Skyler W. King - Two Pieces of Paper: Honest Advice for Getting a Degree and a Job in the Modern Working World

Honest Advice for Getting
a Degree and a Job in
the Modern Working World

SKYLER W. KING

NEW YORK

LONDONNASHVILLEMELBOURNEVANCOUVER

Two Pieces of Paper

Honest Advice for Getting a Degree and a Job in the Modern Working World

2020 Skyler W. King

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in New York, New York, by Morgan James Publishing. Morgan James is a trademark of Morgan James, LLC. www.MorganJamesPublishing.com

ISBN 9781642798111 paperback

ISBN 9781642798128 eBook

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019914080

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Christopher Kirk

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For Tegan

And everyone else trying to play their hand

I am a recent college graduate sharing advice with you on how to get a degree and a job by the end of your college experience. I am not a Human Resources expert, nor do I have any hiring experience. Frankly, Im not entirely sure what Im doing in life about half the time. That being said, its a pretty safe bet that most adults are the same way. Unless you believe in reincarnation (which is totally cool if you do), everyone goes through the game of life once and only once. When we all ultimately die, nobody has more experience in living than anyone else. Thats why I am confident in what Im saying in this book. Its not because I have more than 30 years of experience hiring college graduates or developing careers, but because I feel like Ive learned how to successfully get through school and get a job.

Also, this is a book of best practices. I can honestly say that I did not prescribe to everything in this book to the letter. Im saying this because, for one, I hate hypocrites; and for me to feed you advice without admitting that I didnt eat all my own dog food would make me a hypocrite. I also think its important to say I didnt follow everything in the book as a way to say that nobody is perfect. You could work your ass off and potentially get no job, or you could be a complete slacker and somehow get the job of your dreams. Is it fair? No, but life isnt. My hope is that you make your own luck with the help of this book. I cant guarantee you the job of your dreams, but I can guarantee that youll be in a better position to graduate and get one than you would if you didnt read this book. Enjoy!

T his project is something that I could definitely not do alone, and I am forever blessed to have had the pleasure of meeting such talented and helpful people this early in my life. First and foremost, I have to thank my experts for taking time out of their busy lives to support this effort and volunteer their insight and expertise. Beyond that, I have to thank them for their mentorship even before I had the idea of authoring this book. Your willingness to help me then and now speaks volumes of your character, and I hope to one day be as generous as you all.

I have to also thank my friends, John and Madelyn, who listened to one of my now infamous cigar talks and inspired me to believe that not only could I complete this work, but that it would also be beneficial. To everyone that read through early versions of the book and gave me their thoughtsin particular, my sister Maggie, my cousin Sarah, and friends, Erin, Nicole, Kingsley, and Masonyour words helped shape what lies in these pages today. I especially have to thank my brother Tegan for sitting with me and combing through the edited version as a member of my target audience and affirming that the book has value.

Speaking of editing, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the hard work of my editor, Kathie-Jo, who came as a saving grace for someone with no publishing experience. I am forever appreciative of your hard work in making this book the best version of itself. I also have to thank Sandra, my go-to graphic designer, for the amazing cover art.

I also thank you, the reader, for your support of this book. I hope this helps you in some way and that you disseminate the knowledge you obtain as much as possible to help others get their two pieces of paper.

Lastly, I have to thank both God and my family. If I lost everything, I know that I would have my family to fall back on, and the support my Mom and Dad have given me throughout my life made this project possible. God has blessed me, as he does everyone, with an incredible amount of talent. I am forever grateful I was able to channel that gift into a means to help young people everywhere succeed and hopefully carry out His will.

L et me start off by saying, congratulations! You are about to enteror are currently inone of the most exciting times of your life: college. In college, you will have some of the most fun you will ever have in life. However, in addition to the loads of fun you plan to have, why are you going to college? Why have you decided to spend tens of thousands of dollars over the next 4, 5, or maybe even 6 years of your life? Why are you willing to accrue an amount of debt equal to what some people spend on a small house? For a piece of paper with your schools name in fancy letters above your name?

In his Kid Gorgeous special on Netflix, comedian John Mulaney joked about the whopping cost of his English degree: I paid $120,000 for someone to tell me to go read Jane Austen, and then I didnt. He recalled

walking across a stage at graduation, hungover, in a gown, to accept a certificate for reading books that I didnt read. Strolling across a stage, the sun in my eyes, my family watching as I sweat vodka and ecstasy, to receive a 4-year degree in a language that I already spoke.

Most people go to college for the same reason as Mulaney, amassing all that debt just to get a certificate. They work hard for around half a decade only to work just as hard for the rest of their life.

Youre going to college to ultimately get a good, well-paying job. My hope is that by the end of this book, you will be in a better situation than John Mulaney was when he finished college. My hope for you is that you finish college not just with the debt you amassed and the degree you received, but also with a job offer in your back pocket that will allow you to both work off the debt and do something you love while being successful in your career.

Like Mulaney, I walked across the stage and got my certificate. No, I was not sweating vodka or ecstasy, and I was graduating in Cyber Engineering rather than English. But I had one more thing going for me: the comfort of having accepted an incredible job offer. Over the course of the following 3 years, that offer from a major telecommunications company would take me around the country and allow me to learn more about the different roles within my degree field. Using the same strategies I share in this book, many of my peers also left school with great job opportunities at companies such as Charles Schwab, Dow Chemical, Blue Origin, Cisco, International Paper, Folgers, Wal-Mart, and Aldi, among others.