It really is crazy timing. My D22 (CS major) is currently doing the junior year consulting internship she applied/interviewed for in Aug/Sept at the end of her freshman summer. And she is loving it! She also loved avoiding the stress of interviewing at the beginning of junior year. I think part of why she interviewed so well was that it was so early she wasn’t feeling the pressure yet.
My S24 is finance and accounting which means he should be getting ready for all of that now. Instead he is enjoying a “chill summer” of lifeguarding. He is well aware of the timeline and the competitive process. I think he may be self-selecting a less intense path than his big sister. Which is fine too! I feel for the kids that don’t know how fast the process moves and they miss out (not by choice but by default).
As an fyi for those not aware … accounting (Big 4, at least) has also moved hiring for the Jr year internship to Fall of Soph year. In previous times, one could shoot for a big finance job and if they missed, could go to the Big 4 in accounting (or other area). But there is currently a shortage of accountants, so that hiring timeline has moved up too.
Edited to add: I just realized you were talking about your S 24 interviewing a year before the job starts. I’m talking about kids interviewing almost 2 years before the job starts.
This seems to be the process for highly competitive jobs. If you want a prestigious, high paying consulting/investment banking position, you better be organized for a Sophmore/fall semester interview run.
And if you kind of tinkered around your freshman year, it may be difficult to land one of these jobs.
Im not sure if this just applies to finance or the general recruiting scene.
insanity. He is interested in quantitative finance and is a math/physics major. I know that the Jane street closed their application already for next summer but that is for rising juniors now. It is just mind boggling. THe process isnt much easier for doing research and who knows if the REU programs will even have financing for next summer!
In the spirit of “keeping’ it real,” D24 had a psychiatry appt for the first time earlier this week. She has a follow up appt in 2 wk. I don’t know specifics because she wants to keep some stuff private from Mom and Dad, but I have gleaned that a medication was prescribed. And the provider did NOT prescribe Xanax, which I am relieved about. AND she liked the provider, feels comfortable with her.
At the provider’s suggestion, D24 has started exercising. She and D26 went to the community pool in our neighborhood and swam laps today. D24 said, “Swimming laps doesn’t feel like exercise.”
That sounds great! My D24 and I both have genetically-inherited mood issues. Not only are we on antidepressants, but we also practice the “dose of endorphins”–we actually can’t maintain our happiness without a moderate amount of exercise every day (example: 30 minutes on the recumbent bike or elliptical, or at least a two-mile walk). Sometimes we do more exercise than this minimum, but without it, the blues will hit hard. I’m glad your daughter likes swimming!
She should check if there is a masters group there. Many do. Regardless, if it’s the exercise she enjoys, it’s a great option. And the bike ride there won’t hurt either.
I have to tread carefully on this because if I push it, she’ll dig in her heels and will refuse to pursue it. Masters level club swimming will be too stressful of a commitment for her right now.
I’d just encourage her to swim as much as possible while she’s home and then see what her plans are for getting regular exercise once she’s back at school.
I totally get the not pushing. The only reason I brought it up is that many masters groups are simply “let’s all show up and do our laps at the time” and plenty of people doing their own thing. I don’t think people realize that. My own daughter much prefers to go when there is no one else in the pool!
Argh! It has been a summer of hard, unfair, but necessary lessons for D24. Today, at her restaurant serving job, the older woman who works there full-time first made her do all the outside tables (because it was “too hot” for the older woman) and then verbally attacked her for not working hard enough. She was sobbing when her dad gave her a lift home–even though they stopped at Chick-Fil-A! We explained to her why the co-worker attacks her, and not the young men who work with her, but it’s hard for my conscientious daughter to understand why a person would actually view reality from a skewed perspective in this case. An unhappy older person sees a younger person who obviously is from a different walk of life, and wants to think that person is not doing a good job. We all know why older female co-workers sometimes attack younger women–because they don’t feel as comfortable attacking men. Luckily, my daughter is a very hard worker (at her second job, which she acquired because her first job wasn’t giving her enough hours for her liking, her boss described her as having inherited her parents’ work ethic! And yes, it was said to one of us as a compliment.) Anyway, dealing with co-workers like this one is valuable experience for the more permanent jobs we acquire later. It sucks that we all have to deal with projection from co-workers in various situations. I wish nobody in the world had to work. I told my husband not to call me “boss” as a joke, because I think it’s a bad word.
Things have gone well for our daughter following her first year, albeit it was an adventure for all of us. After successfully moving away to college and into another country, she found her groove and had two great semesters. We went through the normal ups and downs of adjustment; our kiddo has thrived in her new independence as a young adult and my wife and I are adjusting to our empty nest. It’s joyous, but bittersweet as we miss her.
She took an internship this summer working elsewhere with a VC firm and will then return to school for another semester before leaving for Asia for a foreign study semester abroad. It’s nice reading stories from the other parents here and feel a bit of community in growing through this phase of life together.
We explained to her why the co-worker attacks her, and not the young men who work with her, but it’s hard for my conscientious daughter to understand why a person would actually view reality from a skewed perspective in this case. An unhappy older person sees a younger person who obviously is from a different walk of life, and wants to think that person is not doing a good job. We all know why older female co-workers sometimes attack younger women–because they don’t feel as comfortable attacking men. Luckily, my daughter is a very hard worker (at her second job, which she acquired because her first job wasn’t giving her enough hours for her liking, her boss described her as having inherited her parents’ work ethic! 
And yes, it was said to one of us as a compliment.) Anyway, dealing with co-workers like this one is valuable experience for the more permanent jobs we acquire later. It sucks that we all have to deal with projection from co-workers in various situations. I wish nobody in the world had to work. I told my husband not to call me “boss” as a joke, because I think it’s a bad word.