Ask HN: Career advice for a 23 year-old
Hi HN,<p>I'm 23 years old, living in Belgium, and about to graduate with a master's degree in electrical engineering. It's a difficult time with lots of choices to make, and I'm not sure which path to take next. Some considerations:<p>- I feel like I'm too young to leave the student life and its freedoms completely behind.<p>- I'm ambitious and have good grades, but don't want to pursue a PhD.<p>- A year of travelling would be great, but my mother would get a heart attack when I tell her. And I guess it will make me look lazy on my resume.<p>- My ultimate day-dream is to launch a start-up and work and live on-campus for the next five years. Alas, it's not Stanford here.<p>- More realistically, a job in consulting would maybe be a good idea as a start. It would keep my options open. But should I look into management consulting or technology consulting? I think the latter will be a better fit with my studies and personality, but it's not as prestigious or ambitious as the first. Any advice here?<p>Oh, the choices! Thanks for your advice.<p>Bert