Listen to a conversation between a student and a professor.

(man) Professor, I know you’re swamped with grading finals.

(woman) Yeah, I am.

(man) But, uh, thanks for making the time today.

(woman) No problem, so what can I help you with?

(man) Well, actually something’s been on my mind lately and I’m a little worried.

(woman) Really? Your final paper was great.

(man) That’s a relief. Actually, that’s not it. The thing is I’m not so sure about what I should do after college.

(woman) This is certainly not the first time I’ve heard that one, mostly from students whose major areas of study are directed toward humanities, and I’m sure the same goes for many of my colleges in humanities as well.

(man) Yeah, well, I’m starting my last semester and when I think about graduating, I get a little nervous. I mean, I’ve always known, kind of in the back of my mind, that it’s tough to get a job right out of college with a concentration in English. I mean, now I just don’t see how something like an engaging discussion of eighteenth century literature will let me put much on any job application.

(woman) Do you have any special interest other than literature?

(man) Well, I love to write and computers. They’re not just a hobby for me. I really like learning about them. In fact, my friends said I’ve got a real knack for them.

(woman) OK, so what about, have you ever considered technical writing as a career? You have to be a very effective written communicator to write about how to use computer software and hardware, and you are an excellent writer. Um, look, I’m not saying that you should pursue a career as a technical writer, I just want you to realize that it’s not the specific subject matter you’ve learned that’s the key here. Think about what your interests are and the skills you’ve picked up, like the ability to write critically and you read a text and think critically about it. Just think your education in terms of skills and knowledge.

(man) That’ll make sense.

(woman) And then of course there’s graduate school.

(man) Yeah, I’ve considered it.

(woman) If you went on to graduate school and earned your Ph.D. and became a professor, you never had to stop talking about eighteenth-century literature. You even get paid for it.

(man) I don’t know, though. I feel like that’s what I should do, but my heart’s really not in it, at least not now.

(woman) That’s fine. In fact, I know several graduate students who came in straight from their undergraduate studies who maybe should have thought about their choices a bit more carefully before registering. But, anyway, yeah, a lot of people don’t go to graduate school right after undergrad. Many need to have breaks. It’s normal, but that of course doesn’t rule out grad school for good. But then I would suggest you think about some careers that might interest you. Write some of them down and we’ll talk about it next week. See what might be a good fit. How you’d approach trying to find a job in those areas.

(man) Sounds great.