For many people, college is the last period of school time before entering the workplace, and it is also the stage of life when they should start to seriously consider employment issues. You will find that many people around you remind you of this in various ways, such as telling you what you should do.

But as the saying goes, "I hear a lot of truths, but I can't live a good life." Aine Cain, a history student at the College of William and Mary, was unable to complain about various seemingly well-intentioned career development suggestions. When she worked part-time as a campus tour guide and chatted with tourists, many tourists said that she would become a great history teacher after graduation. One tourist even insisted: "You must enter the education industry, because there is no other way for history students."

While step-by-step career development paths are welcome, today's young people know that to live a good life, they do not just follow the opinions of others, but think independently and practice boldly. "A degree won't get you a job, but developing relevant experience and industry connections in the industry you want to work in can help you do it. So don't be constrained by the idea that your major determines your future career," Cain said.

What other unreliable career advice have you heard in college? How to avoid being led into a pit and constraining your future development? We asked several current college students.

Some external institutions come to our school to conduct career development activities, and they all say that you should determine your career development direction during your freshman year. For example, if you want to be an accountant in the future, you should do what you want to do now. I felt very speechless at that time. I don’t think you really know what you like to do when you are a freshman. The work you do may not even correspond to your major. The direction of career development cannot be determined in your freshman year.

I think we need to try more. Since we are studying a snake oil major like business administration, we might as well try everything. You can also try marketing and human resources. After you may have a direction you like in the future, the last internship in your senior year will be very important. This will determine your future development direction in the early stages of your career. But now, youth is capital, you can try it all.

I think the most unreliable advice is that you can play during your freshman year, but you don’t need to intern during your freshman year.

I did not have an internship during the summer of my freshman year. Looking back now, I feel a little regretful. Especially when I was looking for an internship in my sophomore year, I felt that the things I did before had no experience directly related to work, which was a bit tangled. Maybe it’s because there is such a sense of urgency at HKU. The environment in Hong Kong is very stressful, and everyone starts internships very early. But maybe only students majoring in business will be like this, and some of my classmates studying biology will not be like this.

But looking at it now, I think it’s not good to be so utilitarian at the beginning of college. It’s good to have tried a lot of things.Because after experiencing this, I know what I want. During the summer vacation of my freshman year, I danced, swam, played tennis, went to Cambridge to take summer courses, and volunteered at the Harvard China-US Student Leadership Summit. I did everything and was very busy.

A teacher once told us when we were freshmen that we should concentrate on our studies when we are in college. After graduation, we will know what we want to do. But I found that this was not the case at all. If I had only focused on studying, I might not even know what I wanted to do after graduation.

From personal experience, the correct view of career should be: when leaving middle school, most people may still be in the "confused" zone, in a state of "not knowing what they want to do first and then go to college." So am I. I chose design at first, and then product design. Now I am engaged in Internet product design. Logically speaking, it is all design, but design and design are very different.

I have never thought about entering the Internet industry, nor have I ever thought about abandoning traditional product design. But when I look back at these times, what I have concluded is: you don’t have to know what you want to do, but at least you must first understand what you like. I like design, so I chose the design major; I like industrial design, so I chose product design; I like Lofter, so I studied Lofter. When you like something, you instinctively start to get in touch with the field of the thing you like.

My starting point is very simple. I want to know more about the things I like, so I have been looking for opportunities to join this team. After entering this team, I became an Internet person, instead of me wanting to be an Internet person from the beginning.

Some of my middle school and high school classmates feel that they only want to find jobs that can make money. This is completely profit-driven, very short-sighted advice, and it is very irresponsible to themselves. Just because you can make money now doesn't mean you can make money in the future. The best in the industry. If you don't adapt to new changes in work, you may be the first to be eliminated. Be willing to step out of your comfort zone and try new things.

Do whatever you wanna do (do whatever you want to do) should be the main principle in "I have heard a lot of truths, but I can't live this life well." I have never heard such misleading words.

If this is one of your many philosophies, and your main philosophy is "do whatever you wanna do," you need to know what this "whatever" is. For example, Zuckerberg would think that “whatever&rd"I just don't want to go to a big technology company and want to run Facebook myself. This is when I think this principle makes sense." But you can't say that I don't want to find a job in order to do what I want to do, and go out to travel and live my life. That would be irresponsible for my own life.

Although this sentence is very ambitious, it is not completely wrong, but you have to use a very clear plan to prove the correctness of this sentence. For example, my parents said that you must be a doctor, but I really wanted to set up my own startup company, so I achieved "do whatever you wanna do" to a certain extent.

But establishing a startup company requires a clear plan: when to build the company, when to find people to work with, and when to launch angel round financing. These things are specific plans, and the thinking behind them is what I want to do. If these two things complement each other—looking up to the stars and keeping your feet on the ground—then I think there’s nothing wrong with this statement.

In order to highlight the career they want to do, many people devalue investment banking and consulting, which everyone is flocking to, as worthless. This is too one-sided to look at the problem, because this kind of work can often help people develop good professional qualities, gain enough industry knowledge and experience accumulation, and can also endorse their own abilities. I think it is worth it.

Many professions require the cultivation of early qualities and the accumulation of hard skills. If they enter high-demand industries, such as investment, right after graduation, many people may not have this comprehensive ability. Moreover, without comparing other careers and looking back to reflect on the process, many choices are not practical enough. I personally feel that you should make a compromise between your favorite career and traditional employment options. After accumulating comprehensive qualities, you can then consolidate your understanding of yourself and your career and choose a job that you like or is suitable for.

Some classmates once suggested that I enter investment banking in the future, but I am not very interested in finance. I feel that I have no motivation to do something that I am not interested in. And although my undergraduate major cannot limit my career path, it at least gives me a general direction. It is completely unrealistic for me to work in a place where numbers are used to explain problems. I think I am better at words.

In fact, I didn’t feel any pressure to find a job earlier. I thought that as long as I could study well in my favorite major, that would be enough. This summer, I saw that all my classmates had found internships, and I really realized that it was time to think about my future. The past two months were the darkest period. I thought about various possibilities, but finally decided to enter the legal industry. Although it was a little later than others, I am very happy that I know what I want.

I discovered that law and history have something in common. History is about using a bunch of historical materials, using reasonable logic, to put together an explanation in a reasonable way, and convincing everyone to believe your explanation. So does the law. You have a bunch of codes, laws, regulations and various cases on hand. The key to convincing everyone depends on how you use them.these things. Simply put, I think both are a kind of knowledge of "intelligent use of materials".

I think that my expertise can be brought into play in this industry, and the laws of a country can also reveal the development trajectory of a civilization. These similar topics are of great interest to me. I think I would be very motivated.

Many so-called "successful models" are difficult to repeat. Many "experience sharings" are ineffective. Everyone has different characteristics, so there are no patterns or routines to follow. If you don’t have a clear understanding of yourself and have never really calmed down to analyze the environment, then any advice is useless.

With reasonable time arrangements, it is recommended that college students choose one or two large units for internship. Not just for a piece of internship appraisal, but also to broaden your horizons and see how these established or emerging units operate, so as to gain a glimpse of the advantages and problems of the entire industry.