Tufts Daily, MA
May 20 2007

There really isn’t any rush

by Edward Casabian

Three years ago now, the reality of my impending graduation began to
set in. Friends were getting jobs at law firms, banks and in
commercial real estate. I panicked, found myself a career counselor,
spent way too much money at Men’s Wearhouse, and started applying for
jobs. I had a couple of interviews, but there was a mutual feeling of
disinterest between the employers and myself.

A week or so before graduation I took a deep breath and realized that
getting a "real" job was not what I wanted. I decided to go home for
a summer on Cape Cod and reevaluate. I worked hard that summer
bartending, waiting tables and interning with a stock broker. When
the fall came, I had money saved and decided to spend a month in
Lucca, Italy studying the language, spending time with extended
family and enjoying my favorite cuisine.

After Italy, I moved to Steamboat Springs, Colo. for the winter and
skied for 59 days while working at an upscale restaurant. The
mountain closed an hour before the restaurant opened so if I wanted
to ski all day, I could. While in Colorado, I applied to Birthright
Armenia, a program that allows people of Armenian descent to
volunteer in Armenia. Before I knew it I was driving across the
country back to Massachusetts to fly to Armenia by way of Istanbul
and the Greek Islands.

Cape Cod brought me back to the States, where I spent another summer
at restaurants making money for my next adventure. That next
adventure would take me to Istanbul, Turkey to teach English and
obtain a CELTA certificate for teaching English as a foreign
language. My girlfriend had a Fulbright grant there, and through her
connections I met such people as the consul general, the ambassador,
and a woman who knew Fidel Castro well enough to call him "Fidelito."

Cape Cod brought me home once again. This time I thought I would be
home for good, working for the summer and looking for a job in
finance. That sounded like a plan until I got an e-mail from a friend
in Cambodia. He was living there and really enjoying himself. I
thought it might be worthwhile to go visit. After an evening that
moved into the wee hours of the morning, I had planned out a route on
airtreks.com that involved a lot more than visiting my friend in
Cambodia.

That fall I set off for a five-and-a-half-month trip that took me to
London, Italy, Turkey, Dubai, India, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia,
Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, Hawaii and California. I did all of this
for about $6,000, flights included. That was a small price to pay for
the experiences I had. It is also the price for five months’ rent in
Manhattan.

That is where I’m moving next. I just received a job offer for a
position in equity research that I would consider ideal. While I
don’t know that my travel experiences landed me the job, I know that
they didn’t hurt. If nothing else, my experiences were different, and
I think any employer sees some merit in that.

The point of all this is not to tell you how fantastic my three years
since graduation have been, but for you to realize there are
different paths to take. For some people, a job after graduation is a
necessity. For others, it is what they really want. But if you have
even the slightest inkling to travel or feel that a nine-to-five job
isn’t for you, at least take a summer to figure it all out.

Please find my blogs at and
, and feel free to contact me
at edward.casabian@gmail.com.

Edward Casabian (LA ’04) majored in economics.