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Ask HN College Seniors: What are you worried about right now?

12 points by portman ↗ HN
I've been asked to address the senior class at my university this week. It's a seated dinner with students and alumni where they can ask the alums about life, career, family -- whatever is on their mind. I'm supposed to give some remarks at the end of the dinner. Expected attendance is about 500 students and 100 alums.

My question to the intersection of HN readers and college seniors:

What worries you?

Getting a job? Finding happiness? Applying your college edumacation towards something useful? Saving the planet? Finding a date for next Friday? Deciding whether the 3-week-old milk in your fridge is drinkable?

I would like to know what's on the mind of a soon-to-be college graduate.

29 comments

[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 80.2 ms ] thread
bjg
Playing it safe and taking the amazing job I have lined up.

OR

Moving to a place with little to no tech jobs and putting it all on the line for a chance at happiness with a girl.

portman
Thank you. That is epic. FWIW, I vote girl.
Fahim
I'm picking entrepreneurship over the girl.
aaronbrethorst
Pick the girl. There are always more jobs. You can always move later for professional fulfillment. You're less likely to have the opposite work out.
baddox
How are you estimating those probabilities? I would say there are easily as many eligible girls as there are jobs you're qualified for.
HaloZero
I think for the girl is bad. Because whenever one side has to sacrifice something for the relationship, it usually creates this uneasy sentiment where anytime anything goes bad the person who had to give something up would be like, I SACRIFICED <BLAH> FOR YOU!
darien
Play it safe. If the girl was worth it, she'd accommodate you.
bazbamduck
Aren't you neglecting to consider the (in these days, very real) chance that it is worth him accommodating the girl, rather than the other way around?

Both he and she could have substantial reasons making it worth being accommodated by the other. I wouldn't assume that only the boy is worth accommodating - especially since he's in tech, where there's a lot more flexibility than usual for working remotely, etc.

darien
Working relationships are about compromise. Without compromise all you're left with is parasitism. Take this morsel of wisdom from a happily married man.
lhuang
But why should she compromise for him? By your wisdom shouldn't there be mutual compromise?
dreaming
+1 vote for job.

both might fail, but you can keep one on your cv. more fun to be frustrated in love, than in career... right? ;)

andywood
I have a heuristic - never make a big life decision for the sake of a romantic situation. Romances should work within the context of everything else you have going on. I'm almost positive my life would be full of much more trouble, and not much more romance, if I didn't follow this rule. But it could just be me. I would make an exception if I'd known the girl very well for a while and seriously thought she was likely the one.
realitygrill
Not really inclined to play it safe. Why can't she accommodate you, though? Still, I'd probably try for the girl.
pascalchristian
there is no way that picking a girl would be such a good idea. unlike business, you can't forecast happiness from you gained from a girl based on previous data or market research. if she'll dump you the next day you'll be jobless and girl-less.
adelevie
Balancing startup work with course work.

Edit: I'm not a senior--I'm a junior. I wonder how my response to this question will change a year from now.

simplify
Same here, though this is my last semester. At least, I hope that statement is true, as I don't think my classes have been getting their fair share amount of attention lately...
kaylanimis
Is the career path I've chosen where I will want to be in 5 years? How do I prepare myself for a potential switch?
baddox
Honestly, I am not worried about anything. Don't get me wrong, I'm a pessimist, not an optimist. When you think about it, neither need worry.
adelevie
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
webspiderus
Paying for graduate school, mostly, as well as vague concerns about finding a job when I actually have to.
GVRV
What if I could never be the next [insert successful entrepreneur's name here]? What if I'll never change the world?
kingkilr
Not a senior (just a lowly sophomore) but I figured I'd chime in:

Figuring how I'm going to balance the contracting work I regularly do with another very short term contract this week, and class.

rickyyean
overcoming the financial challenges to be able to pursue my dream
realitygrill
Basically, what the hell am I going to do? I'm in the position of being so generalist that I've botched my ability to signal well. I have no job lined up, don't feel I'm developed technically enough to do/join a startup, and have no real prospects at graduate school (economics major). Can't do sales-type stuff either - too introverted.

It kind of boils down to wondering if I'll make it. PG wrote about startups, "They're started by the poor and the timid; they begin in marginal space and spare time; they're started by people who are supposed to be doing something else; and though businesses, their founders often know nothing about business," but damn it's still annoying to feel I can primarily describe myself in those terms.

jderick
I know lots of econ MS/PhDs who have jobs. Why no prospects at grad school?
realitygrill
Part of it is that I'm bored and rather suspicious of a lot of economics. But PhD admissions are very competitive, I'm somewhat lacking in mathematical background, and I can't afford to pay for a master's. Nor do I see much worth in it unless it's specialized.

I'll probably try to shift in the 'data scientist' direction.

pascalchristian
this is a similar situation to me. I'm a college senior at a shit school, from a not technical major. Masters/PhD would be great but they are either extremely competitive or very expensive. I guess that's what push me into entrepreneurship/and more biz oriented, because that's probably the only thing I could do.
realitygrill
Yeah, pretty much. Good luck to us, huh? Got any ideas?
pascalchristian
start a business? even if the business is only decently successful, testimonials from your clients would make great letter of recommendation for grad schools.