My Approach Heading Into College And Why Having a Mentor is Crucial

Admittedly back in the fall of 2015 going into my Freshman year at UC Santa Cruz, I wasn’t particularly excited. I didn’t get into my dream school of UCLA, and ultimately just picked the best school of the ones that I had gotten into. Don’t get me wrong, Santa Cruz is a great city with a lot of cool things to do, but on the other hand it isn’t the most well known, or prestigious university. Although improving, UC Santa Cruz doesn’t have a recognized top 10 computer science program, so I knew from the start that in order to compete with other students at more recognized computer science programs like UC Berkeley, or Carnegie Mellon it would be very difficult. Although I have grown to realize that ultimately the school you go to doesn’t matter that much in the long run, but it does make life a lot easier because most of the top tech companies only recruit at the top computer science programs. I knew that most big companies would not come to recruit at Santa Cruz. So I knew I would have to not only work harder, but also have a more contrarian, drawn out approach to how I look for internships.

However, I will admit that looking back, I came in a with a huge advantage because I knew that I wanted to be a software engineer, or at least go into a tech related field. So I gave myself the full four years to try my best to work towards the goal of finding my dream job. I was very fortunate because I had friends and family members serve as excellent mentors guiding me and giving tips on how to land a job a top tech company. I was able to talk with software engineers who are recent college graduates, as well as talk with seasoned veterans who have 10+ years of experience in the industry. That being said, the one thing I would highly recommend is finding a mentor early in your college career who already has the job that you ultimately want. Ask them about their journey and steps they took in your position and learn from it.

If you are struggling with finding a mentor, I would start with your immediate family and reach out to as many Uncles, Aunts, cousins, etc. to see if they would be willing to give you some advice about how to make the most of college. If your family is not helpful, I think LinkedIn is an amazing tool for informational interviews. An informational interview isn’t a typical type of interview. It is a place for you to ask questions to someone, who has a job that you may want someday in the future, and try to learn more about their role, their path, or even just learn more about the culture at a particular company. Most professionals love helping out college students so never be scared to ask!

I hope this helped! And good luck finding a mentor!

— Prabh