Susan L. Wagner ’82 Career Advising Program
The Susan L. Wagner ’82 Career Advising Program
What do you want to be when you graduate? Rest assured that most Wellesley students are unsure about their career paths and even those that feel certain often do — and should! — change their course. When beginning your career journey, it can be tempting to imagine that it will be one straight line. However, as countless alums will tell you, that’s not the way it works — and that’s a good thing! As the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, the average worker will have 12-15 jobs in 5-7 different career fields in her lifetime.
Career Exploration
Regardless of what year you are at Wellesley, we are here to help you explore potential career paths. Every student is matched with an Advisor for Career Exploration (ACE), who is available for conversations about your values, strengths, and interests. Your ACE will provide the mentorship, tools, connections, and space for self-assessment and reflection to identify the paths you want to pursue. Schedule an appointment in Handshake to meet with your ACE as follows:
- First Years & Juniors: Marisa Crowley, ACE for the Class of 2026 & 2028
- Sophomores & Seniors: Ariane Baker, ACE for the Classes of 2025 & 2027
Career Advising for Specific Industries and Fields
You may already have some inclination about what industry or field you might like to work within. You also may still be quite uncertain — and that is both normal and completely okay! You don’t need to know exactly what you want to do to meet with a specialized Career Advisor — simply having curiosity about a field or industry is a great place to begin.
To meet with an industry/field specific Career Advisor, make an appointment in Handshake by selecting “Career, Internship, and Graduate School by Industry/Field.“ If you aren’t sure which Advisor covers your field of interest, email careereducation@wellesley.edu and we’ll point you in the right direction! The categories are broadly encompassing, so no matter what your career interests are, there is an Advisor who can work with you to explore the fields you are considering.
Sign up for Industry newsletters by filling out your Career Interest profile in Handshake. You’ll receive advice specifically related to the industries of your interest, along with highlighted events, resources, jobs, internships, and fellowship opportunities in your field of interest. Subscribing to multiple newsletters is a great way to explore career options!
Career Essentials: Resumes, Cover Letters, Interviews, & More!
Through the Career Essentials workshop series, you will develop skills and the foundational knowledge necessary to navigate career development. Learn about resumes, cover letters, interviewing, informational interviewing, negotiation, and personal statements.
Recruiting Timelines for Specific Industries and Fields
Many industries have different recruiting schedules—learn about timelines and career paths, and explore your interests with the help of our industry/field specific Career Advisors, and through the drop-downs below!
Career Advisors
Embark: First Year Career Retreat
Embark — a retreat for all interested first-year students — is a free weekend-long immersive program designed to equip you with a toolkit to begin your career exploration. Join us to connect with Career Education, discover how to identify and utilize your values and strengths through our assessments and activities, hear career stories from your Wellesley sibs, and learn about the variety of opportunities that are available to you as a Wellesley student, like funded internships, study abroad, and research.
Peer Career Mentors
Explore Employment Around the World with GoinGlobal
GoinGlobal is the leading provider of both country-specific and USA city-specific career and employment information. Our unlimited access subscription database features 38 Country Career Guides, 53 City Career Guides for the United States and Canada, corporate profiles and more than 16 million internship and job listings within the USA and around the world.
Arts Administration
A career in arts administration combines interest in the arts with business expertise and fundraising skills. Arts administrators work for symphony orchestras, art galleries, museums, ballet companies, musical groups, theatres and other organizations.
Architecture
Architecture, a discipline deeply rooted in the creative expression of designing physical spaces, presents a vast array of interdisciplinary job opportunities. While architecture itself embodies the art and science of constructing buildings, the path to success in this field extends beyond the confines of traditional licensed architectural practice.
Advertising
In broad terms, an advertising agency is a marketing consultant. It helps the client, for example, a consumer goods manufacturer such as Nike or a service provider such as Charles Schwab, with all aspects of marketing their product or service, from strategy and concept through execution. Strategy involves helping the client make high-level business decisions, such as determining which new products to develop, or how to brand or define itself to the world.
Technology Internships for First Years and Sophomores
While it is true that many internship opportunities are geared towards students in their junior year, an increasing number of companies are creating first-year and/or sophomore-focused internship programs. Please note that this is certainly not an exhaustive list, and there are a number of additional companies that may not have first-year/sophomore specific programs, but that are first-year/sophomore-friendly.
Science Research
Participating in research experiences as an undergraduate is an excellent way to add depth to your science understanding and actively engage with what you are learning in the classroom. By doing so, you further develop your laboratory, analytical, and problem-solving skills, and you start to build your network with faculty members. Research experiences are valuable components to your resume, and they can make you more competitive for both graduate school and industry opportunities.
Physics
The contemporary study of the physical universe encompasses systems ranging from the microscopic — atoms, nuclei, and elementary particles, to the very large — planets, stars, and galaxies, and the Wellesley Physics department introduces students to the study of all that falls along that spectrum. Since physics covers such a broad band, students of physics develop concrete and transferable skills that can be applied in a number of different settings — academia, industry, research, government, nonprofits, and more.