<p>For those who currently attend, or have graduated from UCLA, what are the career offices/services like at UCLA?
I know it may seem like a broad question, but it seems like almost every school has one, but what is it really like?
I only ask because I’m a transfer student, who once attended an art school who had their career office/services. Students would have access to a job board that was specific to students and alums of UCLA. The job board listed internships and entry level positions for the search of those who are looking. Is this the same thing that UCLA has or is it more in depth?</p>
<p>The whole counseling, resume tip thing is a given(I imagine). I guess my main question is how big is the job board(if it has one) and what kind of jobs/internships are posted for what kind of companies? Is it limited to Los Angeles/So Cal areas?</p>
<p>well, im speaking from a pre-health perspective. the pre-health service that the career center offers isn’t too great, and i am guessing it’s because they can’t cater to premeds because there are just too many of us. So the advice/materials they offer are general and nonspecific. If you go to ask them about getting some internships or volunteer experiences, they’ll basically point you to sources that are pretty obvious (ucla med center volunteering, CARE extenders, mobile clinic…). Any bio major probably already knows about these programs and probably also knows that these programs are pretty boring/useless. The only thing that might be a plus is the letters of recommendation service they offer.</p>
<p>as for other “fields,” im not sure. The career center hosts networking nights or info sessions, but the ridiculous thing is, these sometimes require you to pay (20$ fee usually).</p>
<p>My “career” counseling in high school was really insane (hook you up with “research” with professors, specific doctors to shadow, etc.) so im kinda comparing it to that.</p>
<p>as a side note, some career path’s that ucla students are likely to take involve going to graduate/professional school. not much more to getting into these places other than grades and standardized scores. For some paths, like engineering/finance, the career center would probably play a pivotal role, but since i have no interest in pursing these fields, i can’t really comment on the effectiveness of the career center.</p>
<p>another side note, there’s always bruinview, which is a way to bypass the career center to look for internships etc.</p>
<p>Use bruinview for a job board. It has companies across the nation, but most of the companies are in California. </p>
<p>The career center, in my opinion, is good for people who know absolutely nothing about building a resume or interviews. If you do a mock or go in for a resume critique, you get basic advice, which is a big help for people who simply have 0 experience. If you feel you are pretty good at making resumes and interviewing, the career center wont help that much. You might be able to find organizations on campus that offer mock interviews and resume critiques that are more useful than the career center.</p>
<p>Well, just to give you a different perspective, I acutally think the Career Center is very helpful. Last year when I was applying for summer internships, I went to the Career Center many times to have my resume and other application materials proofed. The counselor who I worked with was extremely nice- I usually e-mailed him the stuff I wanted to have edited the night before our appointment, and when I came in the next day he had lots of useful comments for me. I guess I kinda agree with bruinboy about their resources being general- I mostly had to take the initiative to find the internships I wanted to apply for myself- but my counselor did make several calls on my behalf to find out if internships that had been offered in the past were still hiring for that year. I think his comments and advice really helped, because I ended up getting my first choice internship (a government internship with a high profile politician), which I actually wasn’t expecting since I was just a first year. So thanks to the Career Center I got a sweet internship that looks really good on my resume, and my counselor even wrote me a letter of recommendation.</p>
<p>I gave up on bruinview fairly quickly, but the Career Center is still fairly indispensable. The Washington DC internship coordinator(who’s amazing, btw) is leaving after a few decades at UCLA and he mentioned that he doesn’t know if they’ll replace him. He’s probably the reason that UCLA sends a lot of people(including myself) to prestigious Washington DC internships. However, while they’re very helpful after you’ve applied–helping you FedEx materials, using the phones for phone interviews, finding housing for internships in other cities or countries–you still have to pretty much apply for everything yourself</p>