That's a wrap on Season 1 of What Do People Do All Day?! The show will be picking back up for Season 2 on Wednesdays in September after Labor Day. In the meantime, please reach out to [email protected] with any comments or suggestions. Happy summer! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sara-isabel-seymour/support

When Michael graduated college, he wanted to get an MFA. He spent a few years working at a boarding school while building his portfolio to apply to an MFA program. During that time his art evolved from strictly photography to a more diverse set of media. He applied to MFA programs, got in, and matriculated, but two weeks in he realized that completing an MFA program wasn't for him. So he moved home and began applying to internships. Eventually, he began working at an art gallery as an intern and worked his way up to being the director of the gallery. After working there for seven years, he decided he wanted to focus more on the data-oriented aspects of business and was hoping to learn more. Tune in to hear more about what he's learned in business school and how he's balanced his art. This episode is best for: figuring out how to pursue art after college; learning about what it's like to work at a commercial gallery; hearing about the application process for MFA and MBA programs Also, check out his artwork at michaelpatrickobrien.info Contents: 01:00 - Meet Michael and hear about his educational background 05:30 - Building his portfolio and working at a boarding school 14:31 - Applying to MFA programs 21:48 - Finding internships at commercial galleries after dropping out of his MFA program 30:48 - Starting at Inman Gallery and working his way up 39:43 - Deciding to go to business school and applying 46:01 - What he's learned in business school 54:45 - Lessons learned --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sara-isabel-seymour/support

When Laura graduated, she wasn't exactly sure what she wanted to do, but she thought that she might want to try marketing or something in the sports industry. So she started at an ad agency and also worked as a fan cam director for the Rangers on the side. Laura found that marketing at an ad agency wasn't allowing her to exercise her creativity as much as she had hoped. So, through a connection from her job with the Rangers, she switched to a marketing role at FanDuel. But then she found out that her product line was being shut down. Given the opportunity to explore other options within FanDuel, Laura tried pivoting to product. Tune in to this week's episode to hear more about how Laura's marketing career has influenced her work as a product manager, how informational interviews helped her figure out where to go after marketing, and how to make the most of your time at a new company. This episode is best for: people who are trying to figure out a way to work in sports (even if part time); how to leverage a marketing background to transition into product management; narrowing your options if you're feeling choice paralysis Contents: 01:00 - Meet Laura and learn about her educational background 06:40 - Laura's first jobs out of college (ad agency; fan cam director at the Rangers) 11:20 - Why Laura started in marketing and what the day-to-day was like 13:26 - How and why she transitioned to product (first as a business analyst/product owner, and then as a product manager) 21:40 - Day-to-day as a product manager 30:21 - How her marketing background has influenced her role as a product manager 33:23 - The tough parts of being a product manager 36:13 - Lessons learned --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sara-isabel-seymour/support

In college, Gabrielle participated in Naval ROTC and then became a Surface Warfare Officer stationed in Japan immediately after graduating. She did a tour with the Office of Naval Intelligence as a Collection Strategist and served as a Flag Aid for the Director and Commander at the Office of Naval Intelligence. She now serves as the Department Head and Deputy Director for Maritime Intelligence Operations Center. After six years with the Navy, Gabrielle is reflecting on her lessons learned as she prepares for the next phase of her career as a civilian.  This episode is best for: those considering ROTC or military service; reflecting on one's values and priorities; understanding what it means to be a leader at a young age Contents: 01:00 - Meet Gabrielle and hear about her educational background 06:20 - Becoming a Surface Warfare Officer 10:51 - The day-to-day of a Surface Warfare Officer 20:39 - Moving to the Office of Naval Intelligence  21:15 - The day-to-day of a Naval Intelligence Officer 27:32 - The day-to-day as the Intelligence Operations Department Head at the US Navy Cyber Headquarters 29:16 - What comes after life in the Navy 40:21 - Best career advice, both given and received Note: the views expressed in this interview are Gabrielle's own and do not represent the views of the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy, or the U.S. government. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sara-isabel-seymour/support

This week I speak with Carter about his path to management consulting. Coming out of college, he took a year to do a fellowship in Taiwan. While he enjoyed the experience, it didn't exactly help him figure out what he wanted to do long-term. Going back to his political science roots, he took a few political consulting roles in Washington, D.C. Through those experiences he started to home in on what he liked and didn't like in a professional role. After building out a spreadsheet of every job he could think of, Carter decided to direct his job searching attention towards management consulting. Despite describing himself as someone who hates to network, Carter managed to network his way into a management consulting role in Los Angeles. Tune in to hear about what Carter learned along the way, why he decided not to become a comedian (or a lawyer), and what he would advise college students and those a few years out *not* to do. Best for: learning how to pivot into consulting if you're not coming out of college or an MBA; trying things in bite sizes early in your career and reflecting on what matters to you professionally; how to find and prepare for interviews for political consulting roles in D.C. Contents: 01:00 - Meet Carter and hear about his professional background 06:41 - Finding his fellowship in Taiwan and then finding his first role in D.C. 12:33 - Day-to-day of Carter's first political consulting role in D.C. 16:50 - Other roles he considered in D.C. 19:07 - What he liked/didn't like about his first political consulting role (and a bit about why he didn't go the law route) 23:37 - Carter's second political consulting role in D.C. and how he found it 27:33 - Day-to-day at Carter's second political consulting role 30:19 - The pros and cons of his second role in D.C. 32:58 - The spreadsheet and transitioning to management consulting 41:53 - Day-to-day in management consulting  48:57 - Pros and cons of management consulting 51:13 - Lessons learned Note: Carter mentions a few websites for finding roles in D.C. They were Brad Traverse, Tom Manatos, and District Daybook. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sara-isabel-seymour/support

In this episode, I speak with Gilbert, an educational consultant. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do after he graduated and his parents encouraged him to try living in another country. He taught English in China for two years until the pandemic hit. After realizing how many of his students wanted to go to college in the United States, but didn't really know what they were looking for beyond the ranking of the school, Gilbert dove into helping high school students apply to college as an educational consultant. Especially after growing up and watching his parents grind to run a Chinese restaurant in New Haven, Gilbert loves working for a company that provides him flexibility and a quality of life that he enjoys. This episode is best for: learning about how to navigate adulting in your first few years out of college; the benefits of working for a small company with a flexible work schedule; why not to worry too much about your major (and what to be more worried about instead). Contents: 1:00 - Meet Gilbert. Learn about his educational background and all the stuff he tried in college 9:32 - An overview of being an educational consultant 12:01 - Gilbert's first job out of college (teaching in China) 25:55 - Learning how to adult 31:59 - Transitioning from teaching to educational consulting 36:27 - Day-to-day of an educational consultant 51:49 - Lessons learned If you'd like to contact Gilbert directly, you can email him at [email protected]. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sara-isabel-seymour/support

From the time she was in elementary school, Madeline wanted to be an intelligence analyst. Moved by the events on 9/11, she took every step to set herself up for that career. But then she found out that she couldn't pursue that dream. On this week's episode, hear about how Madeline took the skills that she had developed in hopes of pursuing a career as an intelligence analyst and pivoted to become the co-founder of a luxury travel group. Best for: picking up the pieces when things don't go the way you expect; carrying your skills forward from one job to the next; reflecting on what it means to be successful. Contents: 1:00 - Meet Madeline and get an overview of her educational/professional background 05:02 - Madeline's first job out of college (working at a law firm in preparation for a career as an intelligence analyst) 10:52 - Where the road gets curvy (pivoting from her dream of being an intelligence analyst to starting her own company) 21:31 - The day-to-day of running a travel company 30:14 - Lessons learned This episode was recorded 3/4/2022. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sara-isabel-seymour/support

This week I speak with Krysten about her journey into the health policy and legal world. When Krysten took a job in government affairs at a pharmaceutical company coming out of college, she didn't realize how much she would love health policy. But as her career has moved forward, she realizes that her interests go all the way back to when she was a Girl Scout. Hear about how Krysten has opened doors for herself by "being nice and working hard." Best for: balancing work and graduate school; being reassured that everything will turn out alright; finding hope Contents: 1:00 - Meet Krysten + learn about her educational background 04:04 - Krysten's first job out of college (government affairs at a pharmaceutical company) 13:31 - Krysten's second job out of college (working on Capitol Hill) 27:50 - Applying to and going to grad school (Master's in Public Health + Juris Doctor) 38:06 - Balancing work and being an evening law student 47:48 - Lessons learned Note: this episode was recorded on 2/25/2022 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sara-isabel-seymour/support

In this episode, I speak with Jeff Hartsough, a product manager at Cisco. Though he wasn't initially sure what he wanted to do when he graduated college, he knew he wanted to be able to use his Chinese language skills. From being an East Asian Studies major, to the first product manager hired at a start up, to being a product manager at a multinational technology company, we hear from Jeff about what it's like to be a product manager and how to leverage your network. This episode is best for: homing in on what you're looking for so that you can leverage your network effectively; learning about product management; how to enter that kind of role if you don't have a technology background Contents: 1:00 - Meet Jeff 06:09 - Jeff's first job out of college (analyst at Nielsen) 09:12 - Pivoting to product management 12:36 - Summary of Jeff's path after his first product management job at a small LED company and deciding to go to business school 13:58 - Leveraging your network (part 1) 17:36 - Learning how to be a product manager  21:06 - Other career paths considered 24:30 - Getting a consulting role and leveraging your network (part 2) 27:23 - Deciding to go to business school, applying, and leveraging a safe-to-fail environment 37:21 - Being a product manager (what he likes and what someone might not like) 43:05 - Being a product manager (day-to-day at different sizes of companies) 56:42 - Lessons learned --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sara-isabel-seymour/support

In this episode of What Do People Do All Day? we talk to my mentor, Staci. Staci loves learning and chemistry, so she thought she wanted to go into academia and higher education. She even got a Masters and then started a PhD in chemistry. But she began to realize that it might not be the right fit for her. So she moved across the country and started tutoring, which led her to join an educational startup called Polygence. Listen to learn more about her journey and startup life.  This episode is best for: learning how to create your own serendipity, reflecting on what you want out of your career; pivoting career paths Contents: 1:00 - Meet Staci 07:12 - Graduate school 12:35 - Pivoting from academia and thinking about next steps 17:52 - Starting at Polygence 21:07 - Day-to-day at an educational startup 30:55 - Reflecting on her career path 34:01 - Good career advice (given and received) Note: A few weeks after recording this episode, Staci accepted a position in operations at Synthesis School--an online enrichment program for kids ages 6-14. Synthesis teaches critical thinking and collaboration by thrusting kids into complex game simulations that model real world decision making. It was originally just a class at Elon Musk's secret SpaceX lab school, and now it is offered to kids world wide. She's pretty sure that one of the main reasons she was granted an interview and offered a position was because she had experience as an early employee at an early stage start-up. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sara-isabel-seymour/support