refelctive paper

panel 3

Panel speakers:

Peter Tu, Professional Services Recruiter at Aerotek

Matt Duble-Dice , Paralegal- at Discovery

Alex Kevorchian, Associate Portfolio Manager at The Burney Company

Tyshawn Thomas, HR Team Lead at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Questions like what is the best job someone could get into? was asked. The speakers had a simply answer to that question which was it all depends on what you are looking for and what your goal is. Another, good question was “how did you decide to enter your career?” This had a very nice story that it all started in an internship which he proved to be a good employee so he was asked to come back to work, which later on he was promoted to be an assistance and from there he started his career. I think this story underlines the importance of the internship, not necessarily they all should be of the same success ending but there is nothing to lose when doing an internship, you only gain knowledge whether they are small and simple or gain opportunities like the speaker had.

Things learned from the internship ranged from organizing stuff in the office to keeping track of tim and what was accomplished throughout the day. Time management was a very important objective that was learned during the internship. Speakers also advised that being on time and showing commitment was very important. A positive attitude seemed to be the key factor to fully benefit from an internship. Asking questions like how can i become better at this certain task was also recommended.

Things that the Speakers would do differently if they got the chance were studying abroad and taking studies more seriously. Studying abroad would have exposed them to different cultures and different people, a different lifestyle would also change the way they think which can be an eye opener. It is always a very good thing to take the best from what people and cultures have. Taking studies more seriously would result in a higher GPA which will probably lead to a better job offer. it will also benefit you in the everyday work life, skills from computer classes may end up something you need on a daily basis. So taking school more seriously is definitely something that the speaker agree on doing if they ever had the chance to do so.

Discussions on wether bachelors or masters is better helped my better understand what i would start thinking about for my future. The speakers said that a bachelors degree is the base line requirement for a job these days, that doesn't mean that you will be guaranteed a job with a bachelors degree. Whereas, a masters degree is more likely to set you up as a professional. However, working a couple of years before doing the Masters is highly recommended since by then you will be more confident on what specialty you want to do for masters. Working provides a more realistic feeling of what someone would be doing. I agree with the speakers on the importance of working before doing masters, since i feel i would like to know what a job feels like before deciding on doing my Masters in that field.

Writing skills is a must as the speakers said they use a lot of writing in their job. Emails, reports and letters are things that we should expect when we start working. So, proper grammar and language are skills to develop from now onwards.

I feel i learned a lot from the guest speakers, i believe that i now understand the work life much better than i did before. I now appreciate all the opportunities i have, like internships, studying abroad, writing improvement skills and much more. This was defiantly an eye opener discussion that i am very glad i attended.