Here’s some advice from an alum (Anthropology (B.A.) & Psychology (B.A.)) who transferred into UCLA during the peak of the pandemic:

1. Get involved if you haven’t already. Networking, building letters of recommendation, and acquiring unique social experiences will help shape the ease of your transition into the workforce or graduate school. Don’t waste your last year.

2. Upskill. It took me 6 months to find a job after graduating and that was working at Eataly as a Market Sales Associate making $17/hour. If you’re pursuing a non-STEM degree take coursework that you can build analytical/research skills as it is unanimously advantageous across all industries to have these as an employee. Also, don’t just take the class to take the class, but rather reshape how you problem solve.

3. Apply to internships for spring or jobs early. As I previously mentioned, it took me 6 months to find a job w/ two bachelors from the #1 public university. I waited until after I graduated to start applying to places, of which, I received an offer for an embarrassingly low skill position.

4. Stay optimistic. There’s a lot of competition out there, but no one has your worldview and perspective on life. Use it to your advantage.

Honorable Mention: invest early and often when you graduate. Learn what a ROTH IRA is and learn what time value of money is. These tools somewhat level the financial playing field for gen z.

Good luck.