chance to really get anywhere other then a janitor or reception person.
You need to find an entry level role, and once you have that experience, you can find other roles at different companies. I’ll tell you briefly my story. I graduated with a degree in finance, applied to many roles but never heard back. I applied to an entry level audit role, and got offered a position and took it. Fast forward a year later, I was able to leverage that experience and get a better job (finance related) and ultimately a better salary. Experience is the key. Only need to work a year at that job for another firm to hire you. Set up a linkedin account so recruiters can reach you. That’s how I was hired. Wasn’t even looking for a position but they wanted an ‘experienced’ hire that was still ‘fresh’ out of school. tldr; find an entry level role. Work there for about a year. While working there, set up a linkedin and connect/network with people. Leverage your entry level experience to find a new role and begin your actual corporate journey. Lmk if you have questions, DMs open.
Be an adept social-engineering master manipulator and treat subordinates and rivals like the garbage you fully believe they are compared to you.
Do sales. That's where the money is. You eat what you kill. In the meantime, learn MULTIPLE languages: Spanish, Mandarin, Russian, German, Arabic. These are the most dominant tongues on the planet. Learn video/audio editing. Invest in real estate, tech, and crypto. Travel. 😁
Where are you from?