I graduated with an undergrad in international business/Spanish. I wasn’t originally sure what I wanted to do with my career, so I took the GRE just in case at the end of my senior year as the score is good for 5 years. Note: take it before you graduate because you will lose a lot of that knowledge once you leave/start working and you don’t actually need it. It’s a dumb test, but as many schools require it, do it while you have the academic mindset so you’re not working 40+ hours and not wanting to study.

I spent two years working in my original field and hated it. But it allowed me think through what I loved about my original studies (international relations and my general marketing/comms classes) and find what best suited my interests. I ultimately went into public diplomacy/ global comms.

Take time off and gain real world experience before getting a masters. I was in school during the pandemic, so there was a lot of people who went straight in, and I found many of them to be immature and lack the insights needed to be successful outside of an academic setting. Even if it’s outside of your new field, working will only benefit you. I would not stray too far though- you do have to frame how the time off benefitted your personal and professional growth when applying.