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If you are reading from the United States, it is more than the likely the Pandemic has affected your university experience in one way or another. At Agavos, we are all about taking lemons and trying our best to make lemonade. Continue reading if you want to get some positive outcomes from your modified academic situation.
This article is dedicated to the students who have had their college life affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. You have more talent, confidence, and skills than you think you do. This article will talk about the ways you can use your newly acquired free-time to get ahead of your peers.
Experience Doesn't Come from Just Jobs
“There is no education like adversity." --Benjamin Disraeli
If you are taking your college classes from your parents’ home this year, you understand very well the hands-on experience you are missing out on. The pandemic has put a lot of parents, teachers, students, and faculty members in some tough positions in 2020. Things will eventually improve but until then you will need to focus on the things you can control.
If we try to look at some of the positives of taking online classes, you can see that there are some unique opportunities:
1. You Can Find an Internship to Work During the Day
Believe it or not, there are companies hiring for internship positions during the winter and spring quarters/semesters. Some businesses and markets saw incredible growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they have positions they need to fill. If your course workload is not too intense, you can look at working a full-time job and handling your classes at night and on weekends.
You could also consider taking a quarter or semester off school to work at an internship. In some cases, your university may allow you to substitute some course units for work experience. Check with your department to see what is possible.
2. You Can Fill Your Free-Time with Technical Projects or Hobbies
When you are getting interviewed for a position (whether it be for an internship or career position) you will be asked about your experience. If internships were or still are difficult for you to find, you will need to have some other experience to draw from during these interviews.
Academic clubs are a great option if they are meeting in your area. If you are looking for a technical role like design engineering, a club project with hands-on experience building something is an amazing thing to have on the resumé. If you are looking for a technical sales position, consider joining a club that is dedicated to technical sales. Even virtual meetings can give great experience to draw from.
If clubs are not your style, consider picking up a hobby that involves building, testing, and/or creating. Try to pick something that uses your technical skills. If you are in engineering, consider robotics, electronics, programming, or something similar. If you are looking for technical sales, consider a part-time job selling something. It doesn’t even have to be something technical that you are selling. The sales experience will be valuable to the hiring manager you will interview with one day.
3. You Can Learn a New Skill
One of the downsides of taking your college classes online from your parents’ house is that you cannot fill up your free time by hanging out with your friends. While this is unfortunate, it does give you some free time to learn a new skill.
Deciding on what skill you want to learn might be easy. Has there been something you have wanted to learn for the past few semesters, but your schoolwork has been taking up too much of your time?
If you are still unsure, here is a list of potential options:
Learn a 2nd or 3rd language (Spanish or Mandarin are good options)
Learn how to code in python
Learn how to use a 3D-Printer
Learn how to use an Arduino
Obviously we understand that the list of negatives about online classes will be much longer than this short list of positives, but it is important for you to try to focus on the things you can control to make the best out of this situation.
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