Where Were You Guys Last Week?

If you were to ask me what I spent my Wednesday night doing last week, I would tell you I spent an hour soaking up some very precious info. For those of you who do not know, last Wednesday (4/15) the Career Services Center hosted the Science Career Panel. Five panelists took the time to impart some wisdom on us, and wow, was it incredible. Here’s a quick run-down of who was there and some of the best advice I walked away with:

· Rebecca Johnson is currently teaching Marine Invertebrate Zoology at San Francisco State University. She said that the key to finding a great career was to, “…find something that really interests you and find an area of interest that is somewhat undiscovered…”

· Samantha Engelage is a Staff Engineer at the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (CCCSD). She received her B.S. in Environmental Science at the University of San Francisco, and her words of advice were that, “…internships are the way to go in a down economy. Though interns are essentially considered “cheap labor,” they have the opportunity to learn very valuable skills.”

· Bella Cenzano-Fong currently helps the Research and Development groups at Clorox find technologies and partners that will help them get commercial products faster. Check out cloroxcompany.com for internships!

· Arturo Araque opened Excelsus Scientific Engineering in 2001 to service the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. He advised students to find jobs through internships and networking. He also told students, “You define your own success…”

· John Witchel is an innovative entrepreneur who has helped develop a number of successful start-up companies. This guy seriously knew what he was talking about. Here are some (paraphrased) words of wisdom from Mr. Witchel:

o Right now, in this economy, do something you love to do, whether or not you’re making a lot of money. Find a vein in a field that is super price-competitive, “…go into business fixing torn clothing and don’t forget to grill your friend about what they want to buy and how much they’re willing to spend on it.”

o Don’t negotiate your salary if you haven’t developed any skills to offer a company. Negotiate salaries when you become an asset! Your main job is to be likeable and charming, considering you’re expendable. Employers want to see that you’re hungry, and that you see an entry-level job as a valuable learning experience. Give companies time to promote you, and take advantage of the experiences of seasoned professionals you work with.

o The Bay Area is a forgiving place for the up-and-down business of entrepreneurship. If you’re serious about entrepreneurship, think about ways that you can make seemingly worthless items (or items that already exist) a hot commodity, simply by tweaking it a little.

Now, consider this: I’m not even a science major, and I walked away feeling totally empowered and full of agency (despite the current recession). I sincerely wish more people had been there to take advantage of this insanely inspiring event.

I hope to see you all at the next event the Career Services Center is hosting. It’s called, “Looking for a Job in a Recession.” It will be held from 5:30-7pm on Wednesday, 4/29.

Seghel