The Noticeable Divide
“My parents helped me apply for college.”
“I can ask my parents about how to deal with this situation. They have management experience.”
I attended a webcast focusing on allyship in early February. The speakers spoke about the provocative topics on privilege and allyship and what it meant to them. Before attending the event, I was hesitant to talk about privilege because it has a really negative connotation. However, the speakers were very detailed in their own definitions, which got me thinking about them in the context of first generation college students.
The first speaker described privilege as, “An advantage over someone else based on different personal aspects, such as age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, religion, and so on.”
Another speaker added, “An unearned advantage over another person.”
When they were asked to describe allyship, the speakers connected it to privilege: “Using your privilege to give another person an opportunity. To assist them in putting their best foot forward.”
Before attending this webcast, I didn’t know how to explain the disadvantage I felt as a first generation college student background. I noticed that my classmates had parents who went to college and worked in the corporate world. Some even had impressive connections through their parents, such as experienced individuals working at big name companies, like Google or Apple. It seemed like a given to many students I met at San Jose State University (SJSU) because we were in the Silicon Valley. One time my teammate who was working with me on a project to interview a professional, nonchalantly said, “Yeah, I don’t think it’ll be difficult to find someone to interview. I mean we all know people from big companies.”
I shrunk back when she said that because I thought, “Well, I don’t.” At least, I don’t know them through my parents. Most of the networking happened through my own means, such as through classes, clubs, and my part-time job after transferring.
Aside from not having parents working in a major corporation or tech sector, I also felt at a disadvantage from having gone to a community college. That came from my own and my parents’ lack of knowledge in the college application process. I don’t regret saving money and transferring, but I do see the advantages of attending a 4-year college right after high school. There are many opportunities to network, receive internships, and get involved in clubs. I missed out on this because I was not looking at the whole picture. Now, I understand how attending a 4-year like SJSU would be worth the tuition and living costs because of the opportunity to interact with working professionals and to grow myself.
Although I could continue listing the “woes” of being a first generation college student or making others who have these advantages over people like me uncomfortable, that is just not my point. I’m not here to judge someone else’s background or to pity myself.
The reality is that I also have privilege. The privilege in receiving an education, going to a community college and transferring, living near SJSU, and being involved on campus. Through all of those experiences, I feel that it would be a missed opportunity not to share my experiences and explain how to think about your future. I want to let you know that despite feeling that you do not have a support system in place, please do not blame anyone. It is not your fault nor your parents for not knowing how to apply to college or what to do with your career. And that is okay.
Knowing what to do next is the first step. Instead of feeling wildly overwhelmed with college, take it one step at a time and think to yourself:
What do I want to do?
This question may feel daunting, but think seriously about it and take your time to explore your options. That could mean taking various classes or talking to professors or individuals within a specific career path to get an idea of what it is like to work in their field. If something does not immediately come to you, that’s okay.
Once you have had time to think about your major, then plan on the next items that would help you become more successful in your career. That could be joining clubs, attending speaker events, or informing yourself through online articles. I also highly recommend having conversations about others’ stories. Informational interviews will help you imagine a day in the life of, say, a data analyst or of a human resources manager. You might be quite surprised by how kind individuals can be in providing advice. I still never had the guts to reach out to strangers, but have reached out to my professors for advice (Remember they also have other jobs outside of teaching!).
Of course, please do your part when asking someone for help. One of my mentors, who works in the human resources department at Amazon, explained to me that it is much more helpful when candidates know what they want to pursue. This helps recruiters narrow down the scope and filter through tailored career listings for you. Do your own research before meeting with someone and continue being curious! You will never know where you will end up by asking questions. That definitely is one important component that helped me land part-time jobs and eventually a full-time job after graduation.
Even after you find the most meaningful career, consider sharing your story and your privilege in experiencing this struggle with others. Shared knowledge helps individuals know they’re not alone and that professionals have struggled before.
In summary, you can try to do the following to find your optimal career:
- Explore different fields of interest, then declare a major with something that interests you.
- Once you find a major, get involved by joining clubs, attending professional speaker events, and requesting informational interviews.
- Own your story and share your insights with another.
If you ever find yourself losing interest in something you thought would be suitable, do not worry because going back to Step 1 is perfectly normal. Just like iterating over a minimum viable product (MVP) or proofreading an essay, this process of iterating through careers will happen. If this happens, then please stay resilient and remember you’re not the only one who has experienced this. After all, aside from sleeping, people will be spending most of their lives working. So, find something you can enjoy and do to leave an impact on this world.
Please let me know if these tips have helped you. I would love to hear your stories and how you have applied these to your lives. 😊
In the next article, I will be writing about how to find a major.
