Professional

High School

Internship + Major

US College Prep

The people around you barely know themselves, so don't take them seriously.

Be your genuine self to those you resonate with and focus your energy on them. They'll be all you need.

The teachers are human beings who struggle with life as you do. Be kind to them.

Learn "How to learn". The grades now won't be what matters - maybe for college admissions, but beyond that become addicted to your passions from early. That alone will allow you to exceed everyone in the next couple years.

Get in the habit of exercising. You'll want to be hot for college.

Romantic relationships at this stage are usually ephemeral so just have fun and be present for all the ups and downs. They'll make good stories.

If you're like me then you'll probably got bored and can't wait to leave. I found that doing things outside of school to build myself helped. And yes, I took many "tough" classes, did sports, and had leadership roles (which were obviously for the resume because who actually gives a shit). Point is, there won't be time, but MAKE TIME!

You will forget most of high school. If it's all you have to talk about years after, you likely peaked there. That's pretty sad.

US College Prep

Internship + Major

US College Prep

Firstly, this is all a game and is in no way a good gauge of how impressive you are. Colleges are businesses (damn good ones) and the admissions processes are marketing.

Think about it - wouldn't you pay more and try harder to get something only a few can have? If you still decide that you wanna play along with the matrix, keep reading. I did too.

If getting into a good US college is your next goal, take and excel in "hard" classes (whatever the equivalent of APs are for you). This was CAPE for me since I'm from the Caribbean.

Practice hard for the SAT/ACT and aim for a score around 1500/34 respectively. It's not about how smart you are, it's how well you strategize.

"Credits" in the US college system refer to how many "hours" a course is worth towards the total hours needed for your degree. Yeah - that sounds dumb, but got to play the game.

Taking AP level classes pre-college and getting the top grade in them allows those courses to count as credits in college. That simply means doing the hard classes in high school means less work later since you essentially get to skip these classes in university - I didn't know this and took a semester of classes I could have skipped. Don't be me.

Internship + Major

Internship + Major

Internship + Major

Before starting college, research growing industries and think about your lifelong goals when selecting a major.

If you're doing all this for the money, look up base salaries for entry level positions, industry prospects, then choose your major based on those factors.

For reference, I studied Civil Engineering at Vanderbilt University

This meant a lot of assignments and occasionally some social sacrifice.

Engineering produces workers, not bosses, but its a good way to increase the likelihood of finding work post college. There are way better paying jobs though at the time of writing this.

For international students specifically, you can only work in jobs directly related to your degree. Additionally, not all of them sponsor (meaning they can't legally take you on). Your best bet is to apply to top firms who usually sponsor - which means you have to be aggressive with applications in both quantity and quality.

Getting an internship your junior year can be good because if you get a return offer that year, you can basically chill senior year of college (assuming your program is 4 years).

Don't compare yourself to everyone else and don't let your internship search consume you and tear down everything around you. I've seen this happen to many people.

Job Search

Moving after College

Internship + Major

There is luck involved 100% (if you do it the normal way).

Normally, it's all a game of having the right conversation and some pretense. Accept this from the get go and things will be easier for those job seeking solely out of practicality.

The RIGHT way to approach this entails researching what each company needs, show how you can fulfill that need and have it all broken down in easily digestible charts and words. Naturally this takes effort, but will pretty much guarantee you the job if you pull it off.

Job searches are tough, but know the rejections are no indication of your value. The people rejecting you are sometimes nowhere near as capable as you.

International students, the pressure is on since you need to find a job to stay in the US. Be extra even if it's exhausting. Put out more effort than everyone else - you can chill after.

Avoid the "What's your base salary" talk from everyone. They are all just insecure little children, brainwashed by a worker bee manufacturing system. Focus on building skills and think in decades and millions.

Moving after College

Moving after College

Moving after College

Moving doesn't need to be stressful

Pull up google maps and look where your job is - get somewhere close if possible

The commute can make or break your experience

If renting consider the following: Renter's insurance (not too expensive), first month's rent, security deposit (can be the same or double first month's rent)

Make a list of all apartments for rent in the area and call them all. Compare prices and consider: proximity to supermarkets, public transport (if that's your plan), gym, laundry, noise pollution.

If you're on your own, you can rent a car and drive it cross country, unload and return it to another branch of the rental company nearby. Obviously this may not work for some people depending on their situation.

Reserve at least 2 days to unpack and settle into your new place before starting work

Work + Life

Moving after College

Moving after College

You will likely feel lost the first week of work. That's normal. Just observe and ask questions. Real jobs are usually pretty easy and comprise of mostly busy work for the most part.

Don't overshare with co-workers too soon. Office politics is real and folks might seek to abuse you as the "newbie". Don't give them the tools they need to do that.

Be polite in the workplace and complete the tasks you're being paid to do.

There is absolutely no reward for overworking yourself. You'd have better luck socializing.

Personally I spend all my time outside of work growing myself and those around me

You'll have the choice to stick with friends who go out all the time and talk about the news and what they did over the weekend, or you can be the one creating the things happening on the weekends. This decision will likely affect the next several years of your life. To each their own.

Construction Management

Construction Management

Construction Management

The points below might be more useful for someone directly interested in this field - maybe for a young graduate or someone considering a career switch.

I've had exposure to other corporate settings, but I know more about construction management since it's where I've been longest.

Work starts at 6:00 am - 4:00pm. The hours vary by project. Essentially, it's not strictly 8 hours.

This is a salaried position (in my case). "Salaried" is a fancy way of saying you don't get paid for overtime.

You can work in the field where you interact directly with the people getting the physical work done. This involves coordination and keeping workers accountable.

The other option is to work in office (which is usually still physically located onsite). This involves emailing, reading PDFs, making phone calls and occasionally presentations.

There currently seems to be no work from home option here. A hybrid model definitely could be incorporated (for the office side of things), but the 'industry' itself (meaning the older folks) operates in a very old fashioned way.

Your experience will vary drastically by the team you end up with. There's some luck involved with that.