Better Communication with Parents Needed

Dear Challenge,

It’s possible that your parents aren’t trying to get you out of the house as much as getting you to move forward in life. They already had you out of the house – in an apartment they paid for that you’re not using; probably hoping they didn’t pay for an education you aren’t using. The first thing to do is find out what your parents’ real goal is – get you out, not pay for things you aren’t using, or have you move on to something you love after graduation. Then work with them toward a compromise on expectations.

You didn’t mention whether you’ve been invited to any interviews. If you haven’t already, make an appointment with career services at your university to review your resume and interview skills. 

The next thing is to expand your job search. If you have math modeling or coding skills, you might qualify for certain entry level engineering or programmer jobs. According to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, only 27 percent of college graduates landed a job closely related to their majors. If you don’t find something you love right away, take a job that gets you real world experience and join a professional organization to meet people who will be hiring in your field in the near future.

It might take a little longer than most years to find a job out of college – most companies do not want to hire fresh college graduates remotely. But you’re in luck! COVID is almost over and companies will be hiring on location soon. 

–Dr. L

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Don’t go to med school because others told you to

Dear Head,

Are you sure you want to get in to Johns Hopkins? Or is that what someone else said you want. Because if you’re not doing your work as often as you should and seeking to check the boxes of “doing enough” to get in, it doesn’t sound like you’re all that excited to go there. 

You’re still a freshman, so you have time to explore your options – and you should, so you don’t limit yourself. If you look into different medical schools, you may find another school you’re more suited to. You might even find that rather than earn an M.D., you should get an alternate graduate degree or join the workforce for a few years before grad school.

You don’t mention what undergraduate institution you’re attending, but that may affect which medical schools you’re likely to get accepted into. Find out which professors at your university are familiar with the medical school application process and ask them what medical schools look for. Many of them will be just as interested in relevant extracurricular experiences as they are in grades.

The best way to benchmark yourself against competition is to talk to those who have already been there. Reach out to Johns Hopkins and other universities to find out if some of their students would offer a brief video chat session to talk about what med school is like and what they had accomplished in order to be accepted.

–Dr. L.

Dear Dr. Lisa

Dear Major Switch,

Don’t concentrate purely on connecting with other women. Many men will also be fantastic to collaborate with. The first thing to do if you want to work with others is to work. Start your homework as soon as it’s assigned so you have context for initiating a collaboration. Good collaborators do not want to work with procrastinators.

Next time you attend class, arrive early and approach a friendly face – male or female – who always seems engaged with not only the material but with other classmates. Ask a relevant question or give a helpful tip about the most recent homework assignment. After your classmates see that you’re on top of the assignment, they’ll be much more willing to exchange messages or meet to do homework when you invite them.

It’s best to do this the first week of the semester in every class. Build your posse and you’ll never be left to fend for yourself.

–Dr. L.

#career #advice #adviceoftheday #advicecolumn #womenintech #womeninstem #womeninspiringwomen #womenempowerment #womenhelpingwomen #womenwhocode #womenengineers #womenempoweringwomen

Welcome to Dr. Lisa’s new Women in STEM advice column!

We’ve got a new Women in STEM advice column here! Pleas enter your question submissions as a comment in any of our posts & we’ll do our best to answer in a subsequent column. Or send your questions to advice@STEMactivism.com