Find what you love to do

I'm currently on the search for full-time roles since I'm graduating in May 2027, and I've learned a lot. The biggest thing? The importance of finding a job where I actually, thoroughly enjoy what I'm working on. I've been very thankful to have had two different research opportunities, and two different internships during my ongoing time at university, so I have some idea of what I'm looking for. That isn't the issue though. The issue is that in this economy it's easy to pick the first job offer presented to you, even if the work doesn't provide any interest to you.

Obviously salary, location, team, etc. are all very important, but from my experience, and from what I've heard from industry vets, work is best when you actually love what you do. I love the feeling of getting to apply my curiosity to solve a problem. I love getting to read research papers and determine what I can and can't apply from them. I love testing things out. I love trying and failing, and trying and failing again. I love working on big systems. I love cybersecurity. I love machine learning. I love working on a team and discussing different routes to a solution and watching it come together and get put into production. I love working on hard problems. I love overseeing different groups/people and learning different their work styles. I love contributing to software or a project that actually provides real value to society and improves someone's life.

These are some of the many things that I love, but these likely look different person to person. Not everyone is the same. Initially, when I started my job search, I went into it thinking I needed to get an offer ASAP. I had no idea I was hardly even reading job descriptions, or really asking myself, "do I want to work here?" I quickly realized that this is not the way to approach things, and remembered how all the industry vets from my internships told me not to accept the first offer I got. They told me to treat it as, "why should this company hire me?"

This completely shifted the way I was doing my job search. I went from thinking "do they want me?" to "do I want them?" I believe this switch is really important, and not just for new grads like me but everyone. Now, my job search is so different, and I find so much more joy if I get a call back or interview, even if they're less often, since I know that it's a place I would really want to work at! Remain humble, but also know your worth.