I just celebrated 19 years in university career services, and to this day I can’t think of a better role to play on a college campus. Career advisers provide an essential link for students eager to connect their academic experience with the vast world of work that awaits them on graduation. Still, it has always struck me as odd that the donning of a cap and gown signifies career readiness. Not so. Our careers are a process, a journey, a continuum, maybe even a curve. Careers begin and they end. They rise to heights and they get derailed. Careers are rarely what we expect. They often surprise us. And they are filled with ups and downs, moments of bliss and of cynicism, and the periodic question, “Is this job what I was meant to do for a living?”

It is reassuring to me, and hopefully to you as well, that UCSD understands that your career is so much more than that first destination after college. There are times throughout your professional life when you may need some objective career advice, timely job resources, or a list of helpful industry contacts. Last year, over 1,100 UCSD alumni conducted job searches via Port Triton, the Career Services Center’s exclusive online employment source. One in five of our Center’s career advising appointments were with alumni clients. Over 200 alumni interviewed with major employers through the on-campus interview program. Over 250 alumni met with our graduate/professional school advisers. And countless UCSD graduates packed Library Walk to meet recruiters during our five flagship job and grad school fairs.

So I guess this is my way of saying in this first edition of Career Curve that UCSD’s Career Services Center may have something to offer, wherever you are on your personal career curve.

Andrew Ceperley has been director of UCSD’s Career Services Center since 2003. For more information about the University’s Alumni Career Services, visit http://career.ucsd.edu/sa/alumnpage.shtml.

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