When I was in high school, I didn’t really take the time to think of what I wanted to do in college and beyond. I just wanted to get there.

The point of grades in high school, in my eyes, is to help someone get into his desired college. So, for that reason, I consider my time in high school a great success.

It’s different in college when one thinks about what he wants to do after graduation. I never had post-college goals while in high school, nor did I really think much about it my first few semesters of college. I was more concerned with having fun and meeting new people.

I had the same vision of college as I did in high school for a while, until I transferred to Eastern and got involved with this newspaper almost simultaneously. I realized that attending class and earning a good grade is only part of the path to a good job after college.

According to an MSN article from Careerbuilder.com, a good grade point average is becoming less important when employers hire.

“Fifty-five percent of employers said they had no GPA requirement for college-graduate applicants, according to a recent CareerBuilder survey. Twenty-five percent require a 3.0 or higher, 12 percent require higher than a 3.5 and only 1 percent look for a 4.0.”

After a great Homecoming Weekend reuniting with some alumni friends, they emphasized a couple points that are all but mandatory when considering the current economy: Networking and internships.

When they talked about their job, they didn’t say a thing about grades being important. It’s imperative for students today to get involved with something extra related to their major.

As a journalism major coming to terms with an unstable job market, I buckled down and did what I could to improve my skills. I joined this newspaper to get as much experience as I could in as many aspects of journalism as possible.

Not only did I keep up with that practice, I’ve gone to conferences where I networked with other college students and professionals who were once in my shoes. Talking to those people and getting so much as a business card might lead to a job opportunity in the future. It’s about getting your name out there.

At these conferences, I’ve learned many new things and got a lot of new ideas to bring to what I do here at The Daily Eastern News. Extracurriculars and conferences always look great on resumes.

It’s also about self-improvement if you want to get a good job after college.

On top of conferences, I took advantage of an internship this summer. I worked at a daily newspaper in Ottawa, where I commuted an hour each way five days a week to further develop my journalism skills in a professional environment. I learned from reporters, photographers and editors, soaking up as much of their knowledge as I could.

It’s time to get serious about the future and what you want to do. Sure, I still find an A to be a grade to strive for, but really, experience in the field is much more vital.

Students shouldn’t wait too long to find an internship or extracurricular opportunity, nor should they deny something that might not be an ideal situation at first.

Tyler Angelo is a senior journalism major and can be reached at 581-7936 or [email protected].