The Foreign Service Journal, June 2018

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2018 77 Parents and Students Who’ve “Been There”Talk about the Vocational Path [My daughter’s] internship as a line cook at a large catering company led her to her current job as an assistant to an event designer at the same company. She’s putting together individual and corporate client proposals for events and working under a great mentor who is teaching her the trade. She combines her marketing/business degree from the University of Denver with her knowledge of cooking, special events and menu planning. She is in her element and loving it. —Foreign Service parent of a University of Denver/ Stratford University School of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management graduate I wish I’d done this sooner. It was so exciting to be able to pull in everything [I’ve] learned and actually build something functional. Every aspect [of the process] was so rewarding, I really could not love this school any more, and am really excited about starting a career in coding. The skills are so empowering, and I really feel like I’ve gotten back that ‘I can do anything’ feeling you have as a kid. —Jonathan Mines, a graduate of Coding Bootcamp and now a Coaching Fellow at the Flatiron School Now more than ever, one must make this decision on a case by case basis … look at professions that are likely to stay. Do your research. There are certificates, vocational schools, internships and apprenticeships. Use the internet and talk to people. Join professional trade associations and groups, reach out to experts in your chosen profession. See if you can try it out first. Get an internship or work with a master in that trade; easier said than done, but well worth asking. Be willing to be rejected many times, and once you do meet a master in your career field, don’t be afraid to ask to shadow them as they work. Ask questions about how they became who they are. Ask their advice. [Finally, realize] that pursuing a vocation is more of a com- mitment than going to university. [By] pursuing a vocation with the right certifications, you are guaranteeing yourself to have work, but only in one field. Whereas [by receiving a degree from a] university, you are not guaranteed to have work, but there are possibilities in many different fields. —Nicholas Williams, pursuing apprenticeships and vocational degrees in watchmaking Some Foreign Service families have chosen to pursue an interdisciplinary path and incorporate vocational education and apprenticeships to round out an otherwise traditional college route. Here’s what they have to say on the topic: