I was fascinated by the short quarter-life crisis article (in Prospects Graduate 16). My life on leaving university as an undergraduate and during my first two jobs was characterised by a sense that while I had achieved many of, what I thought were, my goals and had a successful career I was on a path with which I certainly did not wish to continue; and definitely not for the next 20 years. The trouble was I had no idea what to do about my working life. As the article said ‘Perhaps the best and only way is knowing what you want’. In my experience the trouble with this apparently simple statement is that, and it may seem strange to say, deciding what you need from your working life is often one of the most difficult things to figure out. It is possible to spend so much of your time trying to figure out how to provide what employers want, you forget about your own needs. It seems to me that people are often not helped to develop skills that help them make the best decision about what it is they need, and then after that, what it is they want, from their career. By that I mean that I believe that students often end up in a career because they were good at a subject at university. They didn't stop to ask themselves if they really wanted to earn that much money if it meant working until 8pm every day and on Saturdays. Or, if what a person really wanted to do was live in a variety of different countries, did they ask themselves if they were embarking on a career that allowed that sort of mobility. The list of those sort of questions goes on, and it seems to me relates more to the sort of activities and skills that a person enjoys doing than whether they got a high grade in biology. I left my job, lived abroad, found employment that allowed me to use different skills, and did a postgrad qualification, before deciding on my current direction. I have enjoyed the process of exploration and discovery. I hope that the journey isn't over. JEREMY PILCHER VOICE OF (LACK OF) EXPERIENCEJust something I've really noticed about the job market. No matter how much you try to get a job, it is always difficult because it seems that employer belived that, whosoever that graduated from the University is suppose to have an experience in any of the field he/she want to work. How can somebody get an experience if nobody is willing to offer that opportunity. I and my friends have even searched for any voluntary work in the industrial line, which unfortunately doesn't exist. It would have been easier that way at least to get some experience volunatarily, no salary which most newly graduates wouldn't mind as long as they get that 'thing' called experience. Everyone still kept on hoping that something will come up, even though you can't say when, at the same time, time is really going fast. How sad can that be after all the stress and time spent in the university, not to talk of the student loan to be paid. Where are we really heading to? VERA | 
