Three years ago now, the reality of my impending graduation began to set in. Friends were getting jobs at law firms, banks and in commercial real estate. I panicked, found myself a career counselor, spent way too much money at Men's Wearhouse, and started applying for jobs. I had a couple of interviews, but there was a mutual feeling of disinterest between the employers and myself.
A week or so before graduation I took a deep breath and realized that getting a "real" job was not what I wanted. I decided to go home for a summer on Cape Cod and reevaluate. I worked hard that summer bartending, waiting tables and interning with a stock broker. When the fall came, I had money saved and decided to spend a month in Lucca, Italy studying the language, spending time with extended family and enjoying my favorite cuisine.
After Italy, I moved to Steamboat Springs, Colo. for the winter and skied for 59 days while working at an upscale restaurant. The mountain closed an hour before the restaurant opened so if I wanted to ski all day, I could. While in Colorado, I applied to Birthright Armenia, a program that allows people of Armenian descent to volunteer in Armenia. Before I knew it I was driving across the country back to Massachusetts to fly to Armenia by way of Istanbul and the Greek Islands.
Cape Cod brought me back to the States, where I spent another summer at restaurants making money for my next adventure. That next adventure would take me to Istanbul, Turkey to teach English and obtain a CELTA certificate for teaching English as a foreign language. My girlfriend had a Fulbright grant there, and through her connections I met such people as the consul general, the ambassador, and a woman who knew Fidel Castro well enough to call him "Fidelito."
Cape Cod brought me home once again. This time I thought I would be home for good, working for the summer and looking for a job in finance. That sounded like a plan until I got an e-mail from a friend in Cambodia. He was living there and really enjoying himself. I thought it might be worthwhile to go visit. After an evening that moved into the wee hours of the morning, I had planned out a route on airtreks.com that involved a lot more than visiting my friend in Cambodia.
That fall I set off for a five-and-a-half-month trip that took me to London, Italy, Turkey, Dubai, India, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, Hawaii and California. I did all of this for about $6,000, flights included. That was a small price to pay for the experiences I had. It is also the price for five months' rent in Manhattan.
That is where I'm moving next. I just received a job offer for a position in equity research that I would consider ideal. While I don't know that my travel experiences landed me the job, I know that they didn't hurt. If nothing else, my experiences were different, and I think any employer sees some merit in that.
The point of all this is not to tell you how fantastic my three years since graduation have been, but for you to realize there are different paths to take. For some people, a job after graduation is a necessity. For others, it is what they really want. But if you have even the slightest inkling to travel or feel that a nine-to-five job isn't for you, at least take a summer to figure it all out.
Please find my blogs at http://doitwhileyoucan.wordpress.com and http://volunteerinarmenia.blogspot.com, and feel free to contact me at edward.casabian@gmail.com.
Edward Casabian (LA '04) majored in economics.
